But saying <\/em>that\u00a0you want more innovation and creating a leadership culture that actually nurtures<\/em> innovation are 2 different things.<\/p>\n Far too often, we\u2019ve seen leaders subconsciously sabotage innovation by behaving in ways that kill new ideas. The sabotage isn\u2019t deliberate \u2014 they really want <\/em>to encourage innovative mindsets<\/a> in their organizations \u2014 but they don\u2019t know how to support and encourage innovation, and fail to recognize their counterproductive behaviors are actually undermining their goals.<\/p>\n Be sure you and your organization\u2019s leaders are not falling into this trap.<\/p>\n Want to encourage continuous innovation and risk-taking? Then avoid<\/em> the most common innovation-destroying behaviors. We see leaders who want to encourage innovation make these 9 mistakes:<\/p>\n Leaders often urge their people to \u201cbe more creative,\u201d but then quickly quash new ideas \u2014 and then don\u2019t recognize the disconnect. They\u2019re usually stuck in business thinking mode, where new initiatives require proof and precedents.<\/p>\n If you aren\u2019t sure whether this is you, consider how you respond to a new idea<\/a>. Consciously shift into an \u201cinnovation thinking\u201d mindset when evaluating new ideas, recognizing that they won\u2019t come with ironclad proof.<\/p>\n Another common mistake leaders make is they don\u2019t commit the necessary resources or systems to properly evaluate innovative ideas. Assessing creative ideas is tough and requires time, energy, and money.<\/p>\n Encourage innovation with a bottom-up \u201cpull\u201d approach instead. When senior leaders clearly support and encourage innovation, it helps the whole organization see the successes that innovation can produce and makes more people want<\/em> to contribute.<\/p>\n Innovative companies know they need the color-outside-the-lines creatives, along with the by-the-book executors. Establish a healthy partnership between the \u201ccreative types\u201d and the realists who get the job done.<\/p>\n When considering how to encourage more innovation, some leaders decide to designate an \u201cinnovation department\u201d or task a small group of people with innovating. Resist this move, which fails to spread innovation across all parts of the organization, and instead puts the burden of managing innovation onto a single group.<\/p>\n When relegated to one department or arena, the subtext is that only one person, group, or department is responsible for innovating, removing the responsibility from everyone else in the organization. But when everybody is on the lookout for opportunities that can build or replace current paradigms, better ideas emerge. And everyone in the organization has a role to play in innovation<\/a>.<\/p>\n How are new ideas encouraged at work? Innovative ideas must be evaluated for business potential, but critiquing them first discourages creativity. By first praising innovative ideas, pro-innovation leaders send the message that new ideas are welcomed. This also creates an environment of psychological safety<\/a>, where innovative ideas can be freely discussed.<\/p>\n As ideas travel through layers of management to the C-suite, the original idea is often stripped of any risk. In the process, the real innovation opportunity can be lost.<\/p>\n If it were a sure thing with no unknowns, it wouldn\u2019t be innovative. Leaders who want to encourage innovation must learn to tolerate ambiguity and refuse to fall into the feasibility trap, which occurs when managers focus on what\u2019s feasible<\/em> instead of what might be possible<\/em>. By deeming an idea \u201cfeasible,\u201d that suggests it can be accomplished fairly easily or conveniently, yet if it\u2019s that easy to do, the idea isn\u2019t likely very creative.<\/p>\n An idea that only \u201cmight be possible\u201d means there\u2019s probably a lot of hard work required to make it happen, with an uncertain outcome. So beware of saying that you want innovation and then looking for the most feasible<\/em> idea as your measure of desirability.<\/p>\n Leaders who model humility are much more likely to see their employees come up with creative ideas to solve the organization\u2019s challenges than leaders who seem as though they already have all the answers. In many ways, showing humility is the most important way to encourage innovation of all.<\/p>\n Encouraging innovation and risk-taking requires more than simply avoiding these 9 innovation-sabotaging behaviors. But if your organization has tried to cultivate a culture of innovation<\/a> and failed, consider whether these unintentional behaviors may be part of the problem.<\/p>\n Are you or others at your organization guilty of subconsciously sabotaging or undermining what you actually desire? Make a conscious effort to encourage innovation instead.<\/p>\n Encourage innovation and a more innovative culture at your organization with a customized learning journey for your leaders using our research-backed modules. Available leadership topics<\/a> include Leading Through Change & Disruption, Emotional Intelligence, Innovation Leadership<\/a>, Listening to Understand, Psychological Safety, and more.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Leaders can often subconsciously behave in ways that kill new ideas. Encourage innovation and risk-taking at your organization by avoiding these 9 unintentional behaviors that actually undermine innovation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":130,"featured_media":49543,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49541","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","categories-innovation-creativity","categories-trust-psychological-safety","region-global","article-type-leading-effectively-articles"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTo Encourage Innovation, Avoid Subconsciously Sabotaging It<\/h2>\n
Avoid These 9 Mistakes<\/h3>\n
![\"Infographic:](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/sabotaging-innovation-infographic-center-for-creative-leadership.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n1. Discouraging creativity.<\/h4>\n
2. Rushing evaluation.<\/h4>\n
3. Pushing a top-down approach.<\/h4>\n
4. Forcing structure and hierarchy.<\/h4>\n
5. Confining innovation to R&D.<\/h4>\n
6. Criticizing first.<\/h4>\n
7. De-risking innovative ideas.<\/h4>\n
8. Rejecting ambiguity.<\/h4>\n
9. Acting like a know-it-all.<\/h4>\n
Ready to Take the Next Step?<\/h2>\n