How to Build Teams That Innovate & Thrive
It’s great to be in your inbox after a newsletter hiatus last month due to an injury I sustained while playing volleyball. I’d like to say that I was spiking the 10 foot line when it happened, but alas, I was merely pivoting when my achilles tendon ruptured and my life took a slight detour. I’m about 5 weeks post surgery and, dare I say, HEELing quite nicely (see what I did there?).
Annnnnyway, recovery is a long road (up to 2 years!) so there have definitely been moments of overwhelm. But, as I’ve been reflecting on this challenge, I’ve found it to be an opportunity to shift my mindset and see things in a new light.
It’s a reminder that setbacks, whether personal or professional, can be catalysts for growth and transformation.
I know it sounds cliché, but…
finding meaning and purpose behind this injury has also allowed me to shift my emotional experience. Instead of getting stuck in the overwhelm or frustration, I’m able to focus on what I can control, celebrate small wins, and embrace the slower pace as a chance to recharge and recalibrate. This shift has helped me stay grounded, resilient, and intentional about how I move forward, both in my recovery and in my approach to my business and leadership.
This experience has been a lesson in slowing down, ruthlessly prioritizing, and being incredibly present and intentional with my time. When you're forced to take a step back, you start to see what truly matters and what distractions have been pulling you away from your goals. In both life and leadership, it's easy to go into autopilot, but sometimes slowing down allows us to refocus and align with our true priorities. For me, this injury has been a reminder that progress doesn’t always come from moving fast, it comes from moving intentionally.
If you’ve been following along on Linkedin, you know I’ve been diving deep into Team Building and Innovation in my recent posts, which ties closely with my reflections during this time. Just as my recovery requires patience, resilience, and a focus on long-term goals, building high-performing teams and fostering innovation takes the same approach.
In today’s newsletter, we’ll explore two pillars that shape your leadership:
How to cultivate high-performing teams, and
How to foster a culture of innovation.
These are the building blocks that will help you lead with intention and achieve sustainable success. You’ll also notice a new “Coaching Pause” section that I’m playing around with to provide some asynchronous coaching if you’d like a taste of some coaching reflection questions on these topics.
High-Performing Teams Require Connection & Trust
The best teams I’ve seen aren’t simply built on talent. These teams thrive because of the deep bonds they’ve formed. These teams are anchored in mutual trust, understanding, and the ability to communicate openly while resolving conflict. Intentional leadership is crucial in cultivating a psychologically safe space for these connections to take root.
Psychological safety and intentional team-building are essential to fostering a high-performing environment. When team members feel safe to speak up, take risks, and share their ideas without fear of judgment, they are empowered to collaborate and innovate. This environment allows teams to move beyond just functioning; it empowers them to thrive together, solving problems collectively even in the face of challenges.
True team-building should go beyond the basics of icebreakers and should focus on deepening the relationships that foster trust and psychological safety amongst the team. As a leader, creating this safe space requires vulnerability! This could look like sharing your own challenges, soliciting feedback from your team, and genuinely listening to their perspectives.
Team cohesion should be focused on fostering unity, mutual respect, open communication, and shared responsibility, these are the key ingredients that enable teams to perform at their best.
For example, try “Story Sharing” - this is where team members share pivotal moments in their life that shaped who they are today. This brings out empathy and understanding, creating bonds that are stronger than surface-level interactions. Check out additional suggestions for how to move beyond basics.
For teams to perform at their highest potential, leaders must be intentional in building trust, promoting open dialogue, and fostering a culture of psychological safety. This is the foundation upon which high-performing teams are built.
A note on conflict…
Typically people shy away from conflict, but in reality, conflict is where the magic happens (if managed well). The goal is not to avoid conflict but to guide it towards productive outcomes.
So the next time a disagreement arises, try to approach it with curiosity rather than judgment. Practice asking open-ended questions to uncover the true issue, and use it as an opportunity to strengthen the team’s problem-solving ability! Remember, how you handle conflict will become the way that your team approaches conflict as well, so model intentionally!
Fostering Innovation: Leading with Curiosity
Now, let’s shift to innovation. It’s easy to think that innovation is about that one breakthrough idea, but real innovation comes from fostering an environment where creativity is encouraged daily. As leaders, we need to create spaces where our teams can explore, take risks, and challenge the status quo.
One way to do this is through creative exercises, like the “What If” Scenarios. Imagine your team thinking, “What if we had double the budget? What if we had no budget at all?” These scenarios push the boundaries of conventional thinking, allowing new ideas to surface.
Innovation Case Study: Netflix’s transition from DVDs to streaming is a perfect example of fostering innovation. This transition reflected an understanding of shifting consumer behaviors and a willingness to challenge the status quo. By creating an environment where questioning assumptions was encouraged, Netflix was able to make a bold, industry-shifting move. Similarly, when your team feels safe to explore new ideas, they are more likely to unlock the innovation that leads to significant progress breakthroughs.
Here are some of my LinkedIn posts with practical tips and journaling prompts to take your teams creativity to next level:
