Conducive conflict is vital for enabling innovative teams

There might be a misconception that innovative teams do not argue and think alike. In reality, innovative and disruptive teams debate about many aspects. This article will explore why conducive conflict is vital to enable disruptive and creative thinking in a team. 

 

What is conducive conflict? 

In normal day-to-day operations, being on the same page and working upon established ideas is sufficient to produce results. However, some problems require a team to come together, think laterally, and debate with one another until they come to a well-considered conclusion. In order for a team to find innovative solutions, they need to explore various perspectives and consider different points of view. An effective leader recognizes this, and instead of attempting to immediately reduce the conflict, they let it happen. They conduct the discussion in an open and mutually respectful manner to bring it to the most optimal outcomes. If done correctly, this type of conflict can spring up ideas and solutions that would otherwise take too much time and effort in the normal course and flow of work. Therefore, even though nobody likes the term ‘conflict’, it can be a valuable tool for creative thinking.  

 

Enabling diversity in teams  

Whether or not a conducive conflict will be successful largely depends on how well your team is composed. A diverse team dedicated to problem-solving gains a lot from conducive conflict. Whereas a narrow-minded & single viewpoint team that presents the same ideas over and over again stands to be frustrated from such an experience of conflicting ideas and points of view. So, the first step is ensuring that you have smart people on your team. Team members with a narrow mindset, will not bring much value to this type of discussion. You need to have people on your team who think differently and are open to exploring differing POVs and opinions. For instance, if you need to relocate, then companies like Zippy Shell NV can help, at the same time, you need to consider all aspects and take a wholistic decision.  

 

Set the stage for conducive conflict  

Explain the goal of the discussion, help them welcome the conflict, and make sure that they understand what it will be like. It is paramount that your team does not take criticism personally and team members don’t grow spiteful towards their co-workers. The key point is to exchange ideas and explore different approaches and viewpoints. Any conflict that arises from that must be with the sole intention to spur further development. Make sure that they understand this and that the dispute that occurs in the meeting room stays in the meeting room. Gradually as your team members start exchanging ideas, some form of disputes and debates will get sparked. As a leader, your job is to conduct the conflict in a constructive manner without insults or insinuating comments.  

 

Maintain the right environment 

During the meeting, you want people to be energetic and to push their ideas forward. If some members are less willing to present their views, encourage them. Similarly, if some are unwilling to give their opinion about others’ ideas, ensure that they do. Make sure everyone gets in the appropriate frame of mind to share ideas and be open to taking some divergent thoughts about their ideas. You don't want people to either agree blindly or stay silent. 

 

Understand where the conflict stems from 

Sometimes people will argue not because they don't agree with an idea but because they don't agree with the person presenting it. If this is the case, you need to spot this contradiction and prevent them from going overboard and causing the meeting to go out of hand. This will require a lot of emotional intelligence. If you do not control it, it will cause a rift between your team members. So, while conductive conflict is vital for a disruptive-thinking team, it is mandatory for the leader to conduct it appropriately. 

 

Debriefing  

Once the meeting is over, ensure that you go over what has been discussed and explored. Doing so puts things into perspective and allows everyone to gather the key takeaways. As you facilitate more such sessions, your team members start becoming accustomed to this approach. You need to ensure that your team members stick with what has been agreed upon and not slack off the decision in case it’s not as per their expectations. 

 

Concluding thoughts  

Conflicts can be a powerful tool that can stimulate the energy needed to outline critical issues and challenges in order to find the best matching solutions in an effective manner.

What does your LEADERSHIP TENT comprise of?

What makes a good leader? This seemingly simple question has baffled people for a long time. Generally, we all have an archetype of a wise leader in our mind who knows what to say and when to say it. On the other hand, it can be challenging to outline all the traits that constitute a good leader, even more so if you try to organize those traits into a hierarchy. Let’s attempt to list out these traits by visualizing a leadership tent and then elaborating on the elements of this tent.

 

Conceptualization of a leadership tent

The leadership tent is a visual representation of the traits and their relative importance. The two main poles that hold up a tent represent traits that every leader needs to have. Just like a tent would collapse without the main poles, so would a leader fail without these traits. The supporting poles come subsequently as they help the tent stand firm and expansive. These supporting poles are relevant as they help increase the efficacy of the leader. The leader can work on these supporting poles after establishing the key traits viz. the central poles.

