How to liberate innovation across your organization

How to liberate innovation across your organizationHow to liberate innovation across your organizationChange is exciting lack of participation iselend.Yesterday, I had a sense of dj vu.I was kicking off a cultural transformation project with a client. The CEO was overly optimistic sharing the fruchtwein recent employee survey results a vast majority of employees seemed happy about being part of the organization.However, when I started reviewing the results, I observed that 48% of people expressed they werent included in the decision-making process they saw a clear division between deciders anddoers.As a change facilitator, that was a big red light. That people say they like their job, means nothing if they dont feel included.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreLack of engagement, alignment, and participation are why fruchtweinorganizational transformations fail. People want to play a bigger role. Having a say is not enough they want to help entwurf and shape thefuture.To create an enduring impact, leaders cannot impose change they must liberateit.People want more power, notcontrolMoving change forward is a top priority for fruchtwein CEOs. They must drive large scale organizational transformations, disruptive innovation, and adapting to the future of work while leading inpermanent whitewater.Leaders understand that they need support people are their most important asset to drive changeforward.Four of the five biggest challenges for CEOs relate totalent optimization, according to a survey byThe Predictive Index. Finding the right talent, aligning teams with strategy, getting the most out of people and creating a great environment are key priorities to succeed in2019.So, why is it that so many organizations are filled with disengaged people, dysfunctional teams and frustrating practices?The answer is simple change is entwurfed at the top and then spread out acro ss the larger organizations. People feel excluded from the conversation. However, change cannot be imposed. No one wants to be told what to do or how to do ajob.SourceBooz AllenHamiltonA top-down approach erodes trust people feel they are being controlled. Their way of working is defined by practices that are imposed by senior managementMandatory meetings that are boring, useless, ordrainingAdoptingsomeone elsesbest practicesNot addressing the real tensions, because they are not strategicForcing people to change by coercion, fear, or emptypromisesImplementing new processes that wont solve pervasive and recurring problemsAdopting innovative and agile methods without changing mindsets or distribution of authorityControl lesstrustmore.The solution to a top-down approach is not bottom-up one, but to drive change from within it can happen anywhere, and be initiated by anyone, in the organization.Leaders, managers, and teams should work together to co-design thefuture.Involving people is more than just making them feel part of the conversation. Its realizing that those in the frontline have a bigger interest and understanding they are better prepared to solve everyday organizational problems.Also, when people are part of the design process, you dont have to sell them anything theyve already bought into the idea they co-created.Your team wants more power, but not for the reasons you might think.Researchsuggests that people who desire more power are looking to control one thing themselves.They dont want more power to influence others employees want the freedom to make their ownchoices.People want to control what they do, how they do it, when and withwhom.Changing an organization requires letting go of control give your team control on how they work, when, andwithwhom.The power of liberating structuresHierarchyis not the problem controlis.We usually use the word structure to refer to something rigid andsiloed.Without structure, theres chaos. Think of rituals for exampl e they have aclear process and dynamics. Structures define how we collaborate with others regardless if theyre explicit or unspoken, forced or embraced, efficient or frustrating.To turn people into agents of change requires more than a nice purpose or rallying cry the mindset and ways of working must change. Lets start by understanding how structures can hinder or unleash innovation.In the book,The Surprising Power of Liberating Structures, Henri Lipmanowicz and Keith McCandless, explain the difference between macro and microstructures.Macrostructuresare designed for the long term they cant be changed easily or cheaply. This category includes things such as building, corporate strategy, policies, org chart, and core operating processes.Microstructures, on the other hand, are less complex and can easily be changed from one auffhrung to another. These small structures help us define how we collaborate with other people. For example, meetings, conference rooms layout, agendas, peoples roles, and participationMacrostructures provide a foundation to manage a business on the long-run. Microstructures are more fluid and flexible they allow us to experiment and innovate everyday.However, for many organizations, their microstructures are fixed. Take meetings for example, how people interact, contribute, or who sits where happen by inertia they are not purposefully designed.Liberating structuresare adaptable microstructures that accelerate collaboration within groups they radically improve how people interact and work together.Let