Have a well established incentive program that encourages your teams to bring their innovation and creativity into the company.
If we have talented people working for us, then we all know that they have side projects. Side projects are awesome because they keep our people focused on new ideas, new technologies and shake the timidity of trying out new coding tools.
Ideally this confidence and new knowledge makes it back into our company and we as CTOs benefit from that.
But why? Why would they bring it back into the company?
In an organization where the CTO has created a good culture of innovation and innovative thinking will exhibit a variety of signs, both in its internal workings and external performance. Here are some key indicators of such a culture:
From the get go we want to make sure our employees feel empowered. Empowered to express their creativity, take some risks and propose new ideas.
Remember how we talked about psychological safety a few chapters back? This is where a culture where failure happens without retribution serves to uplift the team and produce the most unexpected results.
I often reflect on my best ideation moments. They rear their heads when I’m not specifically looking for them. It’s in the happenstance of conversations. In the surprise pitch that moves my hand to catch the ball.
I believe it is our job not to create ideas, but to create environments in which ideas happen. And nothing does it better than incentives. The brain is wired for dopamine hits, incentives in and of themselves don’t create those hits, but the execution of them do.
Let’s take a look at the work you did in Level 4 (creating the Job Bands)
Come up with how to introduce incentive programs.
Areas to look at for incentivizing your people:
Collaboration and Cross-Functional Teams: The organization encourages collaboration and communication across different departments, fostering a diverse range of ideas and perspectives.
Continuous Learning and Skill Development: The company invests in training, workshops, and resources to help employees stay updated on the latest industry trends, technologies, and best practices.
Open Communication and Transparency: The CTO and other leaders openly discuss challenges, successes, and failures, creating an environment where employees feel comfortable sharing ideas and voicing concerns.
Support for Experimentation: The organization embraces experimentation and iterative processes, allowing employees to test and refine ideas quickly.
Agility and Adaptability: The company is quick to respond to changes in the market or industry and is willing to pivot strategies or technologies when necessary.