The workplace should be a place of creativity, collaboration, and productivity. A creative environment puts employees in the best position to produce quality work that can help your business grow and thrive. In fact, a study found that organizations that invest in creativity are more likely to increase employee productivity by 78%.

But how do you foster creativity in the workplace and positively disrupt the existing culture? Here are five key strategies for encouraging creative thinking in any work environment.

1. Encourage Collaboration

Collaboration is essential for creating a productive and creative workplace. When team members collaborate, they can share ideas and insights that can lead to new solutions and strategies for tackling challenges.

Encouraging employees to brainstorm together will help them come up with innovative ideas that can drive your business forward. Additionally, having an open workspace where everyone feels comfortable talking to each other helps foster collaboration between team members and promotes creative problem-solving. We use whiteboard sessions regularly to review flows and UI recommendations. Everyone is encouraged to comment – regardless of whether it’s their area of expertise.

2. Set Clear Goals

Setting clear goals provides direction and motivation for team members to stay focused on their tasks while remaining engaged in the creative process. When goals are clearly outlined, it allows the team to verify that objectives are met while also giving them the room to explore ideas and come up with innovative solutions that can help them reach those goals faster or more efficiently. In fact, 90% of people perform better and are more creative when given relevant and challenging goals. Goals can apply both to individual projects and long-term team goals.

Some examples of goals include completing a task within a set time frame, finding ways to reduce costs by a certain percentage, or developing a new strategy for increasing customer engagement. Google’s OKR framework is an excellent resource for setting and defining big-picture goals. Read more here.

“Scared creatives don’t make good creative.”

3. Embrace Failure

Encouraging risk-taking is essential to fostering creativity in the workplace because it allows employees to feel comfortable exploring different options without fear of repercussions if things don’t turn out as planned. The challenge for a creative leader is to recognize the difference between disregard for project objectives and unique attempts at a solution.

Through trial and error, we learn what works —and doesn’t—so we can find better solutions down the line. When employees feel comfortable taking risks and being creative, they can come up with more unique solutions that may benefit your or your client’s business.

Testing is the lifeblood of XD. We can research and make educated guesses about what customers will do – but people will surprise you. The key is learning something – whether good or bad. The only failed test is one with no new insights.

4. Reward Creativity

This could be the other half of “Embracing Failure” for a creative team. Rewarding creative thinking is one way to encourage more of it in your workplace. Providing recognition or incentives for innovative ideas shows your appreciation for your employee’s hard work —and encourages them to keep pushing themselves outside their comfort zones.

“A single creative does good work. A team of creatives does great work.”

5. Set The Environment

Fostering a creative environment is key to encouraging creative thinking. This means creating a workspace where employees feel comfortable expressing their ideas and opinions without fear of criticism or judgment. All designers are familiar with critiques – not all designers are comfortable critiquing. Keep critique comments positive, focused on objectives, and impersonal. Keeping comments positive doesn’t mean you agree with everything. A little professional courtesy can go a long way when telling someone their hard work isn’t “working.”

Providing comfortable workspace amenities, such as ergonomic furniture, noise-canceling headphones (for me, these are essential in today’s open office environments), or standing desks, will help ensure your employees have the resources they need to stay productive while also feeling comfortable enough to explore their creative ideas.

Overall, it’s important to remember that fostering creativity in the workplace is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor —it takes effort and dedication from management and employees. By implementing these strategies, you can begin creating a culture where everyone feels comfortable taking risks and exploring new possibilities so your business – and clients can continue to thrive.