Manage Innovation, Not Conflict: The Importance of Good Process

“Many managers think of process as the means by which a product, project, or ‘piece of work’ is delivered, I contest this …”

The climate of an organisation is affected by many facets which impact on psychological and organisational process. Components conducive to a creative climate are that which facilitate innovation via promoting expectations, behaviours, and attitudes. These components aid in curating a psychological atmosphere in a team and organisational environment.

I have had the great fortune of working in a variety companies, large and start-up, modern and traditional, with differing corporate cultures and organisational culture owing to geographical location. However, besides cultural challenges I would like to take this opportunity to stress the importance of good process in order to create trust, openness, and avoid conflict; no matter where you are in the world, or the size of your organisation this is one thing all strong firms have.

The Aeroplane Analogy:

When you take a plane, you do not think that the plane might crash. This is not because you trust the pilot, you seldom see or meet the pilot, instead, you trust the process.

The process being that the pilot has a license, a number of hours of flying in a training plane, and the necessary accreditation to meet the airline’s requirements to be able to control a commercial aircraft.

In a good process, trust is instinctive, such as when you board the plane. Where there is a lack of a good process there is usually a lack of trust and openness, and more often than not, a lack of innovation.

Many managers think of process as the means by which a product, project, or ‘piece of work’ is delivered, I contest thisas an oversimplified definition. Although the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, the whole is the sum of its parts, and those parts are people that require acknowledgment.

A good process is also a meritocracy whereby it is clear to see who contributed what to the product, project, or ‘piece of work’. Accordingly, a good process will deliver trust, not because team members need to trust each other, but because employees trust the process to deliver transparency and accountability. Transparency increases recognition, knowledge flows, and builds-up the employee’s holistic comprehension of operations to foster new perspectives and ideas. In turn, this creates an environment whereby employees openly share ideas, receive recognition for contribution, and spur on firm innovation.

It is equally important to consider how ideas are shared and recognised, as it is how ideas are generated.