This article was originally published by IronSpark People and Business Empowerment Analyst Joe McKendrick on Forbes.com.
Achieving “efficiency” is so 2016. Today, it’s about “resiliency,” or adaptability to unexpected events. A key foundation for resiliency is serendipity, or the unexpected innovation that comes out of chance encounters or connecting the dots in new ways – something beyond what AI itself can provide.
Serendipity is needed more than ever in an AI world, said Benedikt Gieger of the Global Shapers Community and Christian Busch with New York University in a report out of the World Economic Forum. While the focus of their report is on the manufacturing sector, they provide lessens that can be applied across all industries.
Gieger and Busch cite a prominent example of serendipity in action, with the application of mRNA for COVID-19 vaccines by BioNTech in 2020, from a therapy designed for cancer treatments. “BioNTech’s co-founder quickly saw that the same technology could be adapted to fight the virus,” the co-authors relate. ”What appeared to be rapid reaction was, in reality, the meeting point of sustained preparation, contextual alertness and decisive action in the face of the unexpected, the essence of serendipity.”
Serendipity is not something that can be engineered – though many organizations try, they point out. If anything, “when processes become overly rigid or top-down, they can unintentionally suppress the very conditions that spark serendipitous innovation: trust, autonomy and informal connection.”
Conversely, “when leaders make serendipity part of the organizational culture, they not only spark innovation but also strengthen resilience in the face of disruption.”
The challenge becomes achieving the ideas that can spring out of daily encounters between people and teams – when they don’t see each other. “It’s certainly possible for spontaneous ideas sharing and creativity to fade in a virtual setting,” said Kabir Daya, chief digital officer at Thriveworks. “There are no traditional watercooler moments, open conversations to drop in on, or spontaneous whiteboard sessions. It’s super important to prioritize true connection and community among virtual teams.”
Such connectivity is achieved through “virtual team-building sessions, social chat channels and other intentional moments to get together for non-work related reasons foster closeness and an openness to collaborate, be vulnerable and share ideas,” Daya continued. “Being proactive about sharing ‘wins’ also gives virtual teams opportunities to celebrate one another, and share their own ideas and points of pride. I’ve also found that sharing client feedback or learnings, whether through a dedicated g-chat or via a customer voice segment in department meetings, can spark great conversation and even better ideas.”
Today’s virtual and AI-driven workplaces – with people working remotely across different locations – are a challenge to the odds of serendipitous innovation.
That’s where leadership and culture – not technology – makes the difference. “The real magic happens when you build a culture around on-camera calls, steady availability for quick connects and when you encourage the team to connect across functions and projects,” said Julie Ferris-Tillman, vice president of the B2B Tech practice at Interdependence Public Relations. “Passing out the tasks and giving everyone a password to a shared server isn’t the kind of mic drop that creates these moments.”
Leadership “is where everything starts and ends,” agreed Yaniv Masjedi, chief marketing officer at Nextiva. “As a leader, I’ve found that demonstrating open communication and collaboration sets the tone for the rest of my team. It’s easy to assume that just because people are online, they’re feeling connected and engaged, but in my experience, many creative and innovative ideas come from those spontaneous moments of collaboration. It’s my job as a leader to ensure my team feels comfortable, trusted, and inspired when sharing any new ideas.”
“Setting a standard and appreciation for collective discussion and contribution is what nurtures idea creation,” said Ferris-Tillman. “I’ve seen innovation stymied in person by a poor leader driving a brainstorm. Shutting down ideas, talking over others, ignoring critique – that can all happen in a campaign war room in person, just as it can happen online.”
In their report, Gieger and Busch urge building serendipitous innovation into the work culture. “When leaders make serendipity part of the organizational culture, they not only spark innovation but also strengthen resilience in the face of disruption,” they point out. Part of such a culture is not to force-feed collaboration, such as requiring attendance at meetings that won’t necessarily add value to an employees’ work. Keep things organic, they suggest.