 

Main/Central poles

While there are many choices for the main/ central poles of the leadership tent, we firmly believe that the most appropriate ones are Trust and Empathy. It doesn’t mean a blind type of trust. It is an inclusive type of trust like having a firm belief in the potential and capabilities of your employees and exhibiting your empathy for their struggles and challenges.

 

Trust

While modern tools allow you to keep track of your employee’s performance, it is worth noting that without trust these monitoring tools are not that effective. If you can’t put faith in your subordinates to do what they are supposed to do, no amount of monitoring tools will make your job easier. Hence, you need to innately believe that your employees want to contribute to your company and team’s success and growth. And you need to gain your employee’s trust that you won't exploit them. If you take trust away, then your leadership tent would eventually fall flat.

 

Empathy

People often undervalue the importance of empathy as a key leadership trait and therefore do not consider it as one of the main poles of a leadership tent. Empathy doesn't mean that you appreciate every sob story that your employee brings up or that you accept their illogical excuse for their lack of performance. Empathy doesn’t mean that you become agreeable to a lower standard or quality of deliverables due to their excuses or challenges.

 

Empathy means that you can put yourself in the other person's shoes and perceive from their point of view. To be an effective leader, you need to understand what your employees are going through. Being an empathetic leader will enable you to make prudent and appropriate decisions.

 

Side poles

The side poles will help to enlarge your tent and allow it to stand firm. The bigger your leadership tent, the easier it will be to house a considerable number of people with different behaviors and competencies. Let’s review some of these side poles.

 

Relationship with employees

Employees frequently look up to their leader for motivation, guidance, help, and support. If you lean too far in one direction, then you become too soft-hearted for your employees to take undue advantage of you OR you become a brutal-hearted tyrant with no consideration for your employee’s state of well-being. Both extremes lead to an unproductive work environment and therefore you need to be self-aware and realize what kind of a relationship you are building with your employees. You'll be able to lead your employees and help them be the best versions of themselves if you can focus on these side poles:

 

• Empowerment
• Emotional regulation
• Mentoring
• Growth mindset
• Accountability

 

Relationships between employees

A good leader helps their employees to align, reduce friction, and work together as a team. This ability to foster collaboration is a crucial trait for all effective leaders. This comprises various side poles such as:

 

• Encouraging participation
• Recognition
• Emotional agility
• Delegation
• Mediation

It is critical to acknowledge the importance of tackling intrapersonal issues that your employees may be experiencing.

 

While modern tools like MoversTech CRM can help you understand your customers, you need to get a feel for your employees in order to enable team cohesion.

 

How to build a solid tent

No leadership tent can stand if it doesn't have sturdy main poles. Once you have stability with the main poles, choose a few side poles that you find relatively easier to build upon and further improve. Effective leaders recognize and choose those side poles that they have a stronger grip on and those that could be further fortified. In turn, this helps them find employees that can assist with fortifying the side poles and provide complementary strengths to their own natural leadership traits.

 

Culture is the fabric

Finally, you wrap a strong cover fabric over these poles. This is your overarching culture that covers and protects the well-being of your people. It provides the safety net and the space for your team members to function and thrive in their roles.

How to convince coworkers to support your idea?

Change is not easy, but it is more than necessary in the business world. However, people typically do not like change and therefore, one of the biggest challenges is to convince coworkers to support your idea for any kind of change. You would need to strategize and plan this transition carefully. A great way to do it is to get those to be most impacted by the change to understand its value. If you are trying to get people on board with a new idea, it is vital for you to garner support for the action or decision by getting it validated and reinforced. You can do a few things to get people on board. 

Articulate the subject clearly 

Before starting any kind of project, it is vital that you make others fully understand what is needed. The same applies to asking coworkers to support your idea. You need to clearly express the initiative's details and be prepared to answer questions about it. Prepare as much information about the idea as possible before presenting it to others. It's also vital to wholeheartedly believe in what you are advocating for. If you are not quite sure about it yourself, convincing others will be all the more difficult. 

Introduce your idea gradually 

Doing so will make it a lot easier to get your coworkers to support your idea. In addition to that, it helps minimize the impact of change. Prepare to take criticism and be open to feedback from your coworkers. If your coworkers feel that they have been involved in the elaboration of the idea, they will be more likely to accept it and support it. 

Talk about the impact of your idea 

If your idea will affect roles and responsibilities, make sure you articulate that in detail. Get everyone to understand what changes would happen and why. Be empathetic and address concerns right away and identify the main issue. After that, you can ask your coworkers to suggest ways to overcome that. Doing so will also help you in building teamwork. 

