Create a Culture of Sustainable Creativity

Early in my professional career, I had the opportunity to work for the master of idea suppression. My supervisor consistently expressed his need to be the smartest person in the room, effectively erasing any attempts to bring new concepts forward. The rising leaders within our organization are now the millennials who look for encouragement and recognition that their insights can expand our unique value proposition. Ignoring or discounting your team member’s innovative ideas, creates a culture of fear, where few will risk presenting a breakthrough model or concept1. 
 
By recognizing those creative innovators within your team as thought-leaders, managers encourage critical thinking, to significantly advance the value of the entire organization1. Retaining high preforming innovators is critical to sustaining your company, as the departure of your brightest members reduces your competitive edge and directly impact your profit potential2. Conventional means of incentivizing employees may not attract and retain high performing millennials who seek meaning and purpose from their career1. Innovations in your management approach that recognize your team’s cutting-edge thinkers creates a culture of idea generation that becomes the catalyst for sustained creativity.    

Michael Shelly
Business Development Strategist & Director of Sales at HIHR International  

1. Carter, T. D., & Walker III, W. D. (2018). Retaining, cultivating, and investing: Strategies for leading millennial managers.Journal of Government Financial Management, 67(2), 20-25.  
2. Ekrot, B., Kock, A., & Gemünden, H. G. (2016). Retaining project management competence — antecedents and consequences.International Journal of Project Management, 34(2), 145-157.