Diversity and creativity are the driving force behind many new products, services and businesses. But despite the indispensability of diversity and innovation, the leadership of so many companies and firms do not encourage diversity, and as a result limit creativity in the workplace. Whether they realize it or not, there are numerous hidden ways that company leaders frequently embrace exclusion. This is not only bad for the creative minds that find themselves in the organization, but also the organization itslef. Some of these hidden ways are discussed below:
The 5 Hidden Ways Your Company Leadership May Be Embracing Exclusion
1. Playing Safe
Some company leaders limits their employees to only working within existing boundaries that have already been set. They may reject ideas because they are different from the way things were being done before in the organization, when true creativity is about taking risks and coming up with new ideas. Innovation is about ways to move the company forward, not just to do more of the same.
2. Limiting Employees’ Freedom
Some company leaders limit the freedom of their employees in a way which can very quickly kill creative spirit. True, workers in an organization need some structure and guidance for them to be truly creative. However, if an employee feels that new ways of doing things are not welcomed, progress will be severely stunted. In order for ideas to be fresh, company leaders must encourage original, risky thinking.
3. Rationing Time and Resources
Creativity can also be limited if employees are forced to work with insufficient resources and within a short, unrealistic period of time. This may sound like the dream of a budget-conscious business, but it is certainly very quick to burn out employees and to lose valuable members of staff. By not granting resources (be it time or money) for new ideas to be developed, progress will never be made.
4. Micro-Managing
Some company leaders try to control every bit of a particular project down to the last detail. This can significantly limit creativity from within your team. As a matter of fact, Micro-Management breeds frustration, time wasting, and eventually kills morale. Ultimately, your employees will feel that you only have confidence in your own ideas, so will not feel comfortable proposing innovative thoughts of their own. One way to avoid this is to step back, and ensure your employees that guidance is available if it is needed, but that you are confident that they are able to execute projects well on their own.
5. The Limit of the Group of Diversity
It is well known that people who are equal or alike get along very well, but that’s not always a good thing when it comes to fostering and encouraging creativity. The more diverse a group of people is, the more diverse the ideas that come from these people will be. Disagreements push and challenge group members to do something that is exceptional. A top-notch team must be made of people with different abilities, attitudes, skills and even backgrounds. This will foster creativity, and whenever there is a problem to be solved it is likely that a whole host of wonderful solutions will be brought to the table.
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