Week 7 - Importance of an Enabling Environment for Innovation

Importance of an Enabling Environment for Innovation

Strengthening Skills under UN 2.0 with a Focus on Results Based Management and Innovation

Noon-Rest from Work

The Thinker

The Promenade

The Scream

Which piece of art resonates with your current state of mind?

Zoom Poll

Learning Objectives

Define the best ways to encourage creativity.

Discuss the importance of Psychological Safety to drive innovation, idea sourcing, and high performing teams

Outline how failures can be openly discussed and used to drive learning that accelerates innovation efforts

By the end of this Week, you should be able to:

Identify key skills critical to foster an innovation culture within your own sphere of influence;

Reflection Two: Two Minutes

Reflect on a time you did not feel supported in a team. ​

• What specific actions contributed to this?​

Reflection One: Two Minutes

Reflect on a time you felt supported in a team. ​

• What specific actions contributed to this?​

Individual Activity 4 minutes

Reporter: Person who compiles notes from the discussion and includes it in the padlet

Facilitator: Person who ensures each person gets a chance to share.

As much as you feel comfortable, please discuss and share in the Padlet

A time you felt supported in a team. ​

• What specific actions contributed to this?​

• What specific actions contributed to this?​

Breakout Room Activity 8 minutes - 3-4 participants

As much as you are comfortable, please share:

• Atime you felt supported in a team. ​
• What specific actions contributed to this?​

• A time you did not feel supported in a team. ​
• What specific actions contributed to this?​

Breakout Room Activity 18 minutes - 3-4 participants

Let's share!

Discussion Topic:

define the specific actions that contribute to or detract from Your sense of safety

Guiding Principles, by you

Two-fold Objectives

Debrief

ANTÓNIO GUTERRES, UN SECRETARY-GENERAL

• Edmondson and Lei (2014). "Psychological Safety: The History, Renaissance, and Future of an Interpersonal Construct," Annual Review Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior. ​
• Edmondson (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly June 1999. ​
• Edmondson, A. C. (2021, June 22). 4 steps to boost psychological safety at your workplace. Harvard Business​
• TEDx Talks. (2014, May 5). Building a psychologically safe workplace | Amy Edmondson | TEDxHGSE [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhoLuui9gX8​

3. interpersonal risk taking

2. the team is safe​

1. A shared belief

What Psychological Safety Is:​

Definition

• Timothy R. Clark: What Psychological Safety Is Not​

3. Being disrespectful in the name of honesty​

2. Not holding others accountable​

1. Indulging team members​​

What Psychological Safety Is Not​:

Definition

Reporter: Person who compiles notes from the discussion and shares it in the chat

Facilitator: Person who ensures each person gets a chance to share.

Explain the concept of Psychological Safety to a nine-year old.​

Breakout Room Activity 8 minutes - 3-4 participants

Please discuss:

Related insights from the LNA

• Edmondson and Lei (2014). "Psychological Safety: The History, Renaissance, and Future of an Interpersonal Construct," Annual Review Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior. ​
• Edmondson (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly June 1999. ​
• Edmondson, A. C. (2021, June 22). 4 steps to boost psychological safety at your workplace. Harvard Business​
• TEDx Talks. (2014, May 5). Building a psychologically safe workplace | Amy Edmondson | TEDxHGSE [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhoLuui9gX8​

DR. AMY EDMONSON, HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL​​

Everytime we withold, we rob ourselves and our colleagues, small moments of learning, and we don’t innovate

Why does this matter?​

Research Reference:

Related insights from the LNA

• re:Work. (n.d.). https://rework.withgoogle.com/print/guides/5721312655835136/​

• Result: Psychological Safety as the number one criteria

• Number of Teams: 180
• Statistical Models: Over 35​

• Goal: “What makes a team effective at Google?”​

Project Aristotle​

Research Reference:

5-Minutes Break

• R Clark, T. (2020). The 4 stages of Psychological safety. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Note: The progression isn’t strictly linear, and teams may navigate through these stages in various orders or times, but a significant discrepancy in the stages of individual team members can create discord.

Inclusion Safety: I belong

• Scope: Feeling accepted and a sense of belonging to the team.
• Action: Join UNIN to be a part of an Innovation community

Respect

Permission

4 Stages of Psychological Safety: Timothy Clarke

• R Clark, T. (2020). The 4 stages of Psychological safety. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

4 Stages of Psychological Safety: Timothy Clarke

Respect

Permission

Click on the arrow to see past discussions

Learner Safety: I can grow

• Scope: Feeling safe to learn through asking questions, experimenting, making (and admitting) small mistakes, and asking for help
• Action: Use the Embrace Failures Tool to personally reflect on your own successes and areas of improment ​

Inclusion Safety

• R Clark, T. (2020). The 4 stages of Psychological safety. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Click on the arrow to see past discussions

4 Stages of Psychological Safety: Timothy Clarke

Respect

Permission

Contributor Safety: I can share ideas

• Scope: : Feeling safe to contribute ideas, without fear of embarrassment or ridicule
• Action: Publicly acknowledge the input of peers during discussions or via emails. Thanks to [Name] for that insightful point,” can reinforce a culture of value and recognition.

Learner Safety

Inclusion Safety

• R Clark, T. (2020). The 4 stages of Psychological safety. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Contributor Safety

4 Stages of Psychological Safety: Timothy Clarke

Respect

Permission

Challenger Safety: I can innovate

• Scope: : Feeling safe to question assumptions
• Action: Use “What If” Statements: Frame challenges to existing practices or ideas as a question. For example, “What if we considered another approach to logistics for efficiency?”

