I keep getting amazed at what people can do if you set clear goals, define operating boundaries and give them abundant space to get to the goals. Our Company was quite literally "built by people". As a leader my responsibility is to keep presenting new challenges to them - get them to "stretch", and of course have a lot of faith in their ability to find out their own solution. Nothing beats the joy of finding your OWN SOLUTION.
Last month, when I visited our India office, I presented one such challenge to the teams. It was my attempt to "stretch my team members" to think "beyond". We packaged the challenge in the form of an innovation contest. 4 teams vied for the top position. I must confess, I was "blown away" by the quality of ideas (incidentally, all the ideas had to be "practicable).
I often hear about large firms where 20% of work time of an employee is invested in "creative thinking and doing something different". That's a great way of fostering innovation.. however, I think, it has high PR value - it has become an indication of how "cool" a company is- and journalists love such stuff.
In our company - we have a shared vision - we define the boundaries and then we create an environment that encourages team members to do anything.. yes, ANYTHING that's in line with the vision and within the boundaries. The best part is - since we are fairly small - one can clearly see the impact they have been able to create.
- Udayan
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