Top Tools to Foster Team Innovation

It can be hard to inspire creativity and innovation within your team, especially if you need an arsenal of tools. To lead your team to be more creative, here are some easy and accessible ways to foster more innovation.

Tool #1: Innovation Assessment and Benchmarking

One tool I use to drive more innovation in teams is an assessment that measures 4 components of innovative competence, called The Innovation Skills Assessment Tool. The assessment was developed by Creating Futures That Work, the world's leading provider of experiential learning that uses the arts to develop leadership skills that apply to an increasingly demanding and rapidly changing workplace.

This assessment tool uses several benchmarks to help reflect on how you implement these components in your work. The first benchmark is "Readiness To Learn." This includes tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity, curiosity and inquiry, and openness to new information. The next is "Cognitive Agility," which encompasses one's resilience, behavioral flexibility, and idea range. The third is "Collaborative Skills and Behavior." This looks at team leadership, openness to diverse perspectives, and behavioral empathy. Last is "Activating Innovation," which speaks to decision-making and creative problem-solving.

One exercise that helped me embrace more innovation was designing a piece of art (as directed) and then having to “cut” or “destroy” it to get another version. This continued for a few iterations, and in the end, I was happier with my final version than my first. Had I not been instructed to “keep exploring,” I would not have gained a better result. It taught me a valuable lesson in letting go to drive better results.

If you want to learn more about utilizing this assessment with your team or in your organization, click here. 

Tool #2: Miro

If you are looking for a tech tool that does not require coaching, we recommend you familiarize yourself with Miro. Miro is an online whiteboard platform that allows teams to collaborate in several ways. Whether you are working in the same office space or on opposite sides of the world, this platform has a complete set of collaborative abilities. You can use digital sticky notes, organize meetings or workshops, video chat, and collaborate on presentations. It seamlessly integrates into several other commonly used platforms. It helps you foster creativity and collaboration on concept maps, customer journeys, roadmap planning, and much more. 

Tool #3: BrightIdea

Another tool to foster innovation is called BrightIdea. BrightIdea, a software used by companies like Amazon, Nike, and LinkedIn, collects, incubates, experiments, evaluates and reports the best ideas for your organization. You can run activities like crowdsourcing and hackathons or use the platform to have your own innovation lab. This platform also functions on your mobile device, making it highly convenient for all employees to use whenever innovation may strike. 

Tool #4: Roam

When it comes to note-taking in a way that fosters innovation and doesn't break the bank, we recommend Roam. This platform has a cult following of people looking to organize their notes in a way that makes sense. This app is more of a relational database than a notes app. It will allow you and your employees to optimize your thinking by giving you what some refer to as a "second brain," organizing isolated information in a way that connects to prior thoughts. 

Tool #5: Readwise

Readwise is a platform that allows you to sync your highlights from Kindle, Instapaper, Pocket, or iBooks and quickly revisit them in a daily email. As a result, you will no longer have to sift through your reading to find where you highlighted something you wanted to share with your team to help them innovate. Instead, the most important pieces of your reading will be sent directly to you. This will ensure that you reread what you've highlighted and share it with your team. You can then tag your notes to organize them, write notes about them, and easily search for the information within your unique library. 

Fostering innovation in the workplace is paramount to your success, and if you are struggling to implement tools and processes that lead to creativity, reach out to us today.