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Last week, we discussed how we can respond to ideas we disagree with by first understanding the idea completely and then sharing context to bridge towards a more mutually agreeable solution. This week, we will look at the case where we completely agree with the idea. How should we respond to maintain a collaborative environment?
When I first began my career as a management consultant, I was working in a team of 4 and we were attempting to benchmark the total value of apparel imported to the United States from the Caribbean. Eventually, I was able to come up with one method that helped triangulate our findings. Typically, managers present the results to the client. However, in this case, my manager said that I should be the one responsible for presenting these findings to the client. These opportunities, where junior team members are forced to elevate themselves, will encourage further collaboration, because it signals to the team that the idea owner truly owns their idea.
When we hear ideas that we agree with, drive the idea forward by giving full ownership to the owner(s) of the idea. By making this ownership clear, we are reinforcing them to continue collaborating, because they know that developing solutions will be recognized and supported. We can respond to these great ideas by informing others of the authors, correcting inaccurate crediting, and granting opportunities to the authors.
Grant Opportunities
When our team members come with great ideas, after thanking them for their hard work, we should look to elevate them by giving them the opportunity to share their idea with others. Specifically, this translates to presenting these great idea(s) to clients, executives, or other teams. Granting them the opportunity to own their idea will reinforce their will to 1) drive the idea forward and 2) to associate coming up with great ideas with more opportunities.
In the event they are nervous or hesitant to spearhead the charge behind their idea, ensure that you are able to support them throughout the whole journey, ranging from running through mock presentations with them to giving them feedback after the presentation that incites discovery.
If for some reason, they cannot present the idea themselves, ask for their permission to share the idea on their behalf. If taking this route, we should still give them credit for generating the initial idea.
Inform Others & Correct Inaccurate Crediting
After we have granted the idea owner opportunities to take their idea to the next level, we should reinforce this notion by ensuring to mention the idea owner when relevant and correcting any inaccuracies in crediting. Relevant time to highlight ideas are those pertaining to the project.
We do not need to go out of our way with grand gestures, such as announcing to everyone via email or town halls, that "[Name] came up with [idea]", but rather when [idea] is brought up in conversations or in meetings or our boss asked us who came up with the idea, we should mention, "Ah right, [Name]'s idea."
If there were multiple individuals involved, the name of the team should be credited, not any individual, especially not ourselves. If we believe we came up with the idea, we should credit our team. Then in turn, if genuinely our idea, our team will turn around and say it was our idea. This credit sharing system is a way that everyone can uplift one another through the course of a team project. Selfishness does not build team morale, but selflessness does.
To further reinforce the ownership, we need to correct any inaccurate crediting. This means in event someone tries to give you credit for the idea, make sure to correct them and say it was "[Name]'s idea, not mine" or "[Team]'s idea, not mine". The moment that we do not share credit is the moment that other individuals will not want to share their ideas with us.
Closing Remarks
When we are humble and give credit to the idea owner(s), we are contributing towards an environment that promotes collaboration. Idea owners will want to continue problem solving and thinking of new solutions. They will not be afraid of failing, because we will give them context, and they will not be confident that credit will be given when due.
If our team member chooses to do so afterwards, they may then mention that it was a joint effort. And this is the golden scenario. We say our team member was responsible for the idea and our team member says the idea was a group effort. When we reach this point, our collaborative culture will continue to accelerate as each team member is encouraged to bring up ideas and positive reinforcement will follow.
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