Content created by Ali Uren Founder of Kiikstart
To create and sustain businesses that respond to transformation and change creatively, we need a constant supply of new ideas from our workforce so what makes a great team meeting to be able to do this?
While most meetings get a bad rap, and often for good reason, when we change how we deliver this experience to the team the reward can be worth the time and energy.
Too often I see clients wanting to design an innovative business but with no processes and systems to create entrepreneurial thinking and thinkers amongst its workforces. No plan to create the organizational cultures that lead to creativity in periods of complex transformation and change over the long term.
You push for some evidence on the often at times outlandish claims made by leaders about how innovative the workplace is and often you are met with radio silence.
Just saying it doesn’t make it so. Evidence, robust outcomes and impact is what people care about.
Creating new ways requires the support and trust across the workforce of being able to openly discuss skill gaps, threats and risks. While it may seem counter intuitive, innovation and growth don’t come from focusing on strengths. It comes from a different perspective around how we perceive skill gaps, threats and risks and creating deliberate space in the workplace for real, respectful dialogue.
Businesses are needing and wanting to create change across teams and operations but don’t know what this needs to look like to deliver the desired outcomes and impact.
While people aren’t the only areas of the business that need to be considered when delivering change and innovation, they certainly are key to great outcomes.
Innovation and creating a different business are based on new ideas and these are still largely reliant on human imagination and insight to generate. For now, anyway.
WHAT MAKES A GREAT TEAM MEETING? GET PEOPLE THINKING DIFFERENTLY
This approach to getting the team together is not about justifying your existence but generating the ideas, insights and observations that will drive new opportunities.
Both financially and at a workforce level.
If we make a claim that we are an “innovative” business then we need to invest in our workforces having the space and time to stop, reflect and create a different way.
By asking these questions we are wanting to make sure we don’t fall victim to success bias as a business. Success bias is when we only talk about what is working and what is going to plan.
The truth is we cannot innovate and grow the business (or ourselves) if we are not taking time to reflect on gaps, threats and risks and the creative ways we can solve them.
As this is an unconventional approach to team meetings it does require some pre planning and gaining buy in from your team before adopting.
This will include communicating the following before the first meeting and allowing for open discussion:
- Clear motives for making changes to build trust in the team.
- What are we wanting to achieve in the next 12 months and how these discussions will help.
- The benefits of this approach for the team, business and client.
- How we will use the insights and ideas provided by the team back into the business to grow and add value to the business, staff and the client.
- Pre meeting thinking and how each person will be involved. What specifically is needed in terms of active contribution from the team?
7 QUESTIONS TO GET PEOPLE THINKING DIFFERENTLY
- What worked well individually and as a team in the past week? (Insert preferred meetingtime period)
- What have we done that’s had the best outcomes or most impact positive impact on the business, client, community, other team members etc?
- What have you been most excited about working on and why?
- Anything that hasn’t gone to plan and why? How would you avoid a similar outcome in the future – what would make the difference?
- The most valuable insights gained/ lessons learnt from challenges? Both individually and as a team.
- Any useful comments or insights from clients that helps the business or the team grow?
- Any real or potential gaps, threats or risks that we need to consider as a team and or wider business that will help us do different?
These meetings are regular design sessions so challenge your own beliefs about the value of bringing your team together in its current meeting format. Never lose an opportunity to build the strategic and creative capability of your team – and yourself.
Got a genuine commitment to helping your workforce prepare differently for future transformation and create valuable ideas at the same time? Please reach out at kiikstart.com/contact or linkedin.com/company/kiikstart
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