Innovative ideas often spring from teams, but the level of passion within those teams can make or break their ability to innovate. According to new research, while passionate team members can drive innovation, obsessive passion can actually stifle it. The key is finding the right balance of harmonious passion to foster team reflexivity and adaptability, leading to greater innovation.
The Yin and Yang of Passion
Teams are frequently viewed as the catalyst which propels innovation forward. A mixture of ideas can bring an extraordinarily creative and inspiring outcome to a table, through collaboration. Yet, the depth of engagement with which team members show up can make a world of difference (for better or worse).
A study by Hui Liao, of the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, found a different characterisation with two types of passion for team innovation: harmonious and obsessive passion. Harmonious passion is associated with an adaptive, well-facilitated relationship to the project itself, allowing team members a deep sense of involvement balanced by enough control and flexibility. Obsessive passion, on the other hand, is characterised by an impulse-driven and uncontrollable force which does not allow teams to pause for a moment and evaluate their evolution.
The Power of Reflection
The research of Liao, published in the journal Personnel Psychology, illustrates how important team reflexivity is to foster innovation. More simply put, reflexivity is the opportunity for teams to take a break, check their bias (such as setting erroneously rigid goals), and think about what they are doing. This reflection and conversation enables teams to pivot their tactics as necessary, both reasons we become more innovative.
Having said that, the most important thing is that teams motivated by obsessive passion may just get stuck on this crucial step. “Beyond a lack of work-life balance, obsessively passionate team members are also addicted to working hard and cannot ever stop progressing forward,” writes Liao. But the craving is so strong that they can’t bring themselves to halt, robbing them of the opportunity for reflection.
Striking the Right Balance
On the other hand, harmonious passion is preferable for developing team innovation. In this case, team members have not forgotten what the donor can give them but they are excited about the project and should still be able to hold it as what their number one priority is without totally neglecting school work. Team members with harmonious passion “also should be able to step back and re-think when things are not going well,” Liao explains. It is in this equilibrium that a healthy atmosphere for team reflexivity grows, leading to more creativity in the long term.
So, how might Team Leads direct the cocktail of passion on their teams to innovate? Liao suggests many plans, from ensuring team members take a step back and assess where they are during the journey to creating a more responsive environment and aiding team members in developing harmonious passion for what they do. When teams find the sweet spot of passion, they will use the energy for idea generation and other creative activities.
