Sparking Innovation In Your Organization

Let's begin with the idea of spark. By spark, I mean the spark that inspires people to innovate and create. Spark, like trust, feeds an essential need. ~{We respond positively to those who inspire our creativity, and conversely, we respond negatively to those who do not inspire us}. Spark is crucial if you're going to succeed in a world where change is constantly accelerating. But spark without trust can be damaging to the organization, leading to useless or even destructive innovations. Leaders must know how to inspire trust while at the same time sparking new products, new processes, and new practices. Southwest Airlines, FedEx, and Google are three examples of highly successful companies that have built high-performing organizations based on trust and spark.

Spark occurs when you tap people's creative energies. It requires providing the freedom for people to explore new ideas without fear. Innovation happens when there's a big vision, clearly communicated, and the entire team is focused on achieving that vision. It exists when there are clear performance measures to recognize what matters, and when performances are evaluated fairly and consistently.

In light speed organizations, trust and spark feed off of one another. One catalyzes the other. By creating trust, you enable people to be open to change. By energizing spark, you unleash the innovation that makes an organization vibrate with new ideas and real purpose.

When you combine the benefits of trust and spark, amazing things can happen. You attract and retain the most talented employees. You innovate constantly. You offer your customers a suprising and delightful experience. You out-perform your peers. When trust and spark work together, it doesn't ensure calm quiet. When people feel free, they can begin to ask questions and air conflicting opinions. The culture shifts to one in which people focus on the performance of the entire organization. When you're operating at light speed, everyone "runs it like they own it."

Take this free work survey to see if your organization practices the 10 Quantum Leaps of high-performing organizations.