OK, what do I mean by experiential mentoring? My belief is, if you want to increase creativity and innovation within your business you should start with a real, high priority business problem rather than investing in broad-based “creative thinking and innovation training”. Traditionally companies who have “invested” in such workshops presume that mindsets have been changed overnight so just “wait and see” if the investment pays off.
My approach is based on delivering visible and tangible results by engaging a team on real life business issues that they can sink their teeth into. Often it’s these problems/barriers and the mindset of the stakeholders that they cannot be solved that holds a company and its teams back.
By using real situations like these I believe that teams are engaged more, inspired and enthused as to what is possible with the right help and guidance instead of wondering how to sustainably apply tools learned on one day workshops.
Common knowledge suggests that as human beings we progress in our abilities when we are coached, guided or assisted which is why my approach as a mentor works towards helping team members deliver tangible differences that they and the wider team can see have value. This then starts to create an organisational culture that embraces creativity and innovation.
Motivated and entrepreneurial cultures within organisations thrive on stories and experiences of fellow team members or the business as a whole. So what better way to inspire a culture of creativity and innovation than to use “experiential learning” to allow teams to participate in the process first hand and be part of the solution creating authentic and motivational experiences that are relevant.
Cris Beswick
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