Is the Workplace Where Ideas Go to Die?
In every survey my company has conducted, every survey I’ve done in leadership or innovation workshops, and most creativity surveys I’ve read, here are the top-5 places people say they come up with their light bulb moments, the top-5 places (in no particular order) everyone says inspiration strikes:
- In the shower
- Driving
- While doing some sort of exercise
- In bed or sleeping
- In the bathroom
Guess what NEVER shows up on the list? That’s right….WORK! Evidently work is where ideas go to die!
In light of that, here are two questions you should ask your team on a regular basis.
#1: What are you doing in your workplace that may be stifling creativity, that may be killing your ideas, things that you might not even be aware of? Maybe it’s too much bureaucracy, too many rules, too many layers, too many processes. Maybe it’s your idea killing language. Maybe it’s your body language. Maybe it’s a suggestion box that seems to have a paper shredder on the other side of it because employees keep making suggestions but they never hear back from anyone!
#2: What can you do in your workplace to encourage and champion ideas? What can you do to ensure you have a steady stream of ideas flowing throughout your workplace? Two very simple, but very important questions to ask in your workplace on a regular basis.
Copyright 2017. Michael Kerr is an international business speaker, trainer and author of six books including The Humor Advantage: Why Some Businesses Are Laughing All the Way to the Bank.
