Five tips to foster imagination

How can you create a culture that encourages imagination?

Here are five suggestions.

• Foster curiosity; ask questions like ‘what if’? What if we looked at everything in a new way or challenged the processes we’ve always used to achieve a result? What if we changed it all, what might happen next?

• Appreciate the suggestions from your team; set aside judgement to allow an idea to seed and grow. Even if it seems impossible. Driverless cars, for example, were once in the ‘impossible’ realm and now, everything is changing.

• Resist the urge to compare the merit of each idea presented; the pressure to present a fully formed idea that stands out against all others as ‘the best’ can have a dampening effect on imagination. It can act as a constraint, stopping us from letting our minds run free.

• Allow time to reflect, to ponder, to think more widely. Have you noticed when your imagination is most active? Is it in the quieter times of the day when you’re not under pressure? There are so many reasons to be busy; deadlines pressing, the email inbox full, another meeting to schedule. When considering whether to set aside time to reflect, remember imagination needs a quiet space to allow your thoughts to flow more freely. It needs moments in your day that are without pressure, that are stress free.

• Imagination Session® is also a way to help your team gain the skills to imagine more often. The focus in these sessions is on collective imagination, working together in a creative pursuit, enjoying the freedom that comes with imagination and the thrill of seeing where it might lead.