Wield creativity sword to cut through red tape

I AM often told teams and organisations cannot innovate because of regulation and “red tape”.

I find this interesting. I have worked with many highly regulated organisations and government departments who have successfully innovated, they have simply had to be more innovative in their approach to innovation.

No organisation turned around and said, “Let’s make things really difficult and inefficient!”

Red tape did not come out of the blue or from a single decision, but rather it develops and grows over time. It is made up of layer after layer of processes, policies, rules and procedures brought into existence to protect the organisation.

It originates from a place of fear and lack of trust.

What makes it toxic is that it not only makes ways of working slow and excruciating, it also infects an organisation’s culture. It reinforces silos, protectionism and kills curiosity and creativity because most resign themselves to the fact that it is too hard to change so why bother.

Organisations end up with a disengaged workforce and frustrated customers.

So how do you cut through red tape and build a team of innovators around you?

You are going to need some superpowers. Red tape is like a Newtonian fluid — the harder you push against it the stronger it becomes.

So, hitting it hard is not going to work unless there is determination and a strong mandate from the top. But most teams I work with do not have that kind of control.

In my experience the answer is one of tactics and mindsets.

Do not blame, use empathy. These layers of delay and indecision come from a place of fear and risk. So, understand, identify and quantify the risk, then go about mitigating it with data, not “trust me” statements.

Use creativity as your sword. Creativity loves constraint.

The more you constrain something the more creative you must be.

Keep this mental muscle sharp by using it regularly with phrases such as, “How might we . . . ” to keep exploring alternatives.

Be patient. Take small steps, test ideas and prototypes quickly and cheaply. Rapid cycles of learning and development highlight risks early and prove alternatives. This gives people confidence that things can move forward and change.

The decisions required are not large and risky, and the consequences are minimal. The trap people fall into is that they try and push too hard, too soon and the red tape fights back.

As Steve Jobs said when he was faced with red tape and indecision when he came back to Apple: “It is more fun to be a pirate than join the navy.”

Taking an approach of exploring for the hidden treasure among the jungle of red tape, by doing things differently, keeps the mind strong and delivers results.

And if done consistently, you soon attract a crew of swashbuckling innovators around you, to make the everyday that little bit more exciting.