Have you ever been stuck doing the same old same old things? Have you or your team ever been stuck in a rut? If inspiration and innovation are at a low point, it is time to shake things up. Creativity and innovation are born from new ways of thinking. New ways of thinking are often given birth during new and dynamic experiences.
During this year’s Advanced Facilitator Training, our participants were given the opportunity to learn some “new things” from an expert. Lynn Floyd is a Certified Master of The Leadership Challenge and the Executive Director of Fostering Hope in Austin, Texas. Fostering Hope is a nonprofit organization committed to building stronger foster and adoptive families. Led by Lynn, they are continually looking for new ideas to meet the needs of those they serve.
During his presentation, Lynn provided three ways to generate new ideas. We were so inspired by Lynn’s wisdom and insight, we expanded his list and this month’s quick tips is a list of 8 fun activities focusing on sparking new ideas.
Take Action Yourself
- Take a class on something you know little about.
- Remember great leaders are great learners!
- Try a new sport or activity.
- Stretch your body and challenge your brain to try something new!
- Have a conversation with someone from a completely different background from yours.
- Great way to practice behavior #9 and challenge yourself to learn something new.
- Commit to listening to a podcast for 30 days from a group or organization that you know thinks differently than you do.
- Afterward, ask yourself how your stand on topics differs from theirs and why?
- Seek out the opportunity for reverse mentoring.
- Find a mentor that is at least 10 years younger than you and ask them to mentor you. They provide mentorship; you provide lunch!
Things to Do With Your Team
- Create a shared “Favorite Book” list.
- Challenge your team to read a new book each month for 6 months. Plan some discussion time.
- Organize a day of service at a local non-profit organization.
- Debrief afterward by asking about what team members learned from the activity.
- Leave the building…really!
- Take yourself or your staff outdoors and have your next meeting in another space. Different environments often cultivate other thoughts.
The great thing about inspirational activities is that they also happen to be a lot of fun and are great ways to stretch ourselves and make teams feel more connected. We hope these “out of the box” activities inspired you to try some yourself or with your team to create new ideas.
If you have some activities that spark creativity and innovation, we would love to hear them!
