How can you overcome resistance to creativity and innovation methods in Program Management?

You can't force innovation. Rather, orchestrate an environment where innovation is part of the process. Dedicate 10% of resourcing to experimentation and explicitly state that work is for R&D, i.e., you expect failure. Fear of failure is the source of resistance in environments where value delivery is the primary metric. Insulating your innovation work and the team performing said innovation will yield organic growth.

Not all resistance is necessarily bad or negative. It may be a sign that what you are doing has faults and ought to undergo a review. Objective and well-justified criticism or disagreement should be recognised as such and welcomed as a means of identifying weakness. At the very least resistance indicates a difference in perception. Understanding why this has occurred is a key factor in addressing possible shortcomings.

Your team will be innovative if you expect them to be innovative. Most often, resistance to creativity arises from team members believing that rote performance is desired or necessary. Tell them otherwise. Paint the picture of the benefits of innovation. If you inspire them, they will migrate to your point of view.

Work backwards, in other words articulate the desired end state or goal and work towards meeting it. For example as the former Director of the revolutionary CECOM Rapid Response Program Office, we established a goal of processing acquisition service requirements from solicitation to contract award within 19 days. We then designed our internal office operations to meet this ambitious goal. By virtue of establishing this 19 day turnaround, we forced innovation and had the team working towards the same goal. We didn’t always meet the 19 day goal, in reality we averaged 45 days, but it was far better than the 6 months to a year that it took for traditional contracts. The R2 Program was regarded as the most successful program in DoD history.

Communicate the benefits and value of creativity and innovation methods to your program stakeholders, such as sponsors, clients, team members, and end-users. Explain how these methods can help you solve problems, generate new ideas, improve quality, reduce costs, increase customer satisfaction, and achieve your program objectives.

Involve your program stakeholders in the creative and innovation process, and encourage them to share their insights, feedback, and suggestions. Create a safe and supportive environment where people can express their opinions, experiment with new approaches, and learn from failures. Recognize and reward the contributions and achievements of your program stakeholders in terms of creativity and innovation.

Incorporating a recognition system that appreciates and highlights innovative contributions. This can range from simple shout-outs in team meetings to more formalized recognition programs. Recognizing individual and team efforts fosters a positive atmosphere and encourages a mindset shift towards valuing creativity. Additionally, sharing success stories across the organization serves as inspiration and demonstrates the tangible benefits of embracing innovation in program management.

The people who will need to execute the change absolutely need to be involved and informed; not only are they going to be the hands that make the changes a success, they often will know better than you what the ramifications are of changes made.

Involving stakeholders from the process in the beginning allows them to feel ownership and involved in the process. They are able to give insight and perspectives that you may not have.

One thing I've found helpful in addition to involving stakeholders early is to seek out what they believe success will look like. Frequently this is the time to capture what they deeply want but haven't known they haven't shared up until this point. And since I am genuinely interested in making a real, measurable impact to their org/team this aligns us on a path toward shared success.

Innovation is a collaborative process and involves extensive cross departmental alignment to achieve the business objective you're set out to achieve. Things to consider: 1. Get Executive Buy-In: Secure support and commitment from top-level leadership. When leaders champion creativity, it sets the tone for the entire organization. 2. Value Articulation: Clearly articulate the advantages of incorporating creativity and innovation into program management, such as improved problem-solving, increased efficiency, and enhanced outcomes. 3. Incorporate Diverse Perspectives: Create a cross department workgroup depending on what area of organization you're trying to innovate. Diversity enhances creativity by introducing a variety of viewpoints.

The climb seems tougher when the mountain is high. One of the first steps to unblock resistance is to identify what's making the mountain look high. Change by innovating is uncomfortable. However, if we break down the change into a small achievable and easy steps while providing constant support and guidance, it will look way less intimidating. Allowing for the team and stakeholders room to experiment and re-route when necessary, would surely help foster creativity and drive the mindset toward accepting innovation.

✅👨🏼🏫 Providing guidance and support to stakeholders helps to mitigate resistance by 👉🏻 ‘clarifying the benefits of changes’ and ‘how they align with stakeholder interests.’ Education on innovative concepts reduces misunderstandings that cause resistance. Support could include resources, training, or forums to address fears. This approach promotes trust and openness, which are key to reducing resistance. Clear, steady communication of proposed changes fosters a shared vision and understanding that can ease transition.

Constructive critism, rewards and praises also help build confidence. Letting all to know the outcome and impact of their innovation is important as it also builds confidence. Rewards make the innovative team think and be more proactive. Other rewards are simply a renewal of contracts at the end of one, promotions, bonuses, public acknowledgements etc.

Often teams operate in silos where they only engage with their individual specialty. Encouraging coaching, mentorship, and educating stakeholders and team members breaks down those walls and gives a sense of achievement, advancement, and competence that simply isn't available within the normal expectations of their individual role.

Innovation thrives on a culture of learning from both successes and failures. Celebrating achievements is crucial, but equally important is constructively analyzing failures. In my work with startups and large organizations, I've seen how embracing failures as learning opportunities propels future innovation. It's about creating a space where teams feel safe to experiment and where each outcome, successful or not, is a step towards greater innovation. This approach not only fosters resilience but also encourages a continuous pursuit of excellence and creativity in program management.

It is hard to assess verdicts upon success and failure, in particular short-term. History is replete with examples of unintended consequences or publicly lauded initiatives that have succumbed to the test of time. The criteria for success or failure demand accurate definition. The foundation is surely the metrics whereby assessment can take place. Success must take morality and humanity into account. Man has a duty to consider cause and effect. Decency and humanity are often contextual. We are fallible, so empirical evidence is required to justify a declaration of success. We must consider also how recognised failures can help deliver eventual success. Complacency is the friend of failure and confirmation bias the enemy of success.

A great leader will always give credit away. Lift up your staff, put their individual name to the success. Don’t let your boss ever think it’s about you, it isn’t. Congratulate your staff in a way that feels heartfelt and acknowledges their unique contributions. A group email to the team is efficient; individual emails thanking each person for their piece of the success is meaningful.

Creativity and innovation will lead to change. People can have resistance to change because of the implications of the changes on their works and lives. For instance, the use of AI, Robot replacing humans or structural changes in an organization all will have impacts on humans. If we lessen the negative implications of creativity on people, the resistance to the new idea can be reduced.

Recognition and retrospection is key to continuous improvement. And doing it more frequently, on an iterative basis is even more important. Employ agile retrospects as a known framework (from digital innovation to military) to crowd-source what went well, what could improve, and what you want to establish as a learning moving forward!