Get the popular coworker onboard 

Sometimes, the best way to win everyone over is to convince the one person everyone else listens to. It is that one coworker that everyone gravitates to for advice because they seem to have all the answers. So, when you want to convince coworkers to support your idea, start with this person. Give them your best pitch and do everything you can to get their support. Once done you will increase the probability of others getting on board! 

Tailor your pitch 

Know your audience well and adjust your presentation to the coworkers you need to convince. Unless you make the idea matter to them on some level, they might not care. Try to find different perspectives for your idea. Know what makes your coworkers tick and what is important to them. Get your coworkers emotionally invested and excited about your idea. 

Recognize dissatisfaction 

If you want to get certain coworkers on your side, try to consider why they might be dissatisfied with their situation. Emotional intelligence is your great guidance in this situation. Empathize with their struggles so that you can connect with them better. This will give you a great starting point for changing their mind. Showing them that they have options and that your idea is flexible enough to accommodate their concerns will be of great help. When you know what they don't like about their current situation, you can more easily expose them to better choices that don't include those difficulties. 

Ask targeted questions 

Make sure that you allow people to change their minds independently. Ask targeted questions, so they believe they initiated the idea in a way. Letting your coworkers feel involved in making decisions is a great way to subtly nudge them into promoting your ideas without having to ask them directly. Listen to their viewpoint and ask questions that guide them to the ideal conclusion. 

Give your coworkers options 

Do not just present your idea as a ‘take it or leave it’ scenario. Offer your coworkers several options that are of mutual benefit. Start off with the idea you think they are more inclined to reject. Then, follow up with a more practical proposition. When you start the conversation with an idea that is more ‘out of sync’ you can make your true goal seem incredibly reasonable in comparison. Using this technique will also give your coworkers a sense of control. You are offering them various options and turning your request into a mutually beneficial agreement. 

If you need to convince coworkers to support your idea of relocation 

Relocation can bring up some difficult conversations, and you will be faced with tons of resistance. Make sure you let them know well ahead of time and keep them involved throughout the process. Focus on the positive aspects of the move, discuss all their doubts, and give them ample time to adjust. 

Don't get discouraged 

Even when it seems like you are not getting through to anyone and your idea is not getting off the ground, do not get discouraged. Sometimes an idea catches on right away, and sometimes it takes time. The number one thing to remember is to persist. Pay attention to people's feedback. Get your coworkers involved and let them help you adjust your idea. Budging a little goes a long way and makes it easier for getting buy-in and support.

Improving your communication effectiveness

To be a successful business owner, executive, high-paid professional, etc., communicating effectively during 1on1 and team meetings in hybrid work settings is critical for your success and executive presence. No matter how impersonal your profession or job role is, you will still need to talk to your boss, company executives, team members, and direct reports. Therefore, having effective communication skills and proper netiquette is not only recommended, but also mandatory for your sustained progress and growth in today’s digital age. While they seem to be mostly common sense, know that a fair share of modern professionals fall short of being effective communicators. The digitalization of our communication has enabled us to have an instantaneous, rich, and multi-media contact with people worldwide. While we consider our current times as a communication age, we cannot help at being surprised that many people are still unable to communicate appropriately. To date, a substantial number of people fall short when effectively using their communication abilities. So, let’s explore a couple of pointers on communication effectiveness to help you get your message across with ease and impact in both professional and personal settings. Improving your in-person communication skills and/or digital communication skills is not something you simply ‘enhance’ all at once. It encompasses multiple factors that you need to tend to diligently and incorporate them one at a time. By doing so, you can ensure that you use your self-awareness and learn to improvise from your experience. Communication tools at your disposal A list of tools that you can use for communication include: • Emails • Social media • Direct messaging • Phone calls • Video chats • Group chats • Conference calls Each of these tools has its own significance. Depending on their design and how they are promoted, their use can range from quite specific like conference calls to quite general like emails that serve a wide range of needs. The more you need to communicate with your employees, clients, and co-workers, the more critical it is that you are aware of the benefit of using each tool. Thus, you would pick the right one for matching with the situation. Be aware of your phrasing Thinking of digital communication as a simple transfer of information is terribly superficial and often outright wrong. Apart from what info you are communicating, how you communicate will play a vital role. You need to know how your phrasing is being perceived and what you are meaning to imply. Different emotions, attitudes, and even subtextual messages can be conveyed effectively through phrasing. For example, let's say that you need to respond to a customer complaint with a message. It can be direct, as in, "We will respond soon." Or it can be, "We've received your message, and we will address your concern as soon as possible." While you’re meaning to say the same thing, the second message gives the customer a feeling of being valued and hence a better customer experience (CX). Therefore, it is likely to be far better received by the customer. How you say it, matters the most Just because digital communication gives you a lot of room to communicate doesn't mean that you should write extensive paragraphs or hold endless meetings. Experienced and highly effective professionals know that every word counts and that keeping your communication short and sweet is the best rule to follow. The more concise you can make your messages, the easier it will be to understand and follow. Of course, you shouldn't go to other extremes and make your message ambiguous as that would make it ineffective. Your message needs to be short enough and still get your point across. For example, say that you are relocating, and you need to prepare your employees for it. While it is essential to talk about this on time, it is also important to outline only the vital information. Roleplay to understand the other person's perspective and personality! Sometimes communication breaks down not because of improper wording or thoughtless phrasing. It could be because you are communicating with someone who doesn't see the situation as you do viz. they have a different personality and distinct perspective compared to yours. People exhibit different behavioral styles, and this impacts how they perceive our messages. So, if you don’t understand the behavioral style of the person you are talking to, you will have a tough time understanding what they are communicating. Similarly, it will be difficult to convey the purpose and meaning of your message to them. This is why you need to emphasize first on listening and understanding the other person’s voice tone, facial expressions, body language, etc. After doing that, when you are conveying your message it is important to figure out whether the person you are trying to communicate with is getting your message. The best way to learn how to adapt your communication style is to visualize or simulate talking to people with different behavioral styles. A theoretical manual or sheet can only help in framing your communication script. The role-play practice will enable you to phrase and word your sentences appropriately and ensure that your message is well received. Having role-play conversations with trusted co-workers with differing behavioral styles can help you prepare for future interactions with people with these behavioral styles and personalities. #communication #communicationtips #communicationskills #digitalcommunication

