When we help teams deliver innovation, we repeatedly tap into a series of concerted intentions: 1. Unlock. 2. Unblock. 3. Unleash. Anyone who has tried to bring something new and valuable into the world knows that collective creativity is not a tidy, linear process. You can expect all three core intentions to repeatedly arise and overlap throughout the progression sessions. Let’s focus on the initial intention, “Unlock” and help you learn more about unlocking your team’s potential and creating a powerful shared vision.

Recognize That Your Environment Is Most Likely Working Against You
(It’s Okay)

To flourish over the long term, organizations must constantly create value and develop ideas that matter. Coming up with a portfolio of bold ideas that gets everyone excited is easier said than done. Innovation is hard. And in most organizations, the bulk of day-to-day energy goes to operational efficiencies. Why rock the boat when you can just run things smoothly? In fact, a 2017 Gallup poll found that only 3 in 10 employees strongly agree with the statement that their opinions count at work. 

But you have a mandate to innovate. You’re ready for new ideas. So how hard can it be to tap into your people and put their talent to use? After all, your teams are smart, highly skilled, and motivated professionals. But that’s not enough.

Innovation Is Not a Safe Space, but It Does Require a Trusting Space

Creative collaboration requires something beyond problem-solving and critical thinking skills. It starts with helping your people trust the process enough to stretch themselves. When you’re in the unlocking phase, you’re asking professionals to share new ideas. More importantly, you’re asking them to feel comfortable getting vulnerable.  They have to trust in the purpose, the process, and the people. 

Before you can create a vision, we help you use critical concepts of an Unlock mindset, applying everything from awareness and context to empathy and sharing. We help you create a space where people can stretch themselves intellectually and trust the space enough to reveal key insights and opinions. We welcome debate, especially the “creative conflict” that emerges as people wake up to innovation. Remember, going below the surface is a core part of “unlock” otherwise you’re just putting your team through another “feel good workshop” where there’s more noise than substance.

The good news is that this effort pays off big time, affecting both the bottom line and the top heights you’ll reach. Remember that 3 in 10 statistic about unengaged employees? 

Gallup¹ calculated that if you moved that ratio to 6 in 10, you’d tap into far more human potential, resulting in:

• 27% reduction in turnover
• 40% reduction in safety incidents and
• 12% increase in productivity.

Note that all these benefits, especially the last two, are crucial to momentum building, continuous improvement, and incremental innovation. It’s a marker of innovative companies: emboldened and empowered to continually stretch for further transformation.

Get Ready to Explore the Unknown

So what’s the first step to breaking out of the status quo mold? To create a shared vision you need to do something that doesn’t come naturally to most people, much less most organizations: you need to feel ready to create in uncharted and uncertain waters. Healthy creative conflict is something to embrace:  it brings a spirit of curiosity and mutual respect and a commitment to finding the best solution or direction to take. 

When conflict is creative, your team will be engaged in a lot of questions and a lot of listening. You’ll see them trying to understand other points of view, without necessarily having to agree with those views. Deep listening during the Unlock session lets you uncover and incorporate core truths into a larger reframing of the needs being addressed.

Unlock Climate Conducive to Taking Intellectual Risks

That’s why we spend significant energy in Unlock helping you create a climate that’s conducive to intellectual and emotional risk-taking. In order to call up effective collaborations, your teams need to feel psychologically free to contribute new ideas without worrying about egos. You’d be amazed at what emerges when you don’t have to spend so much energy playing it safe.

Before You Get Into the Technology, You Need to Harness the Humans 

Here are some exercises you may encounter during a Vectorform Progression Session™ that teams can use to create a meaningful vision.

Sources

1. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/236198/create-culture-psychological-safety.aspx