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Issue 453

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June 29 - July 20, 2015 24 Working World l WorkingWorld.com T here's no shortage of fanfare for the hottest corporate buzzword of the past several years – innovation. As Forbes noted in a 2012 article, the word has become the "awesome" of corporate speak. Innovation is the quality desired by business leaders, who tend to believe that if you're not innovating, you're dying a slow death. While volumes have been written about the path to reliable innovation, corporate coach Maxine Attong has found none with the key ingredient that she has found so compelling in her work, safety. "In order to take risks, which is the foundation of innovation and subsequent rewards, a team member has to feel safe," says Attong, a certified facilitator and author of "Lead Your Team to Win: Achieve Optimal Performance By Providing A Safe Space For Employees" (www.MaxineAttong. com). "Anyone who has ever been in a classroom or company meeting knows the potential risk of making an out-of- the-box statement, which could be seen as silly, frivolous or ignorant – or as a groundbreaking insight. Without a sense of safety, most employees will decide to silence an unconventional statement that could risk their standing." Unusual and unconventional ideas are a sign of strength in a company, Attong says. It shows that team leaders really are open to innovative ideas. She further explains the importance of the idea and how to create safety to voice risk-taking ideas. • A safe space is the "office Vegas:" what happens in the room stays in the room. While business plans may be neatly fitted into a blueprint, the reality of any strategy involving humanity needs to account for our unpredictability. We've all had those days in which we were stressed out by personal matters. Meanwhile, deadlines and expectations loom as the workload continues to pile up. The more you try to ignore your personal problems the more they come to mind. • "What would it be like if you could go into a room where you have total support and have a good cry for the dead dog, vent how angry you are at your loved one, or rant about how stressed you are over your coworker's behavior," Attong says. "When you are done, you leave the room knowing that your behavior was not judged, and your statements were confidential. That's the kind of safe space that can facilitate innovation." • Human beings have an amazing capacity for brilliance. However, the list of negative distractions is formidable: sick children, marriage or divorce, financial issues and other problems can take a focused mind off FEATURED ARTICLE by Maxine Attong How To Maximize The Risk-Reward Relationship In Corporate Settings A Safe Environment For Expressing Ideas Plays A Key Role In Innovation "In order to take risks, which is the foundation of innovation and subsequent rewards, a team member has to feel safe,"

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