The Good Life

"Create an environment that does not punish failure"

Shailender Kumar, regional MD, Oracle India on five ways to foster a culture of innovation

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Published 6 years ago on Mar 28, 2018 1 minute Read

Encourage an entrepreneurial mindset: Create opportunities where employees can take ownership of a project. Define boundaries, challenge them to develop new skills, entrust responsibility based on merit and let them operate autonomously.

Empower for success: It’s essential for leaders to have an open communication channel; encourage ideas and acknowledge efforts, it is equally important to provide all the necessary tools, resources and infrastructure to help your employees succeed.

Be open to new ideas: It isn’t enough to simply declare that the organisation accepts new ideas, create an environment that does not punish failure but promotes trial and error and supports risk-taking.

Build a diverse team: Every organisation benefits from the collective insights it derives from the experience, learning and perspectives of a diverse workforce. Put in place a mentorship program to support inclusion.

Create a positive emotional experience: Managers and employees alike must make an effort to be open, acknowledge star performers, encourage debate and at the same time, have fun. Being part of their successes or failures and working with them to overcome their fears fuels innovation.