Acronym

I know I’m guilty on more than one occasion of shooting down a colleague’s idea. At the same time, I’m known for bringing some of the most innovative (read: outlandish) ideas to the table. It might sound ridiculous, but I try my best to employ the count-to-ten methodology before responding to new ideas. It prevents me from retorting with some of those knee-jerk reactions you referenced in your post and it allows me to be more open to the idea’s possibilities.

The count-to-ten thing is actually really smart, Aaron--it doesn't sound ridiculous at all. I think it's a great way to force yourself away from a reflexive "no."

That was another point Nancy made in this session, actually--she said you're more likely to respond reflexively, without thinking, when you're stressed. So I think the count-to-ten method is even more important when you feel like you don't have time to count to ten!

Hi Lisa

This post makes me think of a subtle varietal that Marshall Goldsmith illustrated for us at an ASAE speaker series event last year. (He is the guy who wrote "What Got You Here Won't Get You There" and as he amusingly calls himself "a consultant and advisor for chief executives of many large nonprofit organizations, such as the Ford Motor Company...")

His vignette in a nutshell is that, as managers, our normal reflexive reaction to an idea presented to us by an employee is to express our enthusiasm by immediately saying "That's a great idea! The one thing that would make this (a little bit better/work here ...) is if you ... " and then we tag on one or more small refinements that allow us to contribute to their process and show we get it and buy into their idea.

But to paraphrase him badly, what's most instructive to see the employee's discouraged reaction. What we have also done is partially transferred the ownership, the responsibility, and the credit for success from the originator of the idea to ourselves. It's not our intent, but it just happens that way. His practical suggestion is to respond by saying nothing to modify the suggestion. Just endorse their idea and resist the temptation to make it a little bit better ... There is an opportunity cost in the 'lost perfection' of the idea, but in turn we keep an employee who will remain motivated and carry the idea forward with their full commitment to its success.

So, I wonder how many of us who are proud of NOT shooting down ideas of colleagues are still guilty of badly injuring ideas through more well-intentioned behaviors, too. Not the same dynamic among colleagues as it is between employer and employee, but something worth considering.

Kevin - love the Goldsmith reference, and love this particular Goldsmith-ism. I think it makes a lot of sense, and yet I can't help myself, I always want to add to or modify the good or even great ideas that come to me.

This is one of those things that is so very, very hard to actually do -- and seems especially hard in an association environment where we're typically work in teams with mixes of staff and volunteers working collectively.

That's a great point, Kevin! I think the same holds true even when a staff person comes to you with an problem rather than an idea. I tend to jump easily into solution-mode, but I think I need to work harder to help the staff person think through the problem on their own--ask questions to help them, maybe, but give them the opportunity to solve the problem and have that learning experience for themselves.

Agree with everything said, but I think those of us sharing the ideas need to get a bit thicker skin as well.

Just because someone says, "great idea, but have you thought about?" doesn't mean I only have to focus on the second half of the reaction. What's so hard about saying, "Glad you like my idea. Tell me more about how you see that it can be improved."

Some of these conversations simply reflect differences in how people process information and make decisions (intuitives vs. sensers in MBTI talk or E/I vs C/S styles in DiSC).