Leading Change: How to Create a Culture of Adaptability and Innovation

Adaptability and innovation are key traits that most organisations of today aspire to have. In an ideal world, every organisation would be filled with employees who can adapt to any environment or situation, and every organisation would be filled with individuals who have a natural flair for innovation - with continuous ideas and initiatives flowing daily. 

However, we’re all human - and even those who are naturally innovative and adaptable need an environment that will nurture that rather than hinder it. 

Culture is very specific to each organisation, and culture can be interpreted in many ways. We see culture as something that can evolve and change over time - meaning that if you want your teams to operate in a specific way, you can influence their behaviours through your culture, vision, and values. There is no silver bullet to creating a culture of adaptability or innovation, but there are certainly things that you can do to influence these behaviours and create a culture that will absorb these traits quicker. 

How can you define adaptability?

Adaptability, in its simplest form, is the ability to be able to adjust to changes in your environment. This could be adapting to a new project that has been given, or even a change in organisational structure. 

How can you define innovation?

Innovation is a process (but can also be having an innovative mindset) whereby new techniques or ideas are introduced to create more value. 

How can you nurture these things within your culture?

“Innovative cultures start with a philosophy and a tone—one analogous to the classic parenting advice that children need both “roots and wings.” As an innovation leader, you must ground creative people in accountability for the organization’s objectives, key focus areas, core capabilities, and commitments to stakeholders. Then you give them broad discretion to conduct their work in service of those parameters. Obsessing too much about budget and deadlines will kill ideas before they get off the ground.” - Mckinsey

Innovation parenting

Innovation parenting - as described in the above quote by Mckinsey highlights 5 key ways that you can encourage innovation within your culture:

#1 Eliminate hierarchy

There’s nothing wrong with hierarchy within an organisation, however, you want to open up organisational space for people so they feel like their ideas will be heard. If it’s common knowledge that decisions only come from “the top” - then mid-level and junior staff won’t feel empowered to bring their thoughts to the table. 

#2 Encourage the unreasonable

A lot of organisations say that they value unconventional thinking and people who “think outside of the box” (insert other common clichés you may have heard here!) etc. However, when put into practice, these ideas are often shut out or dismissed. Encourage people to bring ideas to the table that may be unconventional or even unreasonable - the worst answer can be “no”. You may be surprised with what people come forward with!

#3 Promote ownership

Accountability and innovation go hand in hand. When you empower employees to bring ideas to the table that will be heard, and give them ownership over their ideas to turn them into projects and execute them - that in itself is incredibly powerful. 

#4 Cultivate external relationships

“Relationships that extend beyond the boundaries of the organization are invaluable to acquiring and distributing knowledge.”

Whether it’s networking opportunities or simply encouraging employees to look at resources and people outside of your organisation (providing it doesn’t jeopardise anything that may be confidential) can allow for diversity of thought and also give people the freedom to develop themselves, too. 

#5 Hire the best talent

If you want to have the best ideas and individuals who are going to inspire others and drive your organisation forward - you have to invest a lot of time and resources into talent acquisition. If you feel as though teams or departments are stale, who else can you bring in (whether on a permanent or contract basis) to lead and drive activity?

Innovation and adaptability, in many ways, are distant cousins. You’ll find that by embracing the above 5 ways will naturally draw out adaptability from employees. Adaptability can also be encouraged by fostering better communication amongst teams, allowing for more flexibility, as well as being transparent about changes that need to happen within your organisation.

Resistance to adaptability and change comes from within the four walls of a company. In order to cultivate both, It’s important that this is communicated in a black-and-white way whereby employees are aware that these changes, in attitude and culture, are to be made for a greater purpose.