HOW AN INNOVATIVE CULTURE CAN HELP YOU WIN
Written by Jessica Murray
Culture is an important consideration when building a business. Shared values, norms and beliefs shape your company’s “personality,” influencing everything from decision-making, hiring, communication, customer engagement, and more.
Creating a culture that supports your vision, strategy and goals is important for driving the business where it needs to go. For emerging businesses especially, one key area of culture that is important to cultivate: innovation.
I’ll outline what it means to have a culture of innovation and share five reasons it’s a core ingredient to small business and startup growth.
What is a culture of innovation?
A culture that encourages innovation provides the environment for creativity, experimentation, new ideas and measured risk-taking. New ideas are seen as crucial to progress, and mistakes are treated as learning opportunities, not detrimental setbacks.
A business that supports innovation strives to improve, think differently and find unexpected solutions to challenges. Without innovation, you risk celebrating the status quo and could quickly experience stagnation.
Key markers of an innovative culture
If you’re unsure whether your culture embraces innovation, here are common characteristics that can help you answer that question:
Curiosity: Does your team ask questions, challenge assumptions and dig deeper to understand problems?
Collaboration: Do people openly communicate and work seamlessly across teams? Are diverse perspectives welcomed?
An empowered team: Does your team have the autonomy to act on new ideas and make decisions? Does leadership support these actions?
Continuous learning: Do you provide opportunities for professional development and training, does your team take action to improve and are resources made available to support these efforts?
Willingness to fail: Do you embody a willingness to fail in exchange for bolder experimentation?
Agility: Is your team prepared to adapt to change quickly?
Wins are celebrated: Do you recognize both major and minor milestones? Are innovative efforts acknowledged, even if the outcomes aren’t perfect?
Five reasons to support an innovative culture
Your business, industry and the broader markets constantly evolve. Given these dynamics, consistent innovation is non-negotiable.
Since Empower champions operational excellence, here are five ways a culture of innovation can enhance success.
Increased resourcefulness: Resouces for emerging businesses are often limited. A culture that fosters creativity can surface new ways to allocate resources and achieve more with less.
Faster process improvements: When new ideas are encouraged, team members will more regularly assess workflows, processes and bottlenecks, presenting solutions that refine operations and reduce costs.
Adaptability and resilience: Innovation makes you better equipped to respond to disruption. You’ll be able to pivot with less operational disruption and emerge stronger from challenging periods.
Enhanced employee engagement and ownership: Team members who feel heard and empowered to contribute ideas often demonstrate greater accountability and alignment, which fosters a commitment to excellence.
Deliver a better customer experience: Innovative thinking can help streamline the customer journey, reduce friction and delight customers, making you both more efficient and competitive.
So, how much does your culture embrace innovation?
As we approach a new year, I encourage you to reflect on this, review your 2025 objectives and identify how you’re fostering the right environment to accomplish your goals and tackle challenges that may surface.