Bobbi Newman, a.k.a. Librarian by Day, has compiled some quotes that illustrate the best way for a group to innovate:  find people who are inspired to be creative and let them have the room to create their inspirations.

Want Innovation?  Get Out of the Way

The one thing I would add would be this:

Other people in the group, including the leaders, need to become involved once the innovation becomes part of the group’s operations.  Not only does this allow for others to know how the innovative whachamacalit works, but it gives the group as a whole a chance to add their ideas for improving it.  Nothing is ever as good as it could be, and as long as it innovation isn’t subjected to “death by committee”, a good group can make a good innovation even better.

Want to Innovate? Stop Working So Hard is a post on Librarian by Day by Bobbi Newman that reminds us that the ideas most likely to transform the way we work tend to come at moments of relaxation.

Not convinced?  Check out the linked articles and video (thought he New Yorker article requires you to be a subscriber) for more in-depth persuasion.

This isn’t a call to slack, but an emphasis on prioritizing your downtime, and to recognize when an idea has that extra something to make your library world that much better.  How much time can you save by making changes to your work flow?  What activities and results should be priorities?  Can you achieve more with less effort?

Probably!

NASA’s Inclusion and Innovations Council has released a follow-up to Barriers to Innovation and Inclusion (link goes to my post containing the embedded video) which shows ways to encourage innovation and inclusion:

Again, I think that the lessons from this group are applicable to any organization in need of innovation.  As you watch the video, think about how you respond to others, and what you can change to encourage ideas from people.

One of the examples is of what they call “servant leadership”, the idea that supervisors should put their efforts into making it easier for those within their areas to innovate.  I see what I have called a “flat” hierarchy, which is the idea that we all should do what we can to make an idea fly, regardless of what our job description says.

found via Wayne Hale’s blog – read his entry for a prime example of the cost of discouraging someone on the brink of innovation.

I am a bit of a space freak (several people will read this and say “A bit???”), so this touches on two of my interests.

NASA’s Inclusion and Innovations Council recently had a all-day report period on barriers to inclusion and innovation at the agency.  Changing the institutional behaviors that stifle people’s incentive to provide ideas and input has been a priority at the agency since the loss of Columbia.

One of the reports was not presented as a printed report or a displayed set of slides.  It was a video posted on YouTube, and charted the process in which a NASA employee attempts to contribute an innovative idea to a project.

Barriers to Innovation and Inclusion.

Next, read Wayne Hale’s blog entry about this video.  Recognize that this is a person who has worked in an organization where this type of behavior not only stifles innovation, it can cost lives.  Yet the behavior exists in many places, including many libraries.

Does this seem familiar?  Have you known someone who had an idea, perhaps outside of his or her job description, who was “handled” in this sort of way?  Have you been this person?  Have you been this person’s supervisor, or someone who was approached with an idea?  Did you discuss chains of command, or supervisors, or that it had been done some other way for years?

This is not an issue just for NASA; this is an issue for any organization that risks demoralizing employees and locking themselves into bureaucratic irrelevance.  This might be your library.  Watch the video, and then watch yourselves and others to ensure that you are not part of the problem, but part of the solution.

One part of the solution is to generate ideas, good ideas about anything and everything you observe.  Express them to anyone who can use them; express them in a constructive, positive way, and give people every reason to consider them for adoption.

Another part is to watch for ideas from others.  Encourage them to brainstorm and to express their suggestions.  Be supportive, offer constructive advice, and be that echoing voice during staff meetings or at the break room table saying “That sounds like it has potential!”

Yet another part is to watch yourself, ensuring that when someone makes a suggestion or presents an idea, that it is the suggestion or idea that is discussed, not the bureaucratic structure or the current procedures that dominates your response.

Think about how much better your library, as well as everyone else’s library, can be, if we only encourage innovation and inclusion.  Think about it.

found via Librarian in Black