52 WEEKS: WEEK 49 - Innovation

Focus Question: What’s important about innovation for you right now?

Description
The world is a different place than it was at the start of the year, the decade, and even 90 days ago. This has implications for our planning and how we work.

Innovation has always been an important topic for teams, business owners and leaders in the virtual space, and today it's even more important.

What can we be doing to foster innovation for ourselves and others? In this month's post I thought it would be interesting to focus in on several different tools we can use to foster new ways of thinking.

There are several great resources for coaches to explore when looking to boost their toolkit around coaching for innovation including Coaching for Innovation: Tools and Techniques for Encouraging New Ideas in the Workplace – Cristina Bianchi and Maureen Steele. Check out their related website.

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Activity
Innovation - Exercise #12 of The 40 Ways to Work with Visual Cards available at the Potentials Realized site.

Time needed: 10 - 30 minutes

Instructions:
Get group members to think about what they need to innovate around.
With this in mind, have them select a card which represents a new perspective on the situation. Alternatively, you could also randomly hand people a card.  If you are doing this virtually, provide the group with a series of photos they can choose from or show one.

Ask each participant to take a deep look at the photo (individually) and reflect on: In the context of innovation, what does this image invoke for you? What’s significant? If you were to apply this image to what you are innovating around, what would be possible?
After each person has done this, get each person to lay out their cards (or virtually share which one they selected). Depending on group size, either have people pair up, or have everyone look at each card. Give a few minutes to reflect on what innovation “Spark” is created by each card. Have people write this down.

In pairs, or in the small group give each person the opportunity to speak about what they are realizing about what’s next for them, or what’s new for them, around innovation based on the photos. If you are working with a team, you may simply have each team member select a photo of what innovation represents or means to them and have them share it.

Collectively ask the team to make up their own story or synthesis of all the cards.
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Questions around coaching for innovation:

1. What’s another way of looking at that?
2. What’s important about making a change?
3. What does innovation mean for us?
4. Who do we need to collaborate with for innovation?
5. What mindsets do we need to shift in order to innovate more effectively?
6. What will help us be successful?

Wish you the best,
​Jennifer

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Jennifer Britton
Co-host of the Remote Pathways Podcast
Potentials Realized – Coaching, Training and Consulting Services for remote teams, leaders and professionals 
 
Check out the most recent Remote Pathways Podcast Episode, where we explore the people, places and processes of exceptional remote work. You can listen to the latest episode here, or on your favorite podcast player.