Many organizations need teams to produce creative products. Blending science with art can magnify team effectiveness. The key is to find approaches to enhance creativity and collaboration. This can be a challenge, when you are blending so many different personalities and ideas. However, you should embrace the differences between others to magnify creativity.
Talent
Your team will not be successful if you don’t have a team full of the right people that are also capable of the work required. It’s best to have a team that has complementary skill sets that can play off of each other’s strengths.
Healthy Environment
The organization must be healthy and there must be an appreciation for others in a team setting. There must be an openness that allows the ability to resolve conflicts and move forward. This type of environment can be achieved by creating trust workshops and a few informal social interactions with your team. The best interactions usually involve sharing food together.
Guiding Vision
Great groups have a clear vision that keeps the team on track and focused. The collective purpose is what gets everyone on board and ready to work together.
Safe Atmosphere
Your organization must have an atmosphere where your team feels safe and secure when discussing viewpoints and perspectives. Everyone must be accepting of multiple perspectives and the quality of your team depends on stimulating idea development without judgement.
Idea
Make your ideas visible and build a model or diagram to display your idea in the best light. Your ideas must be highlighted in a manner that makes sense to your team. Let others see the idea you have come up with and discuss its strengths and weaknesses.
Infrastructure
You must create a facility that is filled with resources and that enables learning. There should also be several means for communication. The chain of command should allow for communication at all levels and there should be an openness that fosters great ideas.
Great Leadership
Nurture the brilliances of your people and ensure that you are allowing them to work at their maximum capacity. Remove barriers that will keep them from achieving their best. Help them build team connections all across the organization and foster cross-training. When one unit works with another unit, they begin to understand all the details that go into running that business. With knowledge comes an even greater creativity. Make sure to give team awards and bonuses, instead of focusing on an individual, who may not deserve all of the credit. Also, make sure to highlight mistakes to learn from as well.
Use Coaching
Coaching is highly effective in a teamwork culture. Work on emotional intelligence and teach others how to navigate difficult conversations that are unavoidable in the workplace. Ask open-ended questions and be open to the answers you will receive from your staff. Be willing to change a path or two based on re-grouping and be open to new ideas that could be extremely beneficial to the agency.
