Leadership behaviours that allow for ideas

 I have heard more than once a manager saying -  I did not know that person has such great ideas. I wish she/he told me earlier because this could really have had impact. Why do people not tell me these things?

As managers and leaders we need to take a reflective stance to this question – why do I not hear about these great ideas? Could it be that I am not accessible? Could it be that they way I react to ideas been proposed? Could it be that people do not know that they are allowed to share their ideas and not only execute instructions from management? Could it be that once you have introduced a great idea, you just get more work to implement that idea? Could it be that there is negative consequences associated with making mistakes when mobilising new ideas? There can be many others as well?

One way to reflect would be to Ask 5 times WHY? You can do it as a self-reflection, and with some peers and friends.

1. Why do I not know about these ideas? People do not share them with me.

2. Why do people not share these ideas with me? Because I am not listening.

3. Why am I not listening? Because I am not patient enough to listen to something that may be of value.

4. Why am I not patient enough? Because I have so many things to to, there is just not time for anything else.

5. Why am I so busy? There is always a crisis that I must solve – just trying to survive.

Now that we have insight in the self-talk, you can consider various solutions.

1. Change the way I respond to ideas. Be mindful of your impatience, and deliberately decide to be more patient next time. The following conversation phrases from Think for a Change  may assist you to focus the conversation towards listening -

•   ”Tell me more…”
• “What made you think of this idea?”
• “If we explored this idea, what would be your first step?”
• “What can I do to help?”
• “Who/what do you need to explore this idea?”
• “What do you see as the benefit of this idea?”
• “Yes, and…”
• “How can/might we?”
• “What problem are we trying to solve?”

 2. Invite people to share ideas.

• “What would you do differently”
• “What else would you do”
• “What would make you happy if you could do it” 
• “Did you have any good ideas recently”
• “What do you think will make us better”

 3. In a recent workshop, the team decided to introduce Moderator Cards. I especially like the following one “I would like to hear more.” This card you can use if someone is rejecting an idea without engaging in a conversation around it.

4. Jot down the good ideas, and remember to follow-up with the teams and individuals if they have been able to mobilise these, were there any learnings, what difference did it made, and if they think others could also benefit from this. This is relevant to local innovations – not all innovations will necessarily go through a formal innovation management process. It is possible that some of the successful local innovations could at some point in time be included in the Innovation Program.  It is important for leaders to also be mindful of these local innovations, and nurture and inspire teams for local innovations.

5. Launch an initiative to direct the system and your focus and effort away from crisis management – address the root cause.

These are all ideas for changing your behaviour which will lead to a different response. But this is only the start or trigger for innovation – the idea. It is important to not only invite ideas, but to have a relevent Innovation Program in place to select, mobilise and follow through on valuable ideas.