If you want your employees to be more creative in their day-to-day work, you can’t rely on Ping-Pong tables, bean bag chairs, or one-off events like hackathons. To encourage more innovation, foster a sense of challenge:
Give your employees projects that are demanding, while also making sure the tasks are a good match for their skills and resources.
Don’t just give a new project to whoever has free time or could finish it most easily. Before you delegate, ask yourself, “Who would feel challenged by this project and has the capacity to rise to the challenge?”
Aim for 70% success. If you expect everyone to nail a task with 100% success, they are unlikely to take risks, which is an innovation killer. Letting them know that 70% success is OK will ensure they don’t play it too safe.
