Know few tricks to bring out Collective Innovation

New emerging working trends like cross functional teams, joint ventures and collaborative projects are making greater cooperation among work force an imperative. Getting things done through collective innovation and cooperation has become a major challenge for Managers and Leaders. Now its not just subordinates but peers and even superiors of various divisions or personal from other companies are there in the team and all should be coordinated well enough to generate a collective effort. Remember the need of the hour is to bring out collective innovation from the team.

As a manager you may wonder everyday on how to motivate a highly individualistic work force and get innovative ideas and collective effort from them. You really need some kind of magical power to mesmerize the audience and turn opponents into followers. But very few people possess such eloquence as a natural gift. But this art of persuasion is some thing that can be developed in everyone. What you need to do is play up to the innermost psychological needs of people around you. Spent extra time, to help team members to realize the need of collective and cohesive effort to achieve the goal.

In the present day work environment more than formal authority it is the power of persuasion that has a great impact on the behavior of other people. In a group setting, securing consensus is a premise to move ahead. However consensus does not always come by easily and you are bound to encounter resistance on the way. Your attempt to succeed resistance will be a success only when you know the reason for resistance. Find new innovative ideas to overcome resistance and make your opponent a follower.

Generally people exhibit three level of resistance. Level one resistance relates to the contents of your idea, that is the other party differ from your views. Level two resistances arise from a feeling of fear experienced by the other party. They don’t like your idea because they perceive it to be against their interests. Level three resistance springs from the fact that the other party does not like you.

Whenever you face an objection you need to explore the existence of resistance at all the levels. Many people fail to turn opposition into support because they fail to acknowledge the presence of resistance level three.

The trick lies in acting well before actual resistance crop up. Following are few easy methods to overcome resistance.

1. Listen well to build trust: To build trust with others first you must make genuine attempt to listen to their views. Only then you stand a chance of persuading them to view things from your perspective.
2. Present other perspectives: While dealing with highly contentious issues present your opponent’s point of view before your own. When you present a two sided argument the other party has no option but to participate in the solution. This technique is particularly useful when forging long term relationships and is considered to be more valuable than obtaining gains in the short term.
3. Discover similarities: People like people who are like them, is a fundamental principle put forward by behavioral scientists. You can use similarities to create bonds with your team members, superiors or clients. Through informal conversations try to discover at least one similarity be it a hobby or a common background. This helps to build a relationship early on and you can count on their goodwill and trust when the need arises.
4. Identify positive traits: Praise can be used to build productive relationships as well as repair damaged ones. People like those who like them. Identify at least one positive trait in all the people you deal with. Make appreciative comments about the trait in all the people you deal with. Make appreciative comments about the trait when you meet them. This has big impact in making them incline in your favour and finally make them contribute well in the collective innovation.
5. Model the behavior: Give others what you expect to receive from them. When you extend cooperation or foster a sense of trust you can expect a similar behavior from others. When you help your colleague or boss to achieve his goals he is more likely to help you reach your own milestones.

By establishing rapport with the people around you can increase your persuasive power manifold. Noticing similarities, offering compliments and lending a helping hand are very useful in building bonds and a collective team work, which might leads to innovations, thus make collective innovation a reality.

Now let us say goodbye to bruising battles to overcome resistance. Win support for your ideas through friendship and mutual trust. A leader always lead team with the goal in mind, so for a manager to be a leader always keep focusing on the goal, hence always avoid conflicts with team rather motivate them to achieve the goal as a collective teamwork.