Building a culture where innovation thrives
A follow-up to our webinar with Cris Beswick on creating cultures for innovation
Lee Smith
Minutes
2nd May 2025
Innovation
Culture
Design thinking
Culture
Design thinking
If you
joined us for our latest EX Space ‘Expert Insights’ webinar with innovation guru
Cris Beswick, you’ll know it was a session packed with bold truths, practical
wisdom, and a few friendly provocations about what it really takes to
build a culture where innovation isn’t just talked about, but actually thrives.
“Innovation
isn’t something you do,” Cris reminded us. “It’s an outcome — the end result of
lots and lots of things coming together inside an organisation.” That one
insight reframes the whole innovation conversation. It’s not about having a
brainstorm and a few sticky notes. It’s about designing the environment — the
culture, strategy, behaviours, systems — where innovative thinking becomes part
of the everyday.
So, if
you’re keen to move from lip service to lived experience when it comes to
innovation, here are some of the top takeaways from Cris’s talk — plus some
practical actions to try in your own organisation.
1. Start with culture, but build
for innovation
Cris made a sharp distinction early on: “We don’t build a culture of innovation. We build cultures for innovation.” Why? Because innovation isn’t a standalone activity — it needs the right cultural conditions to emerge.
Try this:
Cris made a sharp distinction early on: “We don’t build a culture of innovation. We build cultures for innovation.” Why? Because innovation isn’t a standalone activity — it needs the right cultural conditions to emerge.
Try this:
- Ask your team: “What’s it like to have ideas around here?”. Their answers will tell you everything about your current innovation culture.
- Look at the rituals, values, and habits in your organisation. Do they support creativity and experimentation — or prioritise predictability and control?
2. Ditch the ‘innovation is everyone’s
job’ myth
Cris challenged one of the most common mantras in business: “Innovation is everyone’s job.” In reality? That’s a recipe for confusion and guilt.
Instead, focus on contribution. Cris explained, “What every employee can do, is answer the question: How have I contributed to the innovation agenda this year?” That might mean backfilling for a colleague who’s on an idea team, feeding customer insights into a project, or simply being open to new ways of working.
Try this:
Cris challenged one of the most common mantras in business: “Innovation is everyone’s job.” In reality? That’s a recipe for confusion and guilt.
Instead, focus on contribution. Cris explained, “What every employee can do, is answer the question: How have I contributed to the innovation agenda this year?” That might mean backfilling for a colleague who’s on an idea team, feeding customer insights into a project, or simply being open to new ways of working.
Try this:
- Replace “Be innovative” with “Contribute to innovation” in job expectations.
- Create simple ways for people to log or share their contributions — big or small.
3. Mind the ‘frozen middle’ —
and empower it
Middle managers often get labelled as blockers. But as Cris put it, “If the middle is frozen, where’s the cold north wind blowing from?”
These managers aren’t trying to be difficult. They’re often squeezed by systems and leaders that demand innovation — but reward conformity. The result? Paralysis.
Try this:
Middle managers often get labelled as blockers. But as Cris put it, “If the middle is frozen, where’s the cold north wind blowing from?”
These managers aren’t trying to be difficult. They’re often squeezed by systems and leaders that demand innovation — but reward conformity. The result? Paralysis.
Try this:
- Involve middle managers early when shaping innovation initiatives.
- Equip them with tools, space and confidence to “translate” strategy into everyday behaviour.
- Share stories where managers took a risk — and were backed by leadership.
4. Get the messaging right
Mixed messages are the enemy of innovation. Think: “We want bold ideas!” … followed by, “Don’t forget your KPIs by 5pm Friday.”
Leaders often say innovation is a top priority, but the organisational systems — performance measures, incentives, decision-making — say otherwise.
Try this:
Mixed messages are the enemy of innovation. Think: “We want bold ideas!” … followed by, “Don’t forget your KPIs by 5pm Friday.”
Leaders often say innovation is a top priority, but the organisational systems — performance measures, incentives, decision-making — say otherwise.
Try this:
- Audit your current systems: what gets rewarded, punished, or ignored?
- Make space in performance reviews and team meetings to talk about learning, risk, and experimentation — not just delivery.
5. Redefine risk — and celebrate
learning (through failure)
One of the most powerful points Cris made was that not all failure is bad. In fact, it’s essential. “We’re not breeding cavalier risk,” he said. “We’re breeding smart risk. We want to test assumptions, learn fast, and if needed, fail fast and fail cheap.”
