With all the changes and disruptions impacting healthcare, the need for innovation has never been greater. Organizations that don’t prioritize innovative thinking risk falling behind their competitors. That’s why rewiring your culture to encourage and reward innovation is so crucial.
It’s no secret the best innovations often come from the people on or near the front lines. You may have heard the adage that those closest to the problem are closest to the solution. The challenge is that frontline people tend not to think of innovation as their job. Leaders are so busy with their work that thinking forward is often not a priority. (And, of course, people get accustomed to doing things a certain way and don’t really feel motivated to change.)
Given this natural preference for the status quo, how can we get everyone to make the mind shift that every day is a chance to solve tough problems, make improvements, and think differently about their job? How can we get people in the habit of asking, “Is there a better way?”
There are so many benefits to making this shift. Not only do you get better ideas and more of them, but there is also greater buy-in. People are simply less resistant to change when the ideas come from them, not from you. And as I’ll explain later, allowing people to work this way is a major trust builder.
So how do you rewire your organization to encourage innovation and build trust? A few tips:
Narrate people’s role in innovation. Let them know they’re free to innovate. (They may never have considered that you want their ideas.) I often call this “taking the cap off their potential.” So many colleagues come to the workplace every day with great ideas, but they either don’t feel the freedom to share them or they don’t even realize the ideas are as powerful as they really are. This teaches them to share their best practices with others—they might already be innovating and not even realize it.
Ask them to innovate for specific problems and spell out the why. Be clear on what you’re asking them to do. When they have this clarity, and understand the reason behind what you’re asking, they’ll be far more likely to comply.
Be transparent. Freely share data and information around what needs to change so people are equipped to help. They can’t solve problems if they don’t know what they’re solving for.
Reward and recognize people who bring ideas forward. Amp up the reward and recognition when those ideas turn into outcomes.
Act on the good ideas you receive. It’s not unusual for employees to come up with ideas, share them, and never hear back. Not only does this discourage future ideas, it sends the message that you don’t value their input.
By the way, whether you end up implementing an idea or not, respond quickly to the person who shared it. Sometimes leaders give a “slow no” because they feel bad about rejecting an idea. It’s better to give a fast no if something is not in the cards. The slow no can destroy trust.
And speaking of trust, it’s a major byproduct of rewiring your culture this way. Leaders learn to trust employees to come up with innovative ideas. Employees, in turn, come to trust leaders to listen to their ideas and implement them if they make sense. Once established, trust multiplies in all directions.
This is important, because trust is the foundation of a great culture and an essential driver of strong relationships all up and down the organizational chart. In an environment of trust, people will engage, work productively, and (perhaps most noteworthy in these times of rampant turnover) stay.
Giving people the go-ahead to innovate is great for everyone: the employees who do the work, their leaders, the organization…and, of course, the patients who ultimately benefit when we find a better way to provide great care.
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Dan Collard is the cofounder (with Quint Studer) of Healthcare Plus Solutions Group® (HPSG). He is the coauthor (with Quint Studer) of Rewiring Excellence: Hardwired to Rewired. For more information, please visit www.healthcareplussg.com.