3 Steps for Smashing Innovation Barriers
by Lisa Bodell for Forbes
In the most recent Benchmarking Innovation Impact report by KPMG, “internal politics” and “lack of vision or strategy” were cited as top barriers to innovation. Based on conversations with thousands of global leaders and employees over the past decade, I would add “no time provided to generate new ideas” and “lack of incentives to innovate.”
One of the techniques that my team and I designed to resolve challenges like these is called Overcoming Barriers to Innovation. It’s structured to open up dialogue about why people aren’t innovating so you can identify the sources of their resistance — and solve for them. Lead your teams through this exercise when there’s a significant decrease in innovation activity or if you’re establishing a culture change.
This technique can be facilitated remotely for individuals or in-person with teams of three to four people. In my experience, you’ll get the best results if you include senior leaders, the innovation team and people from every level of the organization.
Step 1. Identify and explore barriers to innovation. To move beyond excuses and identify solutions, start by asking teams what prevents them from making innovation part of their workday?