As organizations look to innovate and stay ahead of the competition, it’s becoming increasingly clear that building a nurturing team and environment is key to driving innovation. A nurturing team is one that feels supported, encouraged, and empowered to take risks and try new things. A nurturing environment is one that fosters creativity, celebrates failure as a learning opportunity, and encourages collaboration and open communication. Add these two areas together and you create the conditions necessary for innovation to thrive.
Innovation is not just creating something new, but also reinventing something you already have. By creating a top-notch team of people who genuinely like each other, feel trusted, and want to see the business succeed and grow, we grant them the freedom to create innovative approaches to our services. Everything is open for discussion, and I appreciate the openness and sharing of ideas. Ultimately, some of these ideas will enhance the client experience or streamline processes, making things better for everyone.
It occurred to me when I was creating my company that we as a whole do not nurture our teams and our clients enough. I believed that then and still do today. Needling Worldwide is primarily focused on assisting companies to accomplish certification, or compliance to a standard or framework. I meet and work with all types of companies. Companies with large budgets, large resource pools, and complete support from Sr. Leadership and the Board. Consequently, I also work with companies that have an IT department of three that also handles desktop support, operations, security, and compliance. The story is always similar: We are being asked to be certified or compliant by a big client, we have been breached and feel a certification would help us stay honest and focused on the recovery after a breach, or we are being told by our regulators that we “must” have this certification.
Whatever the reason is, the ability to assist never starts with total acceptance. No one wants to be told that what they have in place and have been using for years, sometimes without any issues, isn’t good enough. It’s a hard pill to swallow and certainly one I have had to stomach myself personally. With that nugget of clarity, we train and encourage our team of consultants to do things differently and drive innovative thinking, not only within Needling Worldwide, but for our clients too.
The “Needling Way” is what drives our approach for every client and has shown great success, allowing us to state openly that we have a 100% success rate of certification on the first try for our clients. The equation is something that has to be lived, not just learned and includes creativity, risk taking, failure, collaboration, and open communication.
Creativity flourishes when people feel supported, encouraged, and trusted. They are more likely to think outside the box and come up with new and innovative ideas. In a nurturing environment, creativity is not only welcomed but actively encouraged. Risk taking encourages Innovation. By reinforcing that when people feel supported, empowered, and trusted, they are more likely to take the necessary risks to bring new ideas to life. Failure is seen as a learning opportunity and is not seen as a negative outcome. Instead, it’s seen as a necessary part of the innovation process. When people feel safe to fail, they are more likely to take risks and try new things. When collaboration is prioritized, people are encouraged to work together to bring new ideas to life. When communication is open and honest, people feel safe to share their thoughts and ideas without fear of judgment or retribution. This creates a culture of open communication that is essential to driving innovation.
I believe in the quote by Henry Ford, “Coming together is the beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” Without these fundamental pieces, we fail.
