Habits for Problem Solving and Risk-Taking in Organisations
By Ora Rammala, Head of Leadership Development
The disconnect of many customer-facing organisations is primarily rooted in the culture of a team and its leadership. The ability to creatively solve problems and take calculated risks is no longer a luxury but a necessity for survival and growth.
This article will explore how embedding habits helps foster a creative environment by focusing on building a culture of psychological safety, encouraging open communication and team collaboration, and establishing open feedback channels. It will also examine how these habits can be particularly transformative for organisations struggling with customer experience feedback.
Building a Foundation of Psychological Safety:
Organisations that have a culture of shame, judgement, and fear are often detrimental, both economically and culturally, to companies that rely on customer experience. Contrastingly, a psychologically safe culture is an environment where individuals feel secure enough to express their ideas, ask questions, and take risks without fear of judgment or negative consequences. This is an essential foundation for innovation and creativity. We learn through mistakes, and a culture that produces shame or fear of judgment stifles creativity and risk-taking. When individuals feel safe to express unconventional ideas without fear of reprisal, innovation flourishes.
Habits to Cultivate Psychological Safety:
A psychologically safe space doesn’t happen overnight; like many worthwhile experiences, it requires consistent work and upkeep. This work doesn’t have to be strenuous; building small and manageable habits can evolve into innovative and inclusive behaviours over time.
Whilst culture within a team relies on every voice, a leader does have a significant impact on building psychological safety. Often, promotions into leadership positions occur without learning what kind of leader they want to be. Think about your own experiences. Did you succeed with leaders who berated you or those who were empathetic and taught you?
The power of empathy is often underestimated in the workplace, but leaders who can create a supportive and understanding environment wield significant influence. This can be achieved through small habits such as:
- Normalising Mistakes: When a colleague makes a mistake, frame the conversation as a learning opportunity rather than a failure. The focus should shift from “who is to blame?” to “what can we learn from this?” and “how can we prevent this in the future?” Mistakes are crucial to growth, and when individuals feel safe enough to share their mistakes without fear of judgment, they can learn quickly and take accountability more easily.
- Leader Vulnerability: Leaders who openly share their own past mistakes and the lessons they learned from them demonstrate that it’s acceptable to be imperfect. This vulnerability builds trust and encourages others to be more open.
- Active Listening: Being valued and heard is essential for both customers and colleagues. If a leader doesn’t exhibit these behaviours in their team’s culture, they will start to impact customer experiences. Prioritise creating space for everyone’s voice to be heard and valued.
- Fostering Inclusivity: Customer-facing roles involve daily interactions with a diverse customer base, each with unique cultural nuances. By promoting inclusivity and valuing diverse perspectives, colleagues can navigate these varied experiences more effectively.
- Normalising Mistakes: When a colleague makes a mistake, frame the conversation as a learning opportunity rather than a failure. The focus should shift from “who is to blame?” to “what can we learn from this?” and “how can we prevent this in the future?” Mistakes are crucial to growth, and when individuals feel safe enough to share their mistakes without fear of judgment, they can learn quickly and take accountability more easily.
Encouraging Open Communication and Team Collaboration
A culture rooted in competition, hierarchy and judgement often becomes siloed, information isn’t shared, collaboration is aesthetic at best, and this kind of culture stifles growth and innovation. However, a culture that nurtures open and honest communication breaks down silos and fosters shared understanding. Here are a few habits that can help open communication and collaboration within teams:
- Regular Cross-Functional Meetings: Regular cross-functional meetings break down silos, fostering a comprehensive understanding of challenges. Bringing diverse expertise together sparks comprehensive problem-solving and innovative solutions.
- For example, a tech company facing a software complaint would benefit from a cross-functional meeting (including customer support, product development, and marketing) to address the issue, as it can uncover hidden usability problems. This collaborative approach leads to creative, synergistic solutions, such as an instructional tweak and a minor code adjustment, that isolated teams would likely miss.
- For example, a tech company facing a software complaint would benefit from a cross-functional meeting (including customer support, product development, and marketing) to address the issue, as it can uncover hidden usability problems. This collaborative approach leads to creative, synergistic solutions, such as an instructional tweak and a minor code adjustment, that isolated teams would likely miss.
- Collaborating Sessions: Creating structured yet open forums for idea generation is an excellent way for colleagues to share innovative approaches to customer interactions.
- For example, ask each colleague to share a recent complaint and its context, then invite other team members to discuss how they’ve dealt with similar complaints, how they would address them, and what to look out for in the future. Having a clear structure like this can help colleagues see the power in collaboration, whilst nurturing a psychologically safe space for sharing their ongoing anxieties around customers.
- For example, ask each colleague to share a recent complaint and its context, then invite other team members to discuss how they’ve dealt with similar complaints, how they would address them, and what to look out for in the future. Having a clear structure like this can help colleagues see the power in collaboration, whilst nurturing a psychologically safe space for sharing their ongoing anxieties around customers.
- Promoting Constructive Conflict: Toxic work environments are often rooted in how teams deal with conflict; therefore, teaching teams how to disagree respectfully and productively is vital for ongoing innovation.
- For example, when two colleagues disagree on how a situation has been handled, a leader can intervene by facilitating a structured discussion; this involves setting ground rules for respectful communication, encouraging each individual to articulate their perspective and the reasoning behind it, and prompting them to listen to understand the other’s viewpoint actively. The leader can then guide the conversation towards identifying common ground and exploring potential solutions that integrate both perspectives, ultimately reframing the disagreement as an opportunity for collective learning and improved outcomes rather than a personal conflict.
Fostering Open Feedback Channels:
Feedback helps individuals become self-aware, knowing what they are good at and what they need to work on to maximise their performance. An organisation’s culture, which focuses on regular feedback, builds stronger individuals and more effective teams, ultimately leading to growth.1 According to research by Harvard Business Review (HBR), 72% of people feel their performance would improve if their managers provided corrective feedback. An open feedback approach can help to create a more open, honest, and collaborative environment where everyone feels valued. Here are some manageable habits that help foster open feedback channels:
- Regular 1-on-1 Meetings: With times of flux and calm, we often forget to check in with colleagues. Work together to provide a dedicated time for individual feedback and discussion. These meetings don’t have to be weekly, and the frequency can vary for each person, but prioritising structured 1-on-1 conversations is beneficial.
- Anonymous Feedback Mechanisms: Allowing individuals to share honest opinions without fear provides valuable insights into how they can progress in their careers. Create an anonymous survey that addresses KPI’s, learning points and feedback.
- Actively Soliciting Feedback: Teams often exhibit behaviours from their leaders. If a leader is proactively seeking input from their team, they can inspire colleagues to share insights more freely and actively.
Fostering habits that encourage creative problem-solving and risk-taking is an ongoing process, yet it yields substantial benefits, including heightened innovation, more robust teams, and enhanced customer satisfaction. By emphasising psychological safety, transparent communication, teamwork, and accessible feedback mechanisms, organisations can unleash their collective creativity and forge a more adaptable and progressive future.
What initial measures can your organisation implement to begin nurturing these vital habits?
