This article is simple. It is about how Creativity, Risk, and Square Wheels^® drive innovation and how we can identify and fix things to work smoothly.

In business, creativity and risk are often seen as two sides of the same coin. Creativity fuels innovation, strategy, and growth, while risk-taking pushes individuals and teams beyond the comforts of convention.

A recent Strategy+Business article, “The Surprising Link Between Creativity and Risk,” highlights that the most creative people are also those willing to take social risks—the kind that involves speaking up, challenging norms, or suggesting better ways to move forward. That makes them sound a lot like the “squeaky wheels” in an organization. And that immediately brings to mind my oft-used and effective metaphor, the wagon with Square Wheels.

Seeing the Square Wheels^® (and all of the round ones) gives people a different view on how things are really working… Most can identify all the things that do not work smoothly. And to generate new ideas, you need to stop and step back from the wagon:

In the metaphor, our organizational wagon rattles along on wooded Square Wheels, the ones that are inefficient, uncomfortable, but also familiar. The round wheels of improvement and innovation are inside the wagon, often unrecognized or unused but they already exist. Why aren’t they used? Because it takes someone willing to take a risk—to speak up, to question the status quo, to suggest trying those new round wheels—to start the movement forward. But that behavior is not always rewarded.

That “someone” is often a creative thinker: a person willing to see that things could work better and to take the social risk of saying so. And as Strategy+Business points out, social risk—the willingness to speak up even when silence seems safer—is one of the clearest behavioral links to creativity.

And sometimes, a team of people is willing to experiment and try a different approach. But the problem, as our workshops have repeatedly demonstrated over the years, is that managers will give 4 negative responses to every positive one when they are presented with this image below of a team experimenting: Seriously. Managers often criticize mistakes made when people are trying to do things differently.

(Click here to read more about Blame Frames and the bad behavior of managers: https://performancemanagementcompany.com/2012/03/08/on-trial-and-error-blame-frames-and-gotchas-engagement-innovation-really/ )

Creativity as Constructive Dissent

The research described in the article found that creativity isn’t just about artistic flair or idea generation. It’s about the “willingness to risk” —proposing something different even if it might fail, ruffle feathers, or disrupt current routines. Todd Dewett, a business author and researcher cited in the piece, described this type of risk as productive for the organization, even if it brings personal cost. That’s precisely what organizational progress often requires.

Think of it this way: every Square Wheels wagon has a few people who see the inefficiency and suggest a smoother ride. These are the same individuals others might label as “difficult,” “too outspoken,” or “nonconformist.” Yet, as the article warns, silencing these squeaky wheels robs the organization of its creative lifeblood. The wiser move is to oil those wheels—to encourage and support their contributions rather than suppress them.

The Leader’s Role: Creating Safety for Risk-taking

Creativity often stalls not because people lack ideas, but because they fear the social risk of voicing them. Managers can release tremendous potential simply by doing two things:

• Granting autonomy, so team members feel ownership and choice in how they work. Give them the resources they need, and the time.

• Providing encouragement and acting as visible champions of new thinking. Look for positive, incremental improvements.

Autonomy supports risk-taking, while encouragement fuels creativity. To get both, leaders must model curiosity, experimentation, and, perhaps most importantly, tolerance for being “wrong.”

Consider your role as driving DIS-un-engagement and DIS-un-empowerment. You should be working to REMOVE THE ROADBLOCKS that are currently operating to un-engage and un-empower the people in your workplace. (see blog here)

Imagine a manager standing beside the wagon, asking, “What do we need to make this ride smoother?” That question signals permission to explore, experiment, and take calculated risks. It transforms risk from a threat into a shared learning opportunity.

Replacing the Squeaky Wheels

Just as the Strategy+Business piece suggests, the people who challenge and question may be your most valuable assets. In the Square Wheels world, that means celebrating those who point out the obvious—but often ignored—problems and opportunities. They’re the ones tugging the wagon forward toward continuous improvement.

What if, instead of silencing them for disrupting things, organizations included “constructive risk-taking” or “idea advocacy” in performance reviews? Imagine asking employees: What did you change this year? What idea did you push for, or whose suggestion did you support? That would measure something that truly matters: the courage to help the wagon roll better.

Rolling Forward

Creativity flourishes in environments where people feel safe to speak, experiment, and sometimes fail. Risk and creativity are intertwined forces that push wagons forward. So if your team’s journey feels bumpy, maybe it’s time to pause, listen to those thumping sounds, and celebrate the very people willing to take the risk of suggesting new round ones.

Because in the end, innovation is simply the process of testing different wheels, wheels that might enable wagons to roll forward more better and faster, along with having the imagination, courage, and leadership to keep the wagons moving forward.

We offer an amazing and FREE Square Wheels One-based toolkit with an AI-supported Stormz template to support idea collection and brainstorming. I’m making this available because I am trying to change the world of work, to make improvements in engagement and motivation by supporting managers in their attempts to improve their workplaces.

Check this link: https://performancemanagementcompany.com/square-wheelsone/

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For the FUN of It!

Dr. Scott Simmerman is a designer of team building games and organization improvement tools.
Managing Partner of Performance Management Company since 1984, he is an experienced presenter and consultant who is trying to retire!! He now lives in Cuenca, Ecuador.

You can reach Scott at scott@squarewheels.com
Learn more about Scott at his LinkedIn site.

Square Wheels® are a registered trademark of Simmulations, LLC
and images have been copyrighted since 1993,

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I will warrant that Square Wheels is the very best tool for generating active engagement around workplace improvement in the entire world. Tell me something better!