What Are You Waiting For?

How many times have you had a thought about something but then not acted on it? It might be a concern you had or a great new approach that inspired you. Take a moment or two to list a few for yourself....

• I really should talk to him about...
• We should expand our business in...
• Why did he make that decision? It doesn\'t make sense to me...
• Why don\'t we process these invoices in a different way...
• Wouldn\'t it be great if...
• If we did it this way it would be much more efficient/reliable/effective
• Why do we need to send this to X every month/at all?

Every one of these thoughts could be the source of resolving a problem, or the seed of a great opportunity. Over many years, working with peopleon solving problems and capturing new opportunities, we have consistently seen these unspoken or ignored ideas form the basis for a solution that everyone can buy into.

Why don\'t you address these thoughts right away?

In our experience there are two major factors that work together to stop people addressing issues immediately or at all:

You stop yourself. Almost always it\'s a personal fear that stops you. This fear is something that, if you examine it honestly, has no basis in reality. The problem is that we often don\'t examine why we hesitate to act on our thoughts - to do so would be uncomfortable. We\'d rather say, \"I don\'t have time to deal with it\", and let it gather dust in the back of our minds. Time, by the way, is never a valid reason for ignoring things. When you have a thought that you are excited about and there\'s no fear attached, you always find time to do something about it!

Take some time and go through your list - what\'s the reason that you haven\'t acted on each thought? Now examine your reason from a third person\'s point of view - ask a trusted friend or mentor, if you find it hard to step outside your usual limits. Poke holes in your reasons and excuses. Are your reasons valid? You will usually find that you\'ve made an assumption that is untested or isn\'t exactly true.

The environment doesn\'t support it. By environment we mainly mean people. People get together and validate the fears they share:

• \"yeah, she\'ll never listen to that idea\"
• \"you\'re right, the company would never fund the research\"
• \"he never does anything about new ideas\"

In most organisations individual leaders want people to come forward with new ideas, be proactive with issues and voice concerns immediately. Butthey are often unaware that they themselves are buying into the prevailing \"yeah, buts\" and so fostering an environment that stifles risk and innovation.

If you are an organisational leader whocomplains about lack of innovationin your team, ask yourself where and how often you allow yourself toassume an idea won\'t work and hold back out of embarrassment or fear. If you yourself fall into the trap, how can you possibly create an environment which encourages others to step forward!

How can you create an organisation that fosters innovation?

Creating the right environment is a matter of managing key mindsets, skills and structures:

A crucial mindset is to ensure that you regard the person with the new idea or concern as an intelligent professional with a valuable contribution that you haven\'t heard before. Be honest - how many times does respect go out of the window when people bring up topics that seem contrary to your agenda?

The skills required include a certain type of listening. Usually we listen to what people say and at the same time compare it to our own view, dismissing or invalidating things that don\'t fit. The listening we\'re talking about is one where your own views and beliefs are consciously set aside. Listen to something completely free of your own agenda. When you do this, there is always something new to be heard.

The structures involve explicitly planning to have these kinds of conversations. Every day new concerns and new ideas are created. Structure time to make sure these are flushed out, listened to and effectively acted upon. Take the time to remind people that personal fear is natural and nothing to be ashamed of - and that speaking up is as crucial as it is uncomfortable. Create permanent platforms so that these ideas and concerns are aired and worked through as \"just the way we do things around here\".

The mindsets, skills and structures for creating the appropriate environment are completely different from the skills of managing products, sales processes and finances. We tend to ignore the things we are unfamiliar with - do you consciously work to have these mindsets, skills and structures in your organisation?

Which would you prefer?

There\'s a choice to be made. Do you want to work in an organisation with a mountain of festering uncommunicated issues, and a firmly entrenched resignation about unheard ideas? One where the team has stopped thinking about creating, and is merely working to survive?

Or would you rather have an organisation that is alive with the rollercoaster ride of communication, experimentation, support and celebration?

If your organisation isn\'t like this and you think it should be, what are you waiting for?

==> for more information view the original newsletter article here < ==

Steve Cabrera is an American Brit living in London and director of Shine Consulting, a partnership of business consultants committed that people and organisations produce a new standard of results through the passion, inspiration and commitment of people.

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