Is Your Team Blocked on New Ideas?
Are you struggling to get your team to come up with new ideas?
Recently, I had a client say to me, “I ask for new ideas at every single meeting and in response, I hear crickets”.
“Can you remember the last time someone did present a new idea?” I asked.
“Yes. It was probably a year ago”.
“Great. How did you feel when you heard the idea?”
He paused and then said, “I felt overwhelmed. And tired. Just the thought of the time and energy it would take to pursue this idea felt like I’d be taking on another job”.
“Hmm. Fascinating. So how did you respond?”
“I said what I felt. It would be too time consuming. We were already overloaded. I want to try and protect myself and my team from burn out”.
“Can you tell me about the last time someone brought an idea you liked?”
He was silent for a bit and then said, “Well, no. I can’t. The ideas that are brought forward haven’t been feasible given budget allocations or time factors. Or I just don’t think they make sense”.
At that moment I knew what was blocking the team from presenting ideas.
Enough people had seen or heard about ideas being rejected. So now no one was going to risk presenting an idea that likely won’t be considered.
I conducted confidential interviews with members of the team to get to the root of what was holding people back.
The interviews revealed that there was a fear that if you put forward an idea that was not the “right” idea, the boss’ reaction would be harsh.
This was significant, revealing a lack of trust and a belief that if you take a risk your working relationship could be damaged. The environment is not emotionally safe for risk taking.
Remember, check your own energy.
Before you can start asking people to be innovative or throw out ideas, you must check your own energy.
Not every idea can be put in place, but every idea can be received and discussed. Most ideas can’t be implemented as they are presented, but the discussion of ideas leads to things that can make a difference, and it builds trust within the team.