I’ve been thinking about this line from Adam Grant’s book Hidden Potential (Chapter 8 Mining for Gold Unearthing Collective Intelligence in Teams pg 193) ever since I read it:
“- they had built an unconventional system
for making sure that ideas were
carefully considered rather than dismissed.”
How would your team be transformed if you carefully considered their ideas? What magic would happen? What mountains could they climb… or ski down?
Here is a list of the top reasons I see ideas being dismissed:
- You never stopped what you were doing to listen and missed it.
- A preconceived judgment about the person offering up the idea.
- The idea is too far outside your own comfort zone.
- Fear of how the C-Suite will react.
- Instantly thinking about all the reasons it won’t / can’t work.
Adam Grant continues on page 194 “Managers know that if they bet on a bad idea, it might be a career-limiting move, but if they pass on a good idea, it’s unlikely anyone will ever find out.”
Stop passing potentially brilliant ideas by because of fear – uncertainty – doubt.
Instead carefully consider the UPSIDE of success as your first step.
Carefully considering,
Lynn