Improving performance by combining Data Science and Coaching

All organizations have the innate potential to perform better compared to their current level. The challenging part is identifying the areas where it is possible to make the enhancements! Let’s try to explore performance improvement by leveraging modern data science AND performance coaching.

Gathering and analyzing data is an effective way of identifying shortcomings and areas of lag in an organization. An experienced business coach has the requisite skills needed to leverage this data for generating insights and could guide in implementing the necessary interventions.

What is data science?

Data science is a method used for analyzing data and uncovering insights. It combines math, statistics, programming, advanced analytics, and at times some AI. By performing advanced data analysis, we can reveal patterns in business functioning that allow leaders to make informed decisions about the necessary changes. That is when coaching steps in to ensure much greater success and efficacy. 

Steps for improving your team's performance

Here are a set of steps needed to improve the performance of any team:

1.    Define a SMART goal

2.    Reflect on past performance & analyze root causes

3.    Devise a plan of action

4.    Facilitate check-ins meetings & explore best practices

5.    Monitor progress, provide feedforward, and celebrate success

6.    Review shortcomings and realign your actions with the goal(s)

7.    Debrief and develop a plan for further growth

Define what you want to achieve

Before you start implementing any changes, it is crucial to define your goal(s). The best way to do so is to implement the SMART goal approach:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Aggressive yet Achievable
• Relevant
• Timebound

A SMART goal is the most compelling way to increase your probability of achieving the goals you’ve envisioned. As part of my work as a Performance Coaching with the District Management Group, framing a SMART goal is the north star that guides the team in this journey. A SMART goal sets the stage for achieving breakthroughs on an incremental basis.

Reflect on past performance & analyze root causes

After you’ve envisioned your goals, it is time to do a retrospective on past performance to reflect on what has worked so far and what hasn’t. This enables us to analyze the root cause of inefficiencies and roadblocks in your organization. One of the fundamental tools used for this analysis is a fishbone diagram created by the Japanese management thinker - Dr. Kaoru Ishikawa. Using a fishbone diagram, you can clearly correlate the causes that impact your objectives. It will help reveal any challenges and impediments on the path to realizing your goals. This is a highly effective tool to help categorize ideas and novel approaches into meaningful themes for further exploration and intervention. 

Devise an action plan

Brainstorming comes in handy when developing a plan of action. It is an effective method to explore all the possibilities and come up with different ways to achieve the objectives. It employs our ability to experiment with a ‘fail fast & fail small mantra. This is an excellent approach to leverage your resilience and grit for achieving the goal - a vital aspect of a business. The key takeaway is that failures, mistakes, and shortcomings are not the end; they are an opportunity to learn, improve, surpass, and grow. 

