#90 - Survival of the fittest!

3 Dec 25

Innovation isn’t a workshop. It isn’t a brainstorming session. It’s a culture.
Teams that consistently innovate share one trait: they are encouraged, and expected, to think about how to improve the business every single day.

In this edition, we explore how to build a culture where innovation becomes a mindset, not an event. We look at why it matters, the barriers blocking it, and how leaders can create an environment where ideas flourish. And we highlight an example from Atlassian, whose quarterly 'ShipIt Days' have generated fixes, products, and breakthroughs that formal processes failed to unlock.

What?

Innovation is not about grand gestures or billion-dollar ideas. It’s the continuous pursuit of better ways of working; incremental enhancements that compound into significant organisational advantage.

For your team, this means:

• Questioning assumptions,

• Challenging existing processes,

• Identifying inefficiencies,

• Experimenting without fear,

• Treating improvement as daily practice.

The goal is simple:

Make innovation part of everyday behaviour, not a rare event triggered by pressure or crisis.

Why?

Most teams want to innovate, but they face barriers that shut down creativity long before ideas surface:

• Fear of failure or criticism,

• Lack of time or breathing space,

• Rigid processes that limit experimentation,

• A belief that innovation is 'not my role.'

When these barriers disappear, the results can be remarkable.

One of the best examples comes from Atlassian. Every quarter, the company gives employees a full day, known as a ShipIt Day, to work on any project they choose, as long as they present their outcomes to management afterwards.

The results have included:

• Solutions to software bugs that had been unresolved for years,

• Improvements to internal systems,

• Entirely new product ideas that later became customer-facing features,

• Faster iteration cycles and stronger cross-functional collaboration.

This happens because the message is clear:

You are trusted. Your ideas matter. You have permission to experiment.

When people feel trusted to think critically and creatively, they unlock insights that would never emerge through traditional workflows.

How?

Creating a culture of innovation doesn’t require huge budgets or grand programmes. It requires deliberate behaviours and systems that give people the space and the psychological safety to think differently.

Here’s how to cultivate it:

1. Create time for innovation - If you want people to innovate, you must give them time. Even a few hours each month dedicated to improvement can produce disproportionate results. Consider adopting your own version of Atlassian's ShipIt Day; team-based, quarterly, and focused on solving real business challenges or exploring new ideas.
2. Make innovation a responsibility, not a bonus - Every role can innovate.
   Build innovation objectives into team goals, performance conversations, and project reviews.
3. Remove fear from the environment - Innovation requires experimentation, and experimentation includes failure. Celebrate attempts not just outcomes. Publicly reward the behaviours you want.
4. Encourage small, fast experiments - Not every idea requires a business case. Start with micro-tests: prototypes, workflows, scripts, checklists, new meeting formats. These are the small shifts that deliver big improvements.
5. Showcase ideas and learnings - Atlassian requires employees to present their ShipIt outcomes. Do the same. Visibility drives accountability and creates momentum. Whether an idea succeeds or not, sharing it builds learning across the team and encourages the next spark of innovation.

In Summary

Innovation thrives when leaders create the conditions for curiosity, experimentation, and improvement. When your team feels empowered to think differently, challenge conventions, and contribute ideas without fear, they generate the breakthroughs your business needs to stay competitive.

Encourage exploration. Create space. Celebrate experimentation.

Because innovation is not an event, it’s a culture you build every day.

Have a great week!

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