Inhibitors
In The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work Inhibotors are those events that directly hinder project work. As a leader, you can add value by removing inhibitors as much as you can for your employees.
Practical tips
Take Your Foot Off the Gas (Once in a While)
People tend to be most creative on days of low-to-moderate time pressure, when they are able to think, discuss, and explore for new solutions to complex problems. The worst time pressure is quite common in modern organizations – characterized by people splitting their attention between too many unrelated tasks, rather than being able to focus. High time pressure over extended periods of time leads to both poor inner work life and poor performance. However, when tight deadlines are unavoidable for brief periods, managers can support creativity by making sure that people understand they are on an important mission, and allowing them to focus exclusively on that mission.
Example Inhibitors
See: The Progress Principle Checklist
- Confusion regarding long- or short-term goals for meaningful work
- Overly constrained team members in their ability to solve problems and feel ownership of the project
- Lack of required resources
- Lack sufficient time to focus on meaningful work
- Requested help not provided
- Punishment of failure, or neglect to find lessons and/or opportunities in problems and successes
- Cutting off the presentation or debate of ideas prematurely
