The talk in
your organization focuses relentlessly on generating innovative, disruptive
ideas. So why is it that when you throw out a creative idea at a team meeting,
you get the death stare instead of a gold star?
You perturb
your boss; your teammates whisper under their breath; and one says out loud
what the others are thinking: “Oh yeah, right! Like that will ever happen
here.” You walk away bruised, disheartened, and wondering how on earth to
introduce a new idea without it being rejected outright before even being
considered.
Certainly,
the quality of the idea has something to do with it. I encourage you to read David Burkus’ article on the factors that
increase the likelihood that your innovative idea will be adopted.
But there is
much more to it than having a great, creative idea. It’s equally about managing
the first impression of your idea. This involves two components: how you
position the idea; and how you address the first round of resistance that threatens
to smother the conversation before it’s even begun.
Outright
resistance is often personal. If you face opposition to an idea, particularly
if teammates resist swiftly and forcefully, it probably isn’t about the idea at
all. Instead, you have likely triggered very personal discomfort for the people
involved.
Passing
judgment is one sure-fire way to spark resistance. When you floated your idea,
did your tone imply that everything that’s been tried before was lacking? Did
you make the mistake of starting a sentence with “When I worked at Awesome
Incorporated…?” If so, you probably aroused feelings of inadequacy and elicited
self-protective resistance.
Another way
you might have triggered resistance was by making the idea sound exotic or
overly complex. While you were focused on making your idea sound compelling,
your jargon-filled description only made it feel more foreign and intimidating
to your teammates. Ideas that people don’t understand or can’t relate to will
invoke fear of looking ignorant or anxiety about not being fully competent.
Shutting down the idea ensures they won’t be exposed as a fish out of water.
When
introducing a new idea to a potentially resistant audience, invest as much
energy in what you say and how you say it as you did in coming up with the idea
itself. Think about how the idea will reflect upon your audience more than you
think about how it will reflect upon you.
There are a
few strategies that will increase the likelihood that your idea will get a fair
hearing:
Start by
connecting the idea to the existing strategy. Drawing one or two links can help
in two ways. First, by relating your idea to existing strategies, it will seem
less foreign and will reduce the likelihood of arousing the fear of the
unknown. Second, by building on the existing strategy, you implicitly validate
it. Here’s an example of the difference: Rather than saying “I think we need a
whole new knowledge management software product line,” try “We’ve got a
strategy of pursuing small privately owned firms and we’ve had particular
success selling our accounting software into small professional services firms.
Our account reps are telling us that clients are struggling to implement all
the new regulatory reforms. What if we were to add a new knowledge management
product line targeted specifically at their regulatory requirements?”
Make
analogies to existing products, services, or processes. Another way to reduce
resistance to new or unfamiliar ideas is to associate them with things that are
well understood. What successful model does your idea relate to? In the
software company example, it might be “We already have the Shazam knowledge
management tool for our large clients, this would be mini-Shazam for lawyers
and accountants!” Alternatively, you can relate it to an example outside your
organization, such as: “It’s like Wikipedia for lawyers.” The idea is to make
the idea seem less scary and more achievable by relating it to a known
quantity. (“Just please don’t compare your idea to Uber.”)
Discuss how
your idea would meet the needs of a key stakeholder. Sometimes you need to
borrow someone’s clout to give your idea the extra oomph it needs to get over
the threshold. Don’t claim that a senior leader is on board if she isn’t, but
it’s totally acceptable (and quite strategic) to mention things that matter to
your boss’ boss and to tie your idea back to them. For example: “At the
conference in March, Aliya said that she thinks we already have all the great
ideas we need, we just need to commercialize them in new ways and in new
markets. I think she’d be really excited if we told her we had a huge
unexploited market opportunity for our Shazam software.”
Even with
your best efforts to sound non-judgemental and to connect your idea to existing
frameworks and strategies, you’re still likely to face at least some
resistance. Here are a few of the most common defensive reactions and your best
bet for an effective comeback:
“That will
never work.” If your
idea is dismissed openly, calmly invite the person to share their concerns.
“I’m interested in hearing what you think would be the show-stoppers.” If, in
response, the team raises interesting or important issues, first validate their
comments. “I hadn’t thought of the technical expertise required in the
regulatory space. Good point.” Then keep the conversation moving forward.
“Where might we access regulatory experts?” If, instead, the team can only come
up with flimsy excuses, you can try “That sounds surmountable. How could we
overcome that issue?” Both of these options keep the conversation positive,
constructive, and moving toward action.
“Oh yeah,
I’ll get right on that.” If your idea is met with sarcasm designed to shut you down, just smile and
keep moving forward. Sarcasm is a very passive-aggressive form of resistance
with very little meaningful content behind it. The only way a nasty one-liner works
is if it silences you. If you ignore the slam and keep moving, the sarcastic
person has shot their bolt. The best way to deal with passive-aggressiveness
such as sarcasm is to meet it head on. “I’m all ears if you have concerns about
my idea. What risks are you focused on?”
Silence,
whispers, or eye-rolling. Many people won’t have the courage to disagree openly with your idea but
that’s not to say their resistance won’t be completely obvious. It’s just as
valid to point out body language as it is to address what someone has said.
“Suddenly it’s become very quiet in here. How should I interpret the silence?”
If the non-verbal behavior in the room is speaking volumes, call it out
“Suddenly I’m seeing a few eye-rolls. What’s behind that reaction?”
There are
many things you can do to improve the quality of your creative ideas. But the
best idea in the world doesn’t assure you of a fair hearing if the innovation
disrupts your teammates’ sense of confidence, competence, or comfort. More
energy invested in making your idea palatable will increase the likelihood that
it gets a fair hearing and isn’t spit out reflexively.
@HavardbizReview
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