Lately, I have discovered far too many employed people with great ideas and insights apparently looking for permission to take action. They hold back their idea, their energy, or their innovative thoughts because they don’t want to waste it on an employer or boss that won’t appreciate it, like it, or pursue a discussion about it. While this can be dismissed as an excuse for not engaging, the increasing trend of this type of conversation lends credence to my concerns that there is an unhealthy relationship environment in many businesses today.
The source of some of this poor relationship can be linked to two motivating components: empowerment and collaboration.
1. Empowerment: There is a significant difference between total-empowerment and pseudo-empowerment. True empowerment involves an continuous, open line of communication, complete autonomy, and a flatter, team oriented mindset. As today’s business struggle to get more out of less and leaders spend more time managing information that working with their teams, the opportunity for encouraging an empowered environment is constrained.
Organizations are giving up a lot of potential improvements in work process, innovation, and teamwork as it constrains its team members in these difficult times, instead of giving them the freedom and the space to put their influence on improving the business.
2. Collaboration: There is a great deal of positive commentary associated with the power of social media or the influences of the Millennial workforce today. One of the most influential aspects of these two phenomenons is the level of collaboration they provide to communication and innovation. Yet, the naturally collaborative, innovative workplace is the exception. Encouraging a cross-functional, multi-level collaboration in your business provides the same opportunities for improvements, innovation, and motivation that your social media activities provides to the marketing and sales efforts.
Disconnecting management and under-utilized workforces are dooming businesses to task based, cost control oriented factories. You can squeeze more output and hope to find the next silver bullet before the well runs dry. Or, you can begin to engage your team in an empowering, collaborative process that improves communication, interaction, and the potential discovery. Innovation exists in every business. The trick is allowing and inspiring your team to identify it.
