Are My Great Ideas Getting In The Way of Success?

Are they? Let’s find out.

• Do you come up with ideas quickly and then take quick action?

• Do you ask your team to take action on your ideas?

• Do you look at current project’s status, profitability, and team capacity before asking the team to go down another road, or add to their plate? 

• Do you celebrate the success of the new projects getting completed or start new ones before old ones are complete?

You might see where this is going… This is a common theme that we often hear about and it’s typically communicated from two different perspectives.

Perspective 1 (The Leader With Awesome Ideas): I have an awesome team who adapts to change quickly and is willing to do what it takes. They are agile and keep working on new projects so we can be an innovative organization.

Perspective 2 (The Team Working With The Leader With Awesome Ideas): My CEO is good, that’s how we got here, but with with the growing organization I’m not sure who is going to last longer… them or me. They continually have new ideas that they get my team working on without taking into consideration the other projects and priorities of the team. We aren’t able to complete any meaningful work and move a project forward because we are constantly shifting gears based on the “latest idea.”

You might notice the perspectives are quite different… Here’s the deal. You need to realize your team is getting drained. They listen to you, respect your brilliance, and want to see everything succeed, but those LinkedIn recruitment messages are getting more enticing after each of these interactions with you.

Here’s a way to do a quick gut check:

• Write down how many projects your teams are working on. I mean actually working on. You know - hours in the day are going towards project completion. We all know there is a difference between actual work and keeping the project on the task list to make sure they cover their butts during the next leadership meeting.

• How many ideas are your team members working on and how many of them have a real completion date and profitability plan?

• How often do ask your leaders (or their teams) to start something without first discussing or taking into consideration what other priorities they actively have from you or other parts of the organization?

Are your answers what you expected? Would your leaders come up with the same lists?

Let’s be honest. That might sting a little. It’s okay to have a gut check every now and then.

You are doing your best and working hard to be a great leader. You are connecting with team members, trying to stay innovative and bearing a large weight from the pressure you feel every day. You are doing what you are doing to make everything work.

With that…

• Sometimes we move so quickly that we don’t take into account how our quick action impacts the workload of people we have the opportunity to work with.

• Sometimes we move so quickly that we don’t take into account how our quick action impacts the motivation of the people we have the opportunity to work with.

• Sometimes we move so quickly that we don’t take into account how our quick action impacts the overall retention of the people we have the opportunity to work with.

• Sometimes we move so quickly that we don’t take into account how our quick action impacts the personal lives of the people we have the opportunity to work with.

Sometimes we get so excited about the idea that we overlook the six months of work we are asking our teams to knock out, only to change direction again or hit pause before completion. It’s important to consider the unintended frustration that the team may be experiencing.

I get it - it’s tough - and I can relate. When I know where we should shift I get excited. I get pumped and I want my team to be pumped up too! Sometimes I’m so pumped I don’t realize they aren’t… and they aren’t telling me. (That’s a post for another day)

So… if you are sensing that maybe you are a leader with great ideas moving too quickly or pulling your team instead of leading them, what can you do?

Here are some thoughts:

1) Take 15 minutes to circulate your new idea with your team leads to get their perspective. Try to lead in this area without pulling them or pushing them. If getting buy-in takes two, 15-minute meetings, I promise a team with buy-in is more creative, productive, and efficient than a team feeling forced.

2) Kick off a “Skunkworks” team for new ideas. Make it a part of your succession planning program to give up-and-coming leaders opportunities to work on impactful projects that offer growth for them both personally and professionally.

3) Layer your new ideas into an existing project/workload plan to help manage the capacity of the team. Sometimes this can highlight a lack of resources or perhaps offer an opportunity for you to re-prioritize initiatives. Leverage the Insight Planning Tool to help every leader and team understand where to focus, how their contributions will add value, how to keep the project profitable and how the project delivers on your organization’s vision. Message us for more info.

How have you been able to stay innovative and nimble while also keeping your team focused and motivated and your organization profitable?