A Culture for Innovation

There is no single recipe for innovation, no one pathway illuminated, and little guidance but mantras like the old ‘think outside the box’ – not terribly helpful in inspiring action. At Griffin we’ve been consciously noticing what is helpful, observing the conditions that inspire and support innovation in our staff. Interestingly, we are learning powerful lessons from the behaviour of schools of fish that are guiding us as we stimulate innovation; a new meaning for our mantra, ‘We all swim together’.

As we continue to develop our inquiry pedagogy and courageously explore the Designed inGenuity learning framework in our classrooms, we’ve taken the time to notice and name what successfully supports staff to innovate. We’ve begun noticing and naming the conditions that keep the flywheel moving, the small, repeated elements of our culture that incite and maintain the motion.

Through our relationship with Thompson, we’re developing an understanding of new organic models, such as the stigmergic behaviour of termites or the swarming behavior we see in schools of fish, all of which open doors to new possibility for vitalizing our learning community. We are coming to understand that when we experiment, our stories leave traces that shape subsequent experimenting behaviours in our peers. That is, our individual innovation stimulates and guides the work of our colleagues.

We are learning that we can indirectly coordinate the group through individual action. When one individual starts, their behaviour stimulates the performance in others through indirect influence. Put more simply, the group inspires the behaviour of the group; we can use the group to move the group. Culture, as we know, is contagious.

In cultivating the culture, the soil, or igniting the swarm for innovation, three components are emerging as critical for the individual in the dynamic system that is innovation at Griffin. We have named these Perceived Permission, Curating Whitespace and Thought Partners. These are assisting us to further cultivate our culture so that it might better support the individual to innovate.

Innovation is no easy feat. It’s not always a fast-paced journey. For us, it’s a ‘experiment and reflect’, ‘partner and transform’ journey. Innovation doesn’t have a recipe, but through identifying conditions that support or hinder it, we’re better able to keep the flywheel in motion, to keep the community experimenting and influencing each other. As our flywheel spins faster, it experiences a greater influential force and thus stores more energy. As we find the courage to innovate, we gain momentum to keep innovating.

Creating a culture for innovation is like preparing the soil for a flourishing garden, it’s a conscious, loving act. The cultivation is never-ending. The flywheel must keep turning, gathering momentum through persistence and Virtuous Causal Loops. It’s challenging, for sure, but when we observe and experience the potential innovation unleashes, it’s difficult to unsee and unfeel it. What we're noticing might be described as our unfolding pathway to transformation, our recipe for flourishing innovation.

Next: Purposeful Change