Facilitate check-ins meetings & explore best practices

The critical intervention that a business coach can help facilitate is holding short and on-demand meetings for brainstorming ideas and making action-oriented decisions that culminate into the fulfillment of the purpose. The true value and impact of a coach is in their ability to shift the mindset of the team. Nudging people out of their comfort zone is mandatory for generating a different result and making real and sustained progress. Trying to do this on your own, adds to the degree of difficulty faced by the team at this critical juncture. 

A coach helps by working ON the issue rather than IN the issue. Implementing changes and facilitating communication are critical. As per wpfullcare.com, it is precisely what helped them get through inefficiencies in their organization.

Monitor progress, provide feedforward and celebrate success

As a leader, your role is to monitor your team’s progress while providing them with valuable guidance on each step along the way. Proving meaningful insights at this stage will help the team see a clear and visually impactful picture, thus providing tangible information on what needs immediate improvement and change.

This is a continuous cycle: data introspection reveals potential issues or impediments; regular meetings allow for identifying systemic challenges; this sets the stage for generating creative and innovative ways of problem-solving, and by continuous refinements, you get better results. This loop enables companies to improve and grow in a sustained manner.

Also, the vital part of any change and improvement is celebrating quick wins and success. It boosts the morale of the team, grows their enthusiasm, and motivates them to tirelessly continue with their efforts. The ability to recognize success and give credit to your team in the precise moment when credit is due is the quality of a true leader. 

Review shortcomings and realign your actions with the goal(s)

Data introspection and regular meetings ensure that your activities are in line with your goals. It is an opportunity to identify the needs for corrections as and when required. Ultimately, improving performance by combining data science and coaching means:

1.    Relying on concrete data to pinpoint issues

2.    Nudging by an experienced coach to try new approaches

3.    Guidance and feedforward for implementing changes effectively

4.    Reflecting on the outcomes & refining for future growth and improvement

Debrief and develop a plan for continuous growth

Growth doesn't happen overnight, nor can it be achieved with a one-time fix. It needs a plan for continuous development and modification. The initial assessment is the first step, and actions for the identified impediments are the next step in the right direction. However, it is not the end; because for your company to have sustained growth and increase in their valuation, a continuation of this loop is the alchemy that could propel your company to the next level. The magic lies in logic!

This journey is built on a series of sprint cycles wherein you can see the finish line at each step along the way. This is similar to the agile approach made popular by the software industry and now being used by management consultants in various industries for implementing gradual improvements leading to a business transformation.

In the context of the educational industry which I’ve been in an advisory role for the recent 5 years, this data science + coaching approach yields an increase in student engagement, higher composite scores, higher placement ratio, etc.

In the context of the I.T staffing and professional services sector which I’ve worked for over 15 years – this data science + coaching approach yields revenue growth, higher bill rate, increase in profits, longer retention of billable resources, higher candidate placement ratio, etc.

The bottom line!

On one hand, there is 'conversational intelligence' - information gathered through conversing with teams, AND on the other hand, there is 'data intelligence' – information gathered through assessments and test scores. These two when combined by a prudent coach have the power to bring about incredible results leading to a much-sought-after transformation. The crux lies in implementing bite-sized changes continually within an organization. 

It is important to note that improvement is not done for a company, it is done WITH the company by a coach or consultant.

Improving your soft skills using roleplays

As they say “Practice makes progress” – so if you want to improve your communication skills, leadership skills, or any other soft skill, you need to exercise them in various workplace settings. Soft skills cannot be solely taught in theory as it needs practicing through interactions with other people.

 

Understanding role-play

Roleplay is an effective manner to practice your skills in a simulated and safe environment. It is like a gym for exercising your soft skills and improving them. Role-play activities allow participants an opportunity to practice how to think off their feet and respond to real-life situations. This is done in a simulated environment, so it is safe to learn by making mistakes and improvising. 

 

For role-playing to be effective, the situations and scenarios must be realistic. The most significant advantage of these activities is that they can reveal multiple solutions to a single problem. The debrief after the roleplay about your responses for a particular situation can yield different approaches and creative solutions to the specific challenge or issue.

 

The best way to make the role-play situations realistic is to evoke real-life emotions and express a realistic behavior. This heightens the learning experience and makes the person feel like they have gone through that specific experience. It helps to learn and imbibe the same traits when facing the actual situation.