me share anexample.Do you want to improve feedback? Ask better questions. When Steve Jobs was the CEO at Pixar, he usedtwo simple questionsto engagepeople.What is NOT working atPixar?What IS working atPixar?The first question cuts to the chase it invites people to discuss what needs to be fixed. It comes from a place of honesty and vulnerability. The second one provides balances it helps people appreciate the positive, not just focus on whatsb roken.Liberating structures are simple and small but create a big impact they make it easier to include and unleash everyone in shaping thefuture.Focus on what you cancontrolMost of the things are out of our control. Like it or not, you cant control the environment, the economy or what your competitors do. Even worse, people are out of your control too they dont want to be changed by others, as I explained above.However, you can manage and design how people collaborate and innovate Liberating Structures provide an engaging playground rather than a rigidroadmap.1. The invitationDefining how people are invited to contribute to a change initiative can drive engagement from thegetgo.Invite and conquer let your team choose rather than being forced to support change.Explain the case for transformation and give people the autonomy to decide to join (or not). Autonomy doesnt equal to chaos it increases personal accountability.The Law of Two Feetis an essential component of the Open Space Te chnology (OPT)approach. Simply put, it encourages people to leave a meeting when they feel they are wasting their time everyone becomes more mindful about being more productive.2. Space arrangement and materialsThe design of a room is one of the most undervalued hacks in corporate meetings.Want people to collaborate? Get rid of tables and otherpower symbols. Want your team to brainstorm more energized? Ask them to stand up instead of stay seated. Want to encourage trust and address sensitive issues? Sit in acircle.Small changes in the environment can dramatically improve collaboration and engagement.3. Participation distribution roles andtimeOrganizations lack the expertise on how to engage people effectively and broadly. They spend way too much time building decks and agendas and then overlook how to inspire active participation and not turn everyone into passive spectators.Whats expected of people? Who will do what? How will people interact and share theirideas?Design your meeting for participation. Define clear roles so everyone can contribute. Set time limits for specific activities to keep the energyflowing.Conversational turn-taking is an effective way to listen to thevoice of quiet people. Software developer Atlassian practices it to ensure even participation among all team members. When participants speak one-at-a-time in alternating turns, you can avoid interruptions and groupthink. Also, senior executives get to talk last, so they dont influence or intimidate others.4. Groups configuration dynamicsDifferent tasks require different groupsizes.For intimate conversation or self-reflection, smaller groups work best. For brainstorms, groups of 46 are more effective than asking a team of 20 to create together. Rotating people from one group to another or turn-taking are simple practices that create a bigimpact.Troika Consultingis a great way to get feedback from other teammates as well as to create a safe space. The purpose is to answer two questions What is your challenge? and What kind of help do youneed?Divide people in small groups of 3 chairs (no table needed). Participants will take turns one is the client, and the other two are the consultants.The client shares her/his challenge (1 min) and then turns around with her/ his back facing the other two people. The consultants generate ideas, suggestions and provide advice (5 min). The client turns around and shares what found most valuable of everything the consultants said(1).Switch roles and repeat the sequence.5. The sequence steps andtimeOrganizations like to understand and design customer journeys to provide a more satisfying experience. However, when it comes to internal experiences, we expect it to happen organically. The same principles and practice should be applied to improve group collaboration in both casual and formal gatherings.Effective collaboration requires design andintentionality.The124-Allexercise can be used in a brainstorm or meeting. It increases participatio n by integrating all voices progressively. This tool creates a safe space for introverts too.The sequence1 After a challenge is shared with the entire group, each person reflects on it for 1minute2 Brainstorm in pairs for 2minutes4 Group people in foursomes. Ask them to continue brainstorming building on the ideas each duo generatedALL Integrate everyones ideas. Each group, one at a time, shares key ideas with the larger team. Everyone votes the best ideas get selected.Change cannot be imposed. Successful organizations design and build a human, adaptive, and innovative culture their teams are agents of change, not just passive adopters.Liberating structures are not a silver bullet, but simple ways to accelerate participation and collaboration. Change happens from within. Distributed authority is anything but chaotic.Autonomy brings out the best, not the worst, within yourpeople.This article originally appeared on Medium.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that wil l make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people