Learner Safety

Inclusion Safety

Lightning Poll

At which stage do you feel you are at in terms of the psychological safety?

None

Challenger Safety

Contributor Safety

Learner Safety

Inclusion Safety

As much as you feel comfortable, please discuss and share in the Padlet

Reporter: Person who compiles notes from the discussion and includes it in the padlet

Facilitator: Person who ensures each person gets a chance to share.

Reflecting on the Four Stages of Psychological Safety​ (Inclusion, Learner, Contributor, Challenger Safety):​

• Share one action that could be implemented in your daily work to get to the next level?​

Breakout Room Activity 38 minutes - 3-4 participants

As much as you feel comfortable, please discuss and share in the Padlet:

• Reflecting on the Four Stages of Psychological Safety​ (Inclusion, Learner, Contributor, Challenger Safety):

• Share one action that could be implemented in your daily work to get to the next level?​

Let's share!

Task:

Breakout Room Activity 38 minutes - 3-4 participants

3. Respond

2. Engagement

1. Framing

Three Keys to Promoting Psychological Safety​

How to get started

• re:Work. (n.d.). https://rework.withgoogle.com/print/guides/5721312655835136/​

Uli is a long-time staff that was recently promoted to Team Leader at OCHA. For the past two years he’s worked on a large humanitarian project. ​​ ​​ He upholds very high standards, but in the past few months Uli has become increasingly intolerant of mistakes and ideas that challenge his way of thinking.​​ ​​ Recently, Uli publicly rejected an idea offered by an experienced team member. Everyone else thought the idea was strong, well-researched, and worth exploring. No one spoke up. Since then, new ideas have since dried up.​​ ​​ Uli’s submitted a few ideas of his own to management, but they was ultimately rejected because they lacked creativity and innovation.​​ ​ You are a respected expert that only joined the project a few months ago. The team wants you to approach Uli and rebuild trust. They ask you because as you are new and do not have any work history with him. What are 1-2 concrete suggestion that you could make to Uli?​

Open Discussion | Padlet

Case Study

Any questions?

3. Receive your certificate!

2. Then, Complete your Overall Programmatic Evaluation

1. Complete every component within the Checklist

Your next steps

www.unssc.org

Let's Innovate!

Interpersonal risk taking

It's the acknowledgement that every action we take, every conversation we have and every suggestion we make comes with a certain amount of risk to our own social and professional standing within a team or an organization.

Frame the work as learning AND delivery

Share as much as you are comfortable:

• Acknowledge your own fallibility: Share your own struggles, mistakes, and learning experiences.
• Learn from failure: Treat mistakes as opportunities for learning.​​
• Reflect: Invite team to reflect on team process. (e.g., What’s working and not working?)​

Being disrespectful in the name of honesty

Psychological safety does not endorse rudeness or thoughtless honesty. It encourages empathy and consideration, not cruelty.

Ask Open Ended Questions​

Based on your bandwidth, ask:

• What do others think?​​
• What are we missing?​​
• If we wanted to fail, how would we proceed?​​
• What leads you to think so?​​
• What’s the concern that you have about that?​
• How would you explain this further? ​
• What do you think might happen if we did X?​​

Respond Productively​

Based on your bandwidth

• Express Appreciation: Listen, acknowledge, and thank.​
• Offer Support: Ask your colleague how they would like to be supported​
• Check-in: Schedule a reminder to call or write in.​

What do we mean by shared belief?

We mean that everyone in the team believes that they will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes.

A Shield From Accountability

It's important to feel safe to analyze mistakes, learn and grow from them as well

Safe to do what?

Safe to ask questions, admit to mistakes, learn from them, experiment.

Coddling

Indulging colleagues with excessive care and attention versus respect and autonomy

• Respect for diversity 92%

• Understanding yourself 58%

• Empathy 79%

• Helping ideas flow freely 71%

• Learning from problems and success 87%

• Other 0%

• Being clear on my team's vision and goals 75%

• Challenging team members 42%

• Guiding with examples 87%

• Empowering with autonomy 54%

• Encouraging constant reflection 71%

• Being available for open discussions 96%

How do you support and enable your team and peers to do innovative work?

• Other 4%

• Providing adequate time 67%

• Providing adequate resources 50%

• Allowing autonomy 54%

• Setting clear goals and priorities 79%

• Motivating your team 58%

• Relationship management 83%

• Uncertainty, and possible consequences of error 71%

What are the most important skills/abilities that you value most in doing your work?

• Respect for diversity 92%

• Understanding yourself 58%

• Empathy 79%

• Helping ideas flow freely 71%

• Learning from problems and success 87%

• Other 0%

• Being clear on my team's vision and goals 75%

• Challenging team members 42%

• Guiding with examples 87%

• Empowering with autonomy 54%

• Encouraging constant reflection 71%

• Being available for open discussions 96%

How do you support and enable your team and peers to do innovative work?

• Other 4%

• Providing adequate time 67%

• Providing adequate resources 50%

• Allowing autonomy 54%

• Setting clear goals and priorities 79%

• Motivating your team 58%

• Relationship management 83%

• Uncertainty, and possible consequences of error 71%

What are the most important skills/abilities that you value most in doing your work?