And here’s where storytelling becomes your secret weapon. Leaders and managers who share their own “learning episodes” — times when things didn’t work, but valuable insight was gained — send a powerful signal that safe failure is okay.
Try this:
One of the most powerful points Cris made was that not all failure is bad. In fact, it’s essential. “We’re not breeding cavalier risk,” he said. “We’re breeding smart risk. We want to test assumptions, learn fast, and if needed, fail fast and fail cheap.”
And here’s where storytelling becomes your secret weapon. Leaders and managers who share their own “learning episodes” — times when things didn’t work, but valuable insight was gained — send a powerful signal that safe failure is okay.
Try this:
- Start meetings with a “what we learned” slot.
- Ask leaders to share times they’ve “killed an idea” — and what they gained from it.
- Reward smart risk-taking and curiosity as much as results.
6. Find the middle ground: the real
engine of innovation
Not every organisation will create the next iPhone or disrupt their sector overnight. And that’s okay. Unicorns are rare. “The fruitful middle ground, is where you shift culture”, said Cris. That means pursuing ideas that are bold enough to move the needle — but grounded enough to make progress real and sustainable.
Try this:
Not every organisation will create the next iPhone or disrupt their sector overnight. And that’s okay. Unicorns are rare. “The fruitful middle ground, is where you shift culture”, said Cris. That means pursuing ideas that are bold enough to move the needle — but grounded enough to make progress real and sustainable.
Try this:
- Focus innovation efforts on medium-scale, medium-risk challenges that your customers (and your teams) care about.
- Empower small cross-functional teams to tackle those problems creatively — ideally no more than 3–5 people per team.
- Build systems to track, test and learn from these experiments — and share the results widely.
7. Build innovation into your system,
not just your slogan
If innovation isn’t embedded into the way your organisation actually works — your strategy, your processes, your performance systems — it will always remain superficial. Cris talked us through five key pillars that form what he calls the “innovation system”:
Try this:
If innovation isn’t embedded into the way your organisation actually works — your strategy, your processes, your performance systems — it will always remain superficial. Cris talked us through five key pillars that form what he calls the “innovation system”:
- Strategy — A clear direction for why and where you want innovation.
- Leadership — Not innovation leaders, but leaders for innovation.
- Culture — The values, behaviours and mindsets that support risk and creativity.
- Processes & Tools — Frameworks like design thinking that guide teams to real solutions.
- Governance — Decision-making structures that allow smart, agile bets on new ideas.
Try this:
- Choose one of the five pillars and ask: Are we enabling innovation here — or accidentally blocking it?
- Involve cross-level teams to co-design improvements, especially in culture and governance.
Innovation as an outcome, not an
activity
Perhaps the most important shift of all is to stop treating innovation as a buzzword or a set of activities. “Innovation is an outcome,” Cris said. “It’s what happens when people have the right space, support, and systems to do things differently — and better.”
So the real question isn’t how do we do more innovation? It’s: What do we need to put in place — as leaders, as communicators, as people — to let innovation happen?
Perhaps the most important shift of all is to stop treating innovation as a buzzword or a set of activities. “Innovation is an outcome,” Cris said. “It’s what happens when people have the right space, support, and systems to do things differently — and better.”
So the real question isn’t how do we do more innovation? It’s: What do we need to put in place — as leaders, as communicators, as people — to let innovation happen?
What next?
If this has sparked ideas, frustrations or even a bit of soul-searching, you’re not alone. Building cultures for innovation isn’t easy — but it is possible. And it starts with conversations like this.
You can catch the full webinar replay here, and download the slides over at The EX Space (if you’re not already a member you can sign up for free in seconds!). And don’t forget to explore our EX Designer Masterclass – our acclaimed deep dive into the art, science and practice of design thinking - which links beautifully with many of the principles Cris shared.
Let’s make innovation more than a buzzword. Let’s make it a reality.
If this has sparked ideas, frustrations or even a bit of soul-searching, you’re not alone. Building cultures for innovation isn’t easy — but it is possible. And it starts with conversations like this.
You can catch the full webinar replay here, and download the slides over at The EX Space (if you’re not already a member you can sign up for free in seconds!). And don’t forget to explore our EX Designer Masterclass – our acclaimed deep dive into the art, science and practice of design thinking - which links beautifully with many of the principles Cris shared.
Let’s make innovation more than a buzzword. Let’s make it a reality.
