Innovation doesn’t fail because of ideas. It fails because of culture.
Inside most organisations, leaders and teams are busy. Diaries are packed, projects stacked, but real progress is missing. When we look deeper, the same barriers keep showing up: people don’t feel safe to share half-baked ideas, failure is treated as blame, and small wins go unnoticed.
This is what I call a psychological safety crisis. Our own research with leaders across a number of sectors shows that:
- Only 1 in 10 leaders feel safe to share untested ideas
- 80% of failures are treated as someone’s fault rather than a learning opportunity
- 9 in 10 leaders say progress is only celebrated “sometimes”
If that is the cultural backdrop, it is no wonder innovation stalls.
Quick Wins to Build a Culture of Curiosity
Shifting culture sounds daunting, but it does not have to start with a massive program. Here are three practical steps any leader can take today:
1. Learning Rounds
Start your next meeting by asking, “What is one thing you learned this week?” Not project updates, actual insights. This normalises curiosity, signals that learning is valued, and makes failure a source of progress.
2. Failure Share Friday
Dedicate five minutes a week for someone, including you as a leader, to share a small failure and what was learned from it. Vulnerability breeds trust, and trust fuels innovation.
3. Testing, Not Proving
Stop writing business cases to “prove” an idea. Instead, frame it as a test. A simple shift in language can transform the appetite for experimentation.
👉 Want more? Download our Innovation Quick-Wins Guide for 21 practical ways to accelerate innovation inside your organisation.
A Case Study: From Reactive to Innovative
I once led a customer communications team that had over 350 years of combined experience. They were respected but reactive. Not forward-looking and not particularly innovative.
We introduced a simple forum where team members could surface their biggest pain points and work together on solutions. Within weeks, the culture started to shift. Quick wins lifted productivity. Collaboration became proactive. Quarterly initiatives replaced “just getting through the inbox.”
The difference was not new technology or a bigger budget. It was creating a safe space for curiosity and problem solving.
Why Culture Must Come First
You cannot buy culture. You cannot copy it from another company. You cannot expect innovation to thrive without it.
Culture is the soil. Strategy, funding, and talent are just seeds. Without healthy soil, nothing grows.
So before you design your next innovation program, pause and ask: Are we creating an environment where people feel safe to ask better questions, challenge defaults, and experiment without fear?
If the answer is no, the best strategy in the world will not save you.
Former IAG CEO, Peter Harmer says the most important ingredient in any innovation effort is curiosity.
Next Step
Take your team further with our Innovation COMPASS™ Leadership Lab. This hands-on workshop helps leadership teams uncover their biggest innovation gaps, build alignment, and design practical actions to start making progress right away.
The Lab is valued at $7,500, but we are offering a handful free to selected clients.