HOW TO INNOVATE
BY GABRIELLA GODDARD
Workforce Development
Organizations are constantly on the look out for ways to grow and stay ahead of the competition. The ones that succeed will have fostered a culture of innovation where creativity and disruptive thinking can thrive. A recent poll by Bayt.com of over 6,000 professionals in the MENA region revealed that 89% believe creative thinking is important for driving social and economic growth, with 61.8% confirming that innovation has led to improved financial performance.
So how can organizations unlock the creative potential of their people and tap into unexplored growth opportunities?
A great place to start is with the next generation of leaders, the ones who are fast-filling the lower ranks and who will play a pivotal future role of leading in a complex, diverse and dynamic business landscape. These “millennials” now represent almost one third of the global population and will dominate the workforce over the next forty years and beyond.
From a training perspective, what makes this millennial generation unique is their distinctive learning style. Typically they’re able to quickly master any new digital technology and expect to be able to access learning immediately, on-demand and in bite-sized chunks that cater to their very short attention spans. They are highly motivated, full of energy and drive and are looking for purpose and meaning in their roles. They want to feel involved and that they’re adding value. They actively seek feedback and appreciate one-to-one interactions to explore new ways of growing and developing themselves. They like to learn from doing, sharing and collaborating and have an incredible ability to synthesize information quickly from a broad range of resources and networks.
To truly engage this group, Training and L&D teams will need to innovate the way they are designing and delivering their learning solutions.
One innovation methodology that is well suited for this challenge is “Design Thinking,” a five stage process that was originally used by architects and urban planners before it was adapted for the business world by David Kelley, founder of IDEO, in 1991. Design Thinking puts the user at the heart of the innovation process, involving them throughout the developmental stages. It’s based on the principle that through high levels of interaction, observation, ideation, prototyping, experimenting and refining, it’s possible to discover unmet needs and wants and shape new solutions that bridge that elusive gap between desirability, feasibility and viability.
So how can Design Thinking be used to develop high impact learning solutions that will engage, challenge and inspire the next generation of leaders?
30 | TRAINING MAGAZINE MIDDLE EAST Q3 2015
USING DESIGN THINKING