Here's how you can inspire creative thinking in your team members.

Diversity in creative thinking brings together varied perspectives, fostering innovative solutions and new ideas. When individuals from different backgrounds collaborate, their unique experiences and viewpoints lead to richer, more creative problem-solving. This will help you in better decision-making and a more effective strategy for dynamic and successful team contribution.

A team is like a puzzle. It is composed of people of different backgrounds, experiences, education, skills, and ideas. When you explain this analogy to your team, call out the strenghts each individual brings to the table. I then share my own experiences using this technique. Collaboration and putting the right people in the right places is what leads to success.

Collaboration is often a challenge for organizations, as many team members may not prioritize effective communication and cooperation. This issue is deeply rooted in company culture. When establishing or managing a practice, it's crucial to ensure everyone understands that their ideas are valued and safe to share. Encouraging the implementation of innovative ideas is essential because these can be game-changers. Innovation drives progress, and in business, continuous invention and adaptation are key to success.

Safety in the workplace is foundational. Without it, teams can't function. I like to share a story about admitting mistakes and how doing so can lead to what I call "service recovery." If you realize that you've made a mistake, immediately own it, then take action. When you do this, you show respect for whoever showed you the mistake, and most importantly, you gain respect for yourself, your team, and your company. This is one example of creating three types of safety: Safety to know that mistakes are common and not shameful; safety in knowing that admitting mistakes is always the right thing to do and will be supported, and also safety knowing it's okay to point out mistakes.

I once had a virtual team that was spread out across several states. We implemented an hour each week for drop-in participation to talk about anything. It started out as a social connection experiment, but it turned into a brilliant opportunity for informal discussion about how to make our team stronger, process improvements, cost savings, etc. It was amazing!

Micromanagement is kryptonite to creativity. When individuals are working under micromanagement, all of their focus is on following the rules and preventing errors. It's a fact that we learn best from making mistakes, trying and failing. Micromanagement wipes out the opportunities to learn and improve.

At a recent high school graduation ceremony, the valedictorian spoke about the value of a GPA. She stated her strengths that brought her to this elite position, and she discussed her weaknesses. She didn't spend time talking about her challenges along the way or hold herself in high esteem above her classmates. Instead, she spent her time reminding the graduates that each one has their own unique GPA and encouraged them to discover it by renaming it (Greatest Prominent Attribute or Grandest Particular Asset or Grooviest Passionate Aspect) that is what will get you somewhere, she said. This speech touched me personally and I'm passing it on so that everyone, everywhere feels free to express their unique GPA. Nyack High School #Classof2024

I love learning together! Attending workshops, taking online classes, inviting guest speakers to quarterly meetings - doing all of these things as a team together achives two goals: We all learn something new, we all take away different things from each learning that we can share with each other, and, again, it fosters teambuilding.

To inspire creative thinking in the team, following ideas can work well. - Foster Innovation: Recognizing creative achievements maintains an innovative team atmosphere. - Acknowledge All Wins: Celebrate both big breakthroughs and small creative wins to show appreciation for all contributions. - Motivate Contributors: Recognition boosts morale and motivates individual team members to continue their creative efforts. - Highlight Value: Demonstrating that creative efforts are valued emphasizes their importance to the team's success. - Encourage Culture: This approach nurtures a culture of continuous innovation and creative thinking within the team.