Early in my career, I worked for a small, privately held technology company. On multiple occasions I walked into the owner’s office to share an idea on ways to improve our offerings. Each time he would listen to the elevator pitch and respond with the same five words.
“Let me play devil’s advocate.”
He would point out potential concerns, pitfalls, or downsides. Most of which I had already considered, but didn’t yet share. Rather than brainstorming and building, I played defense. Instead of painting a picture with a fresh idea, I was patching holes. Innovation may happen in the shower, but I suspect rarely when it’s a cold one.
But it gets worse. The conversation would always conclude with,
“If you still want to go forward, I won’t stop you.”
Ah, I can take all the risks, not get any support, and if it fails, take all the blame. Gee, where do I sign up?
A culture of innovation doesn’t appear at random, it gets built. You can’t mandate it, you must encourage it. You can do this by asking the right questions when someone brings an idea to you. Questions to encourage the person in their vision of a preferable future, in their development of critical thinking, and in taking ownership of the outcome.
Encourage the Vision
Many leaders present the vision and seek alignment. But what does alignment mean? As Horst Schulze writes in Excellence Wins,
Too often it means, ‘I’m leading the parade and you need to stay in line behind me.’
If you want your team to pursue improvements, encourage them to reflect on what could be better. When they present an idea, show some enthusiasm. Don’t lead with criticism or be dismissive. Instead, ask them a few key questions:
- What inspired you to come up with this?
- What does a highly successful outcome look like?
- What are you most excited about?
By asking these, you aren’t validating the idea. You are recognizing their desire to make things better.
Encourage Critical Thinking
Not every idea will be worth pursuing, or pitched perfectly. Ego-driven leaders like to be the gatekeeper of the good. Effective leaders train others to examine and reflect earnestly on their recommendations.
You can kill ineffective ideas. You may excel at it. But it’s not helping your team be better. Resist powerful urges to issue statements; instead, commit to a series of questions like:
- How does the company benefit from this?
- What obstacles need to be overcome?
- What could happen that would cause you to reconsider?
The responses will spur you to ask other, clarifying questions. Seek answers earnestly, not patronizingly.
Encourage Ownership
There are some people eager to raise ideas but won’t own their execution. They look for others to take responsibility to move things forward. They might offer a few suggestions and be available for any award ceremony if the outcome is successful. But you won’t find them wrestling with hard questions, trade-offs or setbacks.
Filter down the suggestions that matter by testing who will own them. Find out what kind of help they need, and what they are expecting from you. Ask questions, like:
- Are you comfortable taking the lead on this?
- What will you need from me to succeed?
- How can I help?
You aren’t committing to a level of contribution. You are clarifying expectations and gathering the costs. By giving explicit requests, the idea originator takes ownership of identifying whatever is necessary for success.
You Got This!
An idea for a better future, thought through, and owned. What’s not to like about that? The next time a team member raises an idea, ask the right questions to get the right answers.
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