Resist The Urge to Make Your Superstar’s Idea Better

This is an experience that should be occurring regularly: You are discussing a mutual problem with your team — the superstars you have chosen to help you achieve the HealthCraft dream.  After you explore the challenge and perhaps toss aside some of clearly nutty ideas, someone comes up with a solution that you know — instantly — is just right.

Why should this happen regularly?  Because you’ve put together a great team of individuals who can think on their feet, right?

It’s gratifying to have that kind of brainpower at work for you.  And you can stimulate it in two ways.  First, when you hear that great idea, acknowledge it.  Get into the habit of saying, “That’s brilliant!”  If you’ve ever had one of your ideas complimented in this fashion, you know what a powerful motivator it can be, right?  Then you need to provide motivation to contribute, because you need the idea’s originator to continue to think about it, and to enlist help in getting it done.

The other thing you should do is resist the urge to make the idea “better” by suggesting a change or two, even though the change may come to you immediately. It’s better to bite your tongue for a while so as not to steal the originator’s thunder.  Waiting a bit also gives you time to reflect on the idea some more, as well as gives the team more opportunity to absorb it and perhaps expand upon it.