How to Make an Impact on your Organization's Innovation Environment

Creating an environment that fosters innovation can be overwhelming, as there are many intervention points available. To encourage innovation, an organization's culture, management, and people must work together. Culture can either hinder or enhance innovation and must be regarded as one of the building blocks of innovation. To promote creativity and change, key people and management must commit to developing a flexible environment that caters to changing market conditions and customer needs. Implementing changes in the organization's workplace environment can be achieved by focusing on individuals' creativity and the organization's climate conditions. When it comes to assessing an organization's creative climate, there are over 40 different assessments that can be used. KEYS, developed by Terisa Amabile, and the Creative Climate questionnaire, developed by Gören Ekvall, are the two most tested and valuable climate assessments for creativity and innovation. In Amabile's model, the assessment is broken down into three elements: resources, management practices, and organizational motivation. Ekvall's model was divided into two halves, each comprising five factors: atmosphere for work and attitude to work. Each of these assessments can be valuable in identifying an organization's climate and making changes to improve innovation environment. Improving the innovation environment takes time and effort. By focusing on understanding the climate and the potential for change, leadership can improve the culture and conditions for innovation. Perceptions need to be broken down, and clarity on a pathway forward must be navigated and negotiated. By consistently and determinedly supporting changes to the climate and conditions, organizations can create an environment where innovation becomes the everyday "way of working."