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๐—•๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ธ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐— ๐—ผ๐—น๐—ฑ: ๐—˜๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—–๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—บ-๐—ฆ๐—ผ๐—น๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ฆ๐—ง๐—˜๐— 

June 19, 2025โ€ข2 min read

๐—•๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ธ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐— ๐—ผ๐—น๐—ฑ: ๐—˜๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—–๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—บ-๐—ฆ๐—ผ๐—น๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ฆ๐—ง๐—˜๐— 

STEM pros are often expected to "think outside the box" - but no one ever tells them where the box came from in the first place.

Creative problem-solving in science and tech isnโ€™t about chasing unicorn ideas. Itโ€™s about creating the conditions where experimentation, cross-pollination, and fresh thinking are not just allowed, but ๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฑ.

So how do you get your team to stop coloring inside the lines... when everything about their training told them to stay within them?

๐Ÿญ. ๐—–๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฏ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ ๐—ค๐˜‚๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€, ๐—ก๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—๐˜‚๐˜€๐˜ ๐—”๐—ป๐˜€๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€

If every team meeting is a quest for the โ€œrightโ€ answer, you're killing innovation before it starts. Instead, create space for what-ifs, wild cards, and contrarian takes. Bonus: the best ideas often come wrapped in a terrible one.

๐Ÿ‘€ Try asking: โ€œWhatโ€™s a completely opposite approach we could take - just for fun?โ€

๐Ÿฎ. ๐— ๐—ถ๐˜… ๐—จ๐—ฝ ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—œ๐—ป๐—ฝ๐˜‚๐˜๐˜€

Innovation doesnโ€™t come from staring harder at the same data. Encourage your team to explore adjacent fields, connect with non-STEM colleagues, or even spend time observing customers. Creativity feeds on variety.

๐Ÿ’ก Cross-disciplinary exposure isn't a distraction - it's fuel.

๐Ÿฏ. ๐—ก๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜‡๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ โ€œN๐—ผ๐—ฝ๐—ฒโ€

Creative teams donโ€™t just succeed more - they fail better. That means making it safe to pitch ideas that flop. The moment your team starts self-censoring to avoid embarrassment, you've lost the thread.

๐Ÿš€ โ€œFail like a scientistโ€: Test, learn, iterate.

๐Ÿฐ. ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ณ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐—–๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜๐˜€

Oddly enough, giving people ๐™จ๐™ค๐™ข๐™š boundaries helps creativity thrive. Define the sandbox, then let them play wildly within it.

Try this: โ€œYou have 48 hours and no budget. How would you solve this?โ€

๐Ÿฑ. ๐— ๐—ผ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—น ๐—œ๐˜ ๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ณ

Leaders who default to the safest route create teams that do the same. Show your team youโ€™re willing to be a little weird, challenge assumptions, or say, โ€œI donโ€™t know - letโ€™s find out.โ€

๐—–๐—ผ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ต ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—–๐˜‚๐—น๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฒ, ๐—ก๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—๐˜‚๐˜€๐˜ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฃ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€

Encouraging creative problem-solving isnโ€™t just about tools or templates - itโ€™s a mindset shift. And that often starts with the leader. If you want to cultivate innovation, it helps to explore your own leadership habits, assumptions, and blind spots.

๐˜Œ๐˜น๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ถ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ฑ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฌ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ฏโ€™๐˜ต ๐˜ซ๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ฑ๐˜ต ๐˜ค๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜บ - ๐˜ฃ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐™ž๐™œ๐™ฃ๐™ž๐™ฉ๐™š๐™จ ๐˜ช๐˜ต.

Sylke is a business consultant and executive advisor who works with STEM business leaders and professionals in STEM roles when they want to exceed the expectations of their stakeholders and their own.

Sylke Chesterfield, CEC

Sylke is a business consultant and executive advisor who works with STEM business leaders and professionals in STEM roles when they want to exceed the expectations of their stakeholders and their own.

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