Keys to Sustaining a Culture of Innovation and Creativity Over the Long Term

You've refined your vision, communicated it throughout your organization and created a culture of innovation to help you creatively pursue your idea of a perfect world. That was a lot of work, however the real challenge lies ahead.

Maintaining innovation requires commitment and practice. If this were golf, all of the work you have done up to this point might amount to choosing your clubs and learning the fundamentals of the game.

Now, you have to learn how to use what's in your bag. You must adapt to take advantage of every opportunity your career presents. Sometimes, you'll have a clear choice. Other times, you might have to get innovative yourself.

Culture is for the Team, Not the Individual

When you were creating a culture of innovation, you were trying to establish principles to guide your team. You trusted that, after adopting these basics, individuals would adapt their practice to align with your group culture.

Culture brings the group together. It does not tell individuals what to do.

There is a place for individualism and innovation in a cohesive organizational culture. However, you should be aware people can act on their own — even in a creative setting — in a way that damages the long-term sustainability of your innovative environment.

The Group Succeeds Where Individuals Fail

Your culture is valuable in part because it lives through some of the toughest organizational changes. If you're ever ready to move on, a thriving culture can even be handed off to the leader that succeeds you. 

Culture survives. It's more important than any one individual.

Here's an example. One of my coaching clients had recently succeeded in building a strong, unified culture within his group. Everyone was on board — everyone except for the highest producer on the sales team.

Seeing the star salesperson get results while ignoring cultural guidelines took a toll on the group. Multiple types of intervention failed — the problem employee never followed through on commitments to change. 

My client had a choice to make. He could let the salesperson continue to flaunt the group's values, or he could attempt to move forward without the self-appointed star of the show. After he fired the high producer, sales figures quickly recovered — and then exceeded all projections.

Culture Is a Leadership Priority

The lesson from that situation is it's easy to get locked into a pattern. As a leader, you might be tempted to go with what has been working. That is not always the best way.

Your job is to look beyond what works. Lead innovation by example: Embody your culture by always looking for newer, better ways to guide your organization towards success.

Do you have what it takes to use your leadership skills to reinforce your culture and guide everyone towards your vision?