Innovative thinking is critical for organizations to thrive, yet research shows that 95% of innovation attempts fail at large companies. Creative facilitator Steven White provides insights on how leaders can shift mindsets and develop skills to foster innovation that works. His clients include consulting leader Deloitte and U.S. Special Operations, which includes military special forces Navy SEALS, Delta Force and Green Berets.

White explains that most corporate leaders feel ill-equipped to spearhead innovation. The key is approaching creativity as a skill that can be developed rather than a fixed talent within a select few. He takes the mystery out of creative thinking by breaking it down into an approach that anyone can learn, taking clients along a path that builds a mindset, tool set and, finally, skill set.

“When you identify the skills needed, rather than the idea of elusive talent, leaders can break down those skills and train their teams. It takes the mystery out of creativity,” said White.

Here are three strategies that help leaders foster more creativity that will drive

innovation:

Shift into a new mindset

“First we embrace the mindset that everyone is creative, then we learn the tools that help bring it out until it becomes an innate skill that we use without thinking,” said White. A creative mindset involves an openness to questioning assumptions and biases that limit fresh thinking. White begins with an assessment tool like Foursight to help leaders become more self-aware.

“Learning self-awareness is like Jedi training where you go through different exercises and stimulus that show you how limited your view has been, and then you learn how to get past your cognitive biases, how to develop empathy and how to be a better leader,” he said.

Focus on skills, not “talent”

Look at creativity as coming from a set of teachable skills versus talent alone. White trains teams on six key creative thinking skills that pave the way for successful innovation:

· Imagination

· Empathy

· Visual thinking

· Iteration

· Collaboration

· Questioning

These six factors are vital for human-centered design, the approach that considers how people will behave. In essence, White takes a people-first approach when his clients might have started with a focus on technology or another business capability.

One of the ways to open up creativity is to “get out of your own head and draw,” said White. He describes how kindergarteners are confident in their drawing skills, yet adults are so fearful of not being perfect that we let those skills languish.

“You can draw 90% of anything with a simple triangle, circle and square, he said. “once we warm up with simple drawings, people feel more confident that ability doesn’t really matter.”

Become a master facilitator

“Ideas are like baby sea turtles on the beach. They’re running for the sea, and large organizations are birds and other predators,” said White. The job of a good facilitator, in that case, is to protect those tiny ideas and help them reach the sea where they can thrive and grow.

“There’s a difference between running a meeting and facilitating,” said White. Facilitation expertise is critical for leaders driving innovation. Unlike merely directing meetings, creative facilitation uses methods and frameworks to extract best thinking with a structure that levels the playing field where ideas take center stage. Too often, a senior member of the team dominates the discussion and squashes fresh thinking from other team members.

White recommends techniques such as rapid ideation sprints were individuals brainstorm solo with a stack of Post-Its before any ideas are shared. This allows introverts and junior level team members to get thoughts together without the influence of the stronger personalities.

At its core, White’s approach breaks down the mysteries of creativity and innovation into small actionable steps that demonstrate these skills are within everyone’s reach. At a session hosted by Creative Mornings, White showed up looking not unlike a Jedi knight, sharing his journey growing up in a military family that moved a lot to a successful career in advertising, to his current career as a consultant, facilitator and graphic novelist.

Creativity and innovation, although essential skills for business, are not only for businesses. White describes working with a team from U.S. special forces doing a journey mapping exercise based on his creativity training. During a break, this team used the techniques to map out how a pre-teenager might become radicalized as a suicide bomber, paving the way to help young people change course.

“They were charting those key stages of development and seeing how can we intervene to prevent death and make the world safer?” said White.

No matter your organizations innovation challenge, embracing a creative mindset, building skills that foster innovation and becoming a master facilitator will help leaders drive better results for a stronger future.