Organizational Culture, Creativity, Innovation

It can be concluded with great certainty that certain organizational cultures inhibit creativity and innovation whilst others foster it. Some organizations are just better at identifying problems, generating and selecting valuable ideas and developing and commercialising them - this is why those firms tend to maintain competitive advantage and remain leaders in their field.

Another way to look at the problem is in terms of blocks. Certain organizations create or enhance blocks that prevent their human capital from working to its potential. Some of the many blocks include:

a) Conformity and risk aversion

b) Culture dictating behaviour

c) A sense of inappropriate behaviour

d) Negatively assessing own ideas

e) Logical thinking, scientific, cause and event thinking

f) Rejection of ideas without adequate valuation processes

g) Competition inhibiting behaviour

h) Fear of being perceived as being unoriginal

i) Fear of being perceived as being unintelligent

j) Problems have an illusion of difficulty

k) Waiting for inspiration

l) Lack of resources

m) Lack of tangible progression of good ideas

n) Lack of focus or goal

Simply from an analysis of the above, it is apparent that a number of areas require the attention of leaders, including:

a) Management of personalities and individual blocks

b) Management of organizational blocks

c) Management of ideas from problem identification to commercialisation

d) Distinctions and management of cultural and structural inhibitors

Resolution techniques include broad categorisation ? many blocks can be viewed as evaluation apprehension, and general solutions include:

a) Psychological safety (Vernon, 1980) ? accepting the individual as unconditioned worth ? recognising that the individual is capable of producing but that their value is not based on producing

b) Psychological freedom (Vernon, 1980) ? eliminating a climate in which external evaluation is absent; understanding empathetically ? understanding the individual from their point of feeling and view.

These and other topics are covered in depth in the MBA dissertation on Managing Creativity & Innovation, which can be purchased (along with a Creativity and Innovation DIY Audit, Good Idea Generator Software and Power Point Presentation) from http://www.managing-creativity.com

Kal Bishop, MBA

**********************************

You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made and the author's name and site URL are retained.

Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached on http://www.managing-creativity.com.

---

Why Your Business Needs an E-Mail Policy

Why is it imperative to have a company E-Mail Policy?... Read More

Allan Kempert Discovers That Truly All You Gotta Do Is Ask

A year or so ago, I met Allan Kempert. Allan... Read More

Protect Your Organizations Proprietary Information

The other day one of our overseas clients called in... Read More

How to Coach Your Emplyees and Increase Motivation

It is easy to spot the difference between a work... Read More

Counseling Interviews for the Marginal Employee

ACTIVE LISTENING: The most frequent cause of failure in therapeutic... Read More

Narcissism in the Boardroom

The perpetrators of the recent spate of financial frauds in... Read More

Innovation Management ? Innovation or Profit?

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More

The Seven Cs: Partnership Danger Signs - The 6th C: Changing Vision

A series of articles exploring the seven critical areas that... Read More

Provisioning/User Management System Upgrades: Part II ? Building Awareness And Building Approval

Somewhere in the world is a person who wants to... Read More

What to Do When Trust is Low

Trust is essential. You can't run a business without it.... Read More

Success in Business Means Managing Negative Emotions

You may have the MBA but if an internal critic... Read More

Making Assumptions - A Critical Communication Mistake In Business And In Your Personal Life!

We draw conclusions about people through observation, their behavior, past... Read More

Choices in Appointing International Managers

Globalization is requiring companies to make important choices about how... Read More

Employee Retention: Its a Changing Game

As a management consultant, I have seen some poorly conceived... Read More

Management Team Section of Business Plans

Writing an award winning business plan is a great skill,... Read More

Stopping The Brain Drain: How To Capture Key Business Knowledge Before It Walks Out The Door

The verdict is in: More and more baby boomers will... Read More

Prioritise Your Day - Keep Focus - Win!

Whether you run your own business or manage a team,... Read More

Give Yourself a Boss Day Gift, Part 2: Are You the Position or the Person?

Are you the position or the person?Bosses can lose their... Read More

The Fairness of Office Politics... Integrity and Political Motivation!

I hear many complaints daily about the "unfairness" of politics... Read More

Lower the Bar

"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." Ralph Waldo EmersonI'm... Read More

Keep Your Good Workers by Building Good Leaders

A recent report from the American Hospital Association's Commission on... Read More

Five Steps to Increase the People Power in Your Business

Take some bold steps and help your employees and business... Read More

Be a Leader - The Importance of Going Home Early!

How you run your business is, of course your business.... Read More

7 Strategies for Sustained Innovation

The need for constant reinvention is a given in today's... Read More

Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: The Responsibility for Job Security

This article relates to the Job Security competency, commonly evaluated... Read More

Performance Appraisal - Ten Stupid Things Managers Do To Screw It Up

Performance appraisals aren't fun. But a lot of the time... Read More

Making Change Work

Shaky FoundationsWhilst over 60% of businesses will be looking to... Read More

Motivation - It Starts with Acknowledgement

Acknowledgement is about recognition or attention from another person. It... Read More

Make It Easy to Reply - Voice Mail That Works

If you are like most business people, voice mail has... Read More

The Leadership Imperative: Making Your Leadership Your Life

Nearly all leaders I've encountered are underachievers. They're getting a... Read More

Leading Bad Actors To Be Good Performers

A successful leader told me, "The biggest challenge I've had... Read More

Five Key Strategies for Making Your Nonprofit Business More Effective

I love tennis both as a spectator and... Read More

Recruitment - Pick People Who Think

Old style management doesn't encourage personal mind control, employees aren't... Read More