How to Build a Culture of Ownership and Innovation in Your Events Business
Anyone who works in B2B conferences and events knows how fast the industry moves! Innovation isn’t a nice-to-have; it’s essential. But to truly unlock it, we need to go deeper than brainstorming sessions or creative prompts.
The real catalyst? Psychological safety is the feeling that team members can speak up, take risks, and challenge the status quo without fear of embarrassment or backlash.
As highlighted in our past article, psychological safety is the hidden key to performance. When people feel safe, they think more creatively, collaborate more openly, and bring more of themselves to their work.
In short, you can’t expect your team to think like entrepreneurs if they’re afraid of getting it wrong.
Here’s how to lay the groundwork for a culture where ownership and innovation happen every day, naturally.
- Start with Psychological Safety
Make it clear that all ideas are welcome, especially the imperfect ones. Actively encourage curiosity, questions, and disagreement. When someone speaks up, listen without judgment. Celebrate learning from experiments, not just success stories.
Fear shuts down innovation. Safety sparks it.
- Give Permission to Think Differently
Once the foundation is set, give explicit permission to challenge the way things are done and refrain from using the ‘we have always done it this way and it works’ comments. Leaders can model this approach to encouraging new ideas by asking:
“What’s another way we could approach this?”
“What’s something we’re assuming that could be wrong?”
Empower people to think beyond their job description. Entrepreneurial cultures thrive when people stop asking, “Is this my role?” and start asking, “How can I help us grow?”
- Create a Structured Space for Ideas
Set up regular, visible forums for sharing ideas, monthly pitch sessions, hack days, quickfire innovation sprints, team-building sessions, and walk & talk activities. These should feel like part of the rhythm of work, not side projects.
Ideas need air time, not just hallway encouragement.
- Reward Initiative, Not Just Execution
Don’t wait for polished business cases. Recognise first attempts, bold thinking, and fresh perspectives. When you reward initiative, people feel empowered to try.
- Provide Tools, Resources, and Time
Give teams what they need to explore and test new ideas: access to insights, small budgets, mentorship, or just time carved out each month. Innovation doesn’t happen in spare time; it needs to be prioritised. Encourage your most creative thinkers to champion sessions.
- Close the Feedback Loop
Every idea shared deserves a response, even if it’s a no. People stay engaged when they know their input is heard, valued and taken seriously.
Lack of feedback is one of the fastest ways to kill creative momentum.
Model the Culture You Want
Leaders must walk the talk. Show your willingness to test, fail, and learn. Talk openly about experiments that didn’t work, and what they taught you. Vulnerability is contagious.
Make It a Daily Practice
- Use quick prompts in team huddles: “Any fresh ideas this week?”
- Create a Slack channel for “tiny ideas”
- Offer a micro-budget or time block for exploration
- Assign “innovation champions” within teams to keep momentum going
You can’t expect your team to build genuine engagement with your customers if they don’t feel safe, empowered, and included in building the future of your business.
Start by creating a culture where they can fully belong and innovate.
About Jackson Barnes Recruitment
Jackson Barnes Recruitment delivers international recruitment solutions within the events, media, and publishing sectors. Jackson Barnes recruits Graduate to MD level in the following positions:
• Sales – delegate, sponsorship & Business Development
We recruit for organisations in the UK and overseas, with success in London, Dubai, New York, Singapore and Australia.