Fostering Creativity In Team Meetings
When it comes to leading your employees, you may see their potential for becoming more creative but don't know how to inspire them in the workplace. Fostering community in your office will require you to encourage your employees to think outside of the box while getting together in meetings that are scheduled. If you're ready to motivate everyone to become more creative, there are a few necessary steps to take in each meeting that is scheduled.
Encourage Support
Supporting your team members is essential to helping them have the confidence that they need to explore new ideas and gain vision. Not only do you need to be supportive, but you should also actively encourage support to know that you believe in them and their skills. You may need to improve your communication to ensure that they know what you expect of them and how much potential you think they have. If they feel supported by upper management, they'll be more willing to take risks each day. Communicate that they're allowed to make mistakes as they learn and grow to ensure that they don't feel limited.
Support Differences
Although differences can be viewed negatively in the workplace, make it clear that you support different work practices. Welcoming your employees to have different methods of getting the job done can allow them to have more freedom and won't cause them to become micromanaged or feel suffocated. Making room for differences will also allow your team to explore different opportunities and become more independent, which can help your company to succeed by encouraging your staff to become more creative.
Make Team Meetings Regular
Consistency is key when it comes to fostering creativity in your team. Getting your employees together on a consistent basis will allow them to learn how to work together more and become a team instead of only relying on themselves. Scheduling meetings on a regular basis will remind your team to continue being creative and can allow them to have the time to ask questions. You'll also be able to brainstorm together and think of new ideas as you foster the creativity and encourage them how to take chances. Routine meetings can also be the time when you bring speakers in who can motivate or inspire them to expand how they think and dream.
Rotate the Conversation
When one person dominates the conversation in a meeting, it can limit how much input everyone has, which can stifle growth. Make it a point to rotate the conversation to ensure that everyone has equal time to talk, which can allow everyone to become more engaged and work together. Consider giving each person a specific portion of time to speak during the meeting when they're sharing their ideas. Allowing everyone to have a voice when you meet can boost the confidence of each individual and will show that you value their input. If you need to prevent one person from dominating the conversation, consider asking a specific employee to facilitate the meeting to ensure that the time is equally shared amongst everyone.
Collaborate an Idea Bank
An idea bank is an excellent resource to use when you want to get everyone's opinions and encourage them to become creative with their approach to certain solutions or ideas. Idea banks allow all of the different ideas to be put in one place, which can be discussed afterward. Idea banks can allow everyone to have less fear when it comes to sharing their opinion or thoughts in a format that is unbiased and will allow everyone to contribute when increasing the services or goods that are offered by the company.
Fostering creativity in meetings that are scheduled will require a bit of structure and consistency. By knowing how to make your employees feel comfortable and empowered, you can help them to grow as professionals and also increase the success of your team and business over time.
Author Bio:
Annie Grace Wilson is a Public Relations Specialist for Training Network. She regularly produces content for a variety of blogs that cover topics on fostering teamwork and diversity in the workplace.
