Innovation Isn’t a Brainstorm. It’s a Behavior.

Last week a leader told me, “I need my team to be more innovative.”

I hear that a lot. And when I dig a little deeper, what they usually mean is: We want better ideas. More strategic thinking. Less reactivity, more initiative.

All fair. But here’s what I’ve come to believe: you can’t ask for innovation and expect it to just appear.

When this team starts problem-solving, it’s impressive. Ideas are flying. People talking over each other (in a good way). Lots of energy. The kind of brainstorm where you think, wow, they’re really good at this.

And then I looked at what they were actually generating… …and none of it was very good.

Not because they aren’t smart. Not because they don’t care.

They had just skipped something important. They never stopped to ask if they were solving the right problem.

So I slowed them down. Had them back up. Sit in the discomfort a bit.

And everything shifted.

That moment has been sticking with me – especially as I’ve been deep in my Human-Centered Design certification work and sharing my Tuesday Tips over the past few weeks (find the series in my Linkedin posts!).

Because the teams that actually build a culture of innovation don’t just think differently.

They behave differently.

Here are the six behaviors I see in the teams that get it right:

1. They question the question. Before jumping to solutions, they ask: are we even solving the right problem? Simple in theory. Surprisingly rare in practice.
2. They widen the circle. Innovation doesn’t happen in silos. Diverse voices, brought in early, make ideas better — and buy-in stronger.
3. They lead with empathy. They get curious instead of pushing. Resistance isn’t a problem to steamroll — it’s information worth understanding.
4. They imagine before they evaluate. They let ideas breathe. No reflexive “yes, but…” The best thinking usually shows up after the obvious stuff is out of the way.
5. They make thinking visible. Ideas out of heads, onto walls. When we can see our thinking, we can shape it together.
6. They build to learn. They don’t wait for perfect. They test, adjust, and keep going.

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Here’s the part I really want you to take away: These behaviors don’t just happen.

Not in back-to-back meetings. Not in rushed agendas. Not when half the room is half-listening.

They require space. Intention. And a little design.

That’s why I care so much about how we bring teams together—because when you create the right conditions, innovation stops being that vague thing everyone wants and nobody knows how to do…

…and becomes something your team actually knows how to do.

Innovation isn’t about working harder. It’s about working differently.

And that’s a leadership decision.

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If this is something you’re wrestling with—how to get your team thinking differently, not just working harder—I’d love to connect.

Whether it’s a retreat, a strategy session, or just rethinking how your team meets, sometimes a small shift in design changes everything.

Reply here, send me a note, or grab time on my calendar. Always happy to compare notes.