You're leading a team through innovation setbacks. How do you reignite their drive for success?

Communicate openly about the challenges faced and emphasize the learning opportunities from setbacks. Reframe the situation as a chance to grow and improve. Celebrate small victories to boost morale and keep the team motivated. Encourage a culture of experimentation and resilience, where failure is seen as a step toward innovation. Provide support and resources needed to overcome obstacles, and actively involve the team in setting new goals and strategies. By fostering a positive and supportive environment, you can help your team regain confidence and drive.

Another trick is to paint the picture of where you are going: help others clearly see the bright future you are headed towards through this innovation process: creating hope and energy to achieve the bold goals you have set for yourselves!

Communicate openly about the challenges faced and emphasize the learning opportunities from setbacks. Reframe the situation as a chance to grow and improve. Celebrate small victories to boost morale and keep the team motivated. Encourage a culture of experimentation and resilience, where failure is seen as a step toward innovation. Provide support and resources needed to overcome obstacles, and actively involve the team in setting new goals and strategies. By fostering a positive and supportive environment, you can help your team regain confidence and drive.

Motivação, faz com que as pessoas queiram continuar a buscar de seus objetivos. O líder mostrando o caminho a percorrer, que tudo é questão de tempo. Com disciplina, paciência e muito trabalho tudo é possível.

As a leader it is important to be transparent and to include the team as much as possible during the project management process. When the team is included and aware of potential setbacks they will be more willing to push through and remain positive. It is when you are not transparent with the team that they will wonder if you ever even proposed the project or whether or not you are continuing to support it.

Using open dialogue fosters trust, builds relationships, and encourages innovation. By allowing team members to participate actively, giving them a voice, and letting them own topics or projects, you create an environment where everyone feels valued and invested. This collaborative approach leads to the overall success of the team.

I found when I was heading multiple innovation projects that very advanced and unimaginable, to put together an “imagine this” collectively and then work through parts of the pieces that the team members are familiar with is easier than taking them to the end result. It varies by team members so I had to learn to break it down differently some to good success, some like hitting the wall as they just can’t imagine the use case. 5 years later the technology, concepts and use case are widespread eg IOT, AI, and food delivery, and those who have been through such experience, are more positive and confident about creating the “new” outcomes and challenge the status quo.

In my innovation efforts through my career the biggest success came through a very unique exercise. We needed to explore the future of cockpit experience 15 years into the future. We used different methods from expert interviews, market research to online brainstorming with 200 of our own employees. The online brainstorming was conducted anonymously eliminating hierarchy. We did 4 sprints with 4 teams. In every sprint the participants could earn points by providing ideas, by adding to other ideas and by evaluating. At the end we moved the top ideas forward (criteria: wow and fit to business) to the next sprint. The prize was a trip to the CES! This changed the dynamics of our whole division! An incredible experience!

It has been my experience that one must maintain a very collaborative environment, egos and pride have to be set aside. Lead the charge by setting the example. All too often a team of “rock stars” tend to let their personal interests cloud the innovation process. Having clear use cases, and product outcomes will help to forge the final innovative masterpiece allowing for everyone to feel pride in their collective contributions.

Acknowledge Challenges: Recognize and validate the difficulties faced by the team to build trust and show empathy. Reframe Setbacks as Learning Opportunities: Encourage viewing setbacks as valuable lessons rather than failures to foster a growth mindset. Set Clear, Achievable Goals: Break down larger objectives into smaller, manageable tasks to provide a clear path forward and build momentum. Celebrate Small Wins: Acknowledge and celebrate progress, no matter how minor, to boost morale and confidence. Encourage Open Communication: Foster an environment where team members feel safe to share ideas, concerns, and feedback without fear of judgment.