How important are dynamic teams to creating and sustaining a culture of innovation and vice versa?  The team and its ability to generate ideas and implement those ideas effectively is the foundation for innovation to occur in an organization.  The reverse is also true, were the environment or culture to encourage innovation is necessary for a team to do the job of innovation.  

For the purpose of this article, we are not just talking about the traditional team, rather “innovation teams” are those that take on unusual assignments, are non-hierarchical and diverse, that disrespect silos, and are motivated to participate.  Team members are attached to the mission and objectives of the organization and understand the parameters for innovation to occur.  These teams are supported by systems or have the authority to change them, and are listened to and supported by the leaders of the organization.

Take for instance the IG Team in Rock Hill, SC, its mission and purpose is, “to find innovative solutions by exploring perspectives and expanding boundaries through engagement, communication and collaboration.”  Team members have done this by being very deliberate in their actions as a team.  Team cohesiveness has come as a result of a few guiding principles:

• Try as much as possible to have diversity in employees on the team.  The IG Team is a new experience in innovative thinking as well as an opportunity for team members to work with people they would not normally have the opportunity to.
  Take the time to get to know one another as people and not city workers.  Use creative introductory exercises and group activities to build team cohesion.
  Having the team itself set rules that govern their actions and protect the rules and deal with situations immediately that do not respect them.  These rules can be changed but having a foundation gives a sense of expectations from the start.
• Have a team organizer who talks with employees and their supervisors about the team, group dynamics and expectations.  No team member should be penalized for not attending and in fairness to the group, should be allowed to leave the team if they don’t feel the commitment.
• Build the meeting schedule not around a set calendar date (ie. Third Tues of each month) but around the availability of team members.  

These guiding principles have allowed the IG Team to take on projects, look at the issues from a global perspective and take action at a holistic level.

In Greenwood Village, CO every staff member is an active participant in the Greenwood Village innovation team.  According to Jim Sanderson, City Manager, “Greenwood’s broader organizational culture provides the basis for innovation and creativity.  Everybody is responsible for innovation, change, and creativity.”

Over the past fourteen years, Greenwood’s culture has been thoughtfully defined as the government’s purpose, management philosophy, mission, guiding principles, and organization values. Their organizational culture is a living, breathing, set of concepts and ideals that are recognized and practiced by all making the team a crucial foundation in the success of the community.

To Greenwood Village, a Culture Based Organization means each team member (employee):

• Knows the purpose of the City government
• Understands the management philosophy
• Embraces the mission of city government
• Considers the guiding principles in everyday
• decision making, and
• Lives the organizational values.

Team cohesiveness comes from developing a shared sense of purpose, a clear understanding of the mission, an agreed upon set of methods, fostering open communication, making good investments, and celebrating successes.  In Greenwood it begins with hiring the right people that are like minded with regard to results being sought.  

Greenwood’s commitment to ensure their systems support the culture and organization objectives produced a “Rightness” organization alignment model that produced changes within the government.  It is the organization culture that integrates with the system alignment commitment that is the engine for creativity and innovation.  According to Sanderson, “Creativity and innovation however are not the end result, it is how creativity and innovation spurs better outcomes that is our focus.

Sanderson went on to say, “We believe that the combination of a culture based management and a commitment to system alignment to support the culture and operating objectives has produced a genuine culture of innovation that helps to improve the outcomes of the city government everyday.”

In Downers Grove, IL the need for innovation began as a crisis in 2009 when the financial crisis hit.  Village leaders recognized a need to change their business model.  Employee outreach was the cornerstone to generating ideas and suggestions on three key themes, innovation, fiscal responsibility and customer service.  

In 2009, Downers Grove formed an Innovation Team who was chartered to implement innovative practices, begin tracking “wins,” and initiating employee engagement approaches.  In 2011 and emphasis was placed on three basic messages:

• The best ideas come from anyone and everyone
• Communication makes Downers Grove better
• Be tough on issues, and easy on people

The cornerstone of these efforts was on building relationships and trust.  According to City Manager Dave Fieldman, “In the past three years, we’ve found success by avoiding some of the more formalized structures and systems that have worked for other organizations and emphasized the importance of effective working relationships among people across the organization.”  

Fieldman said, “This became more about building strong professional relationships at the individual level across the organization and using that as a way to inspire stronger team performance.  Our focus on innovation and the development of a more innovative culture has been as a means to an end.”

In carrying out these messages, the “Innovation Challenge” was launched by the Downers Grove Innovation Team in 2011 as a way to broaden engagement in continued innovation efforts.  It was felt that the government needed to build momentum without the benefit of a financial crisis mindset that motivated efforts in 2009 and 2010.   As a result, 65 ideas were submitted by employees, many of which are actively being reviewed or implemented.  

Innovation only happens through people.  It begins in the minds of your team members.  It is necessary in creating an innovative environment for team members to have an attachment to the organizational mission while being accepted for their unique perspectives and strengths.  Communication is crucial to the human dynamic and as part of that, there is a need to use common understandable language that is universally understood.  It is important to recognize team success and encouraging risk-taking with positive feedback.  Remember to emphasize the personal connections!

This article is excerpted from the Alliance for Innovation Webinar, Elements of an Innovative Culture that aired on October 6, 2011 and featured case study presentations from Downers Grove, IL, Greenwood Village, CO, Olathe, KS and Rock Hill, SC.