 

The importance of soft skills 

Whatever your specific job role is about, most of you will interact with other people. If your role pertains to dealing with customers then effectively communicating with them is critical to your success. According to Convert More, customer experience is everything - that is what converts a website visitor into a customer and that is how e-commerce grows.

 

One of the ways to improve your team’s soft skills is through situational awareness. It implies recognizing verbal and non-verbal cues and appropriately responding to them. For this, role-playing exercises can help tremendously. The same approach holds for leaders. For a team to be productive, leaders must know how to communicate effectively, listen to the team members, respond to their feedback, and give feedback in a way that will enable their team members to move forward and make progress.

 

Benefits of Role-Playing

The most significant benefit of using role-plays is improved performance and effectiveness. It happens through:

·        Facilitated practice of various behaviors

·        Discussing specific issues and concerns

·        Active participation through a lifelike set-up

·        Accelerated feedback through debriefs

·        In-the-moment training when the emotions are being felt

 

How to start implementing role-play

1.     Get everyone on board - the key ingredient for the success of role-playing is participation. Encourage trial and error and explain the importance of ‘fail small and fail fast’.

2.     Create a conducive environment for learning - use activities and icebreakers to bring participants together as a group.

3.     Focus on one situation at a time – use one scenario at a time to completely practice the required skill or behavior. Don't try to cover everything at once. 

4.     Monitor and improvise - Monitor how participants interact and accordingly decide to intervene if need be. Guide and keep them on the right track.

5.     Feedback – Provide the requisite observations for them to correct negative behaviors. Offer constructive criticism and point out areas for improvement.

 

Bottom line

Role-playing is an effective method for helping your team members increase their self-awareness and gain confidence. This improved confidence in their communication and other skills can have a significant impact on the entire team.

To get promoted, work as an intrapreneur

Think out of the box

In today’s organizations, there’s fierce competition among co-workers for getting promoted. So, what does one do to get promoted? The answer lies in working as an intrapreneur viz. taking the initiative, working on challenging projects, managing risks, etc. In essence, you have to adopt an entrepreneurial mindset.

Becoming an intrapreneur requires creativity

The first step you have to take towards becoming an intrapreneur is exercising your creativity. Unleash your creative side and allow yourself to think outside the box. Be bold, and don't be afraid to think differently. 

How do you awaken your creative side? Curiosity and imagination are the two most valuable aspects. Bringing those two into your work life will do wonders. Suddenly, you will start noticing opportunities where you couldn't discern them before. So, transform your behavior and begin exploring those opportunities on the road to self-improvement.

Inspiration is at the core of innovation

Inspiration comes from many places and sometimes happens spontaneously, prompted by a trigger or stimulus. For instance, when you read an article on something and find a new piece of information, a neural pathway forms in your brain. Our brains are miraculous things and can concoct the most innovative ideas if you give them a chance. Explore different and better ways to do things, and you’ll create a new path for accomplishing the task. Don't shy away from experimenting and don't be afraid of failure. On the contrary, expect to fail from time to time and accept it as a normal part of the learning process. Building resilience to your failures is crucial for growth.

Establish good relationships

To accomplish anything substantial, in most cases, you need a team. You need to have a good relationship with those whom you work with on a regular basis. By establishing effective communication with them, and by building trust, you will be able to accelerate the pace of progress. 

Building mutually beneficial relationships will build the requisite alliance to support each other’s projects. This is the key to build high-performing teams, wherein people trust each other, rely on each other, and support each other.

Think laterally & strategically

Look at potential issues and problems from different angles and perspectives. This will enable you to devise a plan or a path leading to the solution. In addition, you must demonstrate your critical thinking skills. It will make others perceive you as a leader, a person who will guide them in finding solutions to their problems. 

Visualize the bigger picture in your mind

While knowing your role and performing your daily duties, empower yourself to perceive the bigger picture – the wholistic view.

Breaking new ground and pitching it to your bosses or clients will make you stand out among your peers. If your promotion is through a relocation, organize a smooth transition to your new location.

Believe in yourself

The final step towards being an intrapreneur is self-belief. You need to gain the trust of your superiors and make them believe in your abilities to take on new initiatives and lead projects. You need your co-workers to trust that they can rely on you and perceive you as a leader. Demonstrate your vision for the entire organization and show you are worthy of more trust. Remember that progress and growth only happen when you get out of your comfort zone and ‘push your envelope’.

To summarize - nurturing creativity, fostering innovation, and self-belief are some of the key steps to becoming an intrapreneur. Learn how to stand out as an intrapreneur and get your next promotion!