Create a Culture of Innovation
At Idea Connection Systems®, we believe the human principles that promote innovation are timeless, but the current people, human dynamics, and politics of the company are not. We also believe culture cannot be copied from one company to another; it must be tailored to your goals, your people, and your systems. We will provide you with tools to measure your current culture and the new culture as it changes over time, but innovation requires action, not simply direction. Idea Connection Systems’® experience and knowledge will guide your organization through the culture design process in its entirety, from creation of the vision to training and implementing any changes in policy and processes.
What is Culture?
- The culture of an organization is the sum of all the widely shared and deeply held values and beliefs of its people concerning what matters and what works in the organization, as it pursues its vision and goals.
- Culture is foremost about the business and achieving results, however it is also about how people treat one another.
What does culture “do” for an organization?
- Culture tells employees “how we do things around here”.
- Culture tells employees what really “matters” and what really “works”, if they want to be successful.
Why does it matter?
- On a daily basis, culture drives employee decisions about what to work on and how to get things done.
- Culture is the presence of leadership when there is no leadership present.
What does it mean to have a culture of innovation?
With a culture of innovation, people work together, not just for themselves. There is collaboration and people share ideas. The culture has trust, understands risk, and has innovative leaders. Communication is not filtered and internal politics are not an overbearing hurdle. In a culture of innovation, the innovation systems fit the people and the organizational goals. This allows people to focus on innovating, not on trying to circumvent organizational bureaucracy and human roadblocks.What drives a culture and its development?
Leaders and Managers – Direct Power
- Determine the vision, strategies, goals, and priorities.
- Decide on policies, procedures, systems, and processes.
- Determine the structure of the organization, promote people, and hand out assignments.
- Measure performance and distribute rewards and punishments.
Employees – Indirect Power and Influence
- Have a knowledge base that others rely on.
- Have been around a long time.
- Have the ear of management.
- Are articulate and outspoken.
Non-Human Elements of an Organization
- Once leaders and managers determine the vision, structure, performance measures, reward systems, policies, procedures, systems, and processes, each of these elements take on a life of their own and wield power in the organization. They too tell employees what matters and what works in the organization.
What makes culture transform?
People make innovation happen. In large organizations, it all starts at the top. Aligning the top of the organization will allow the rest of the organization to be educated on a common set of principles, language, and behavior. To begin, the organization needs an agreed upon vision and goals. From there, leadership needs to establish a common set of principles, accountabilities, language, measurements, expectations and behaviors, as they relate to the human side of innovation. Once the organization is aligned in these areas, these items can be spread to the rest of the organization through training, communication and marketing.
How do you change a culture?
- Measure your current culture.
- Decide what you want your new culture to be in order to drive toward the vision, strategies, and goals of the organization.
- Redesign the structure, performance measures, reward systems, policies, procedures, systems, and processes so they are consistent with and supportive of the culture you want to create.
- Plan for implementation, measurement, and follow-up.
- Communicate the new culture to everyone including what is changing, what is not, why the change is needed, the process to be used to create the change, and everyone’s role in the process.