For many, a new year is the time to reassess things — in business and life — and tweak what needs tweaking. Experimentation is necessary and helpful when leading teams, but it’s also risky and hard.
Experimenting with a team can produce overall improvement, present opportunities, increase engagement and generate loyalty, says leadership coach Kevin Eikenberry (KevingEikenberry.com). He offers these steps for leaders to take to encourage experimentation and improve the chances that it’s happening in their organization:
Experiment yourself. Does your team see you doing the same? Are you making mistakes? Are you looking for new ways? Are you TRYING?
Welcome mistakes. We all know we can learn from our mistakes, but in too many places, we don’t act that way. You don’t want it to just be OK to make mistakes, you want mistakes to be welcomed — as a way to get better.
Share the big picture. In the realm of experimentation, when people know the big picture, they will make their mistakes in pursuit of that big picture, which are the mistakes we want.
Have clear goals. Have goals you want people to reach that they can’t reach with the status quo — that challenges them to experiment.
Reward/celebrate effort and success. You may already be rewarding and celebrating success (if not, it’s time to start); but chances are you aren’t focused enough on recognizing and rewarding effort. Experimentation takes effort that won’t always yield the desired results. Reward both effort and success.
Look for lemonade. Experiments may not get you what you wanted; yet there are many stories of experiments creating great opportunities, even if it didn’t lead where it was planned. (Post-it notes, Eikenberry points out, were created by accident when 3M scientist Spencer Silver was searching for tougher adhesives.)
Progress rarely happens immediately or in a straight line. “Give people the chance to experiment their way to success,” Eikenberry says. “Expect it of them, and while there will be bumps, the road will lead closer and closer to your ultimate destination.”
