Organizations have learned over the past few years to value new ideas that create competitive advantages and help develop a critical mass for success. Senior managers look in wonder at the people who can came into an organization, with the next big idea, that transcends them to the top of their industries. Often leaders go to retreats in hopes of developing new strategies that bring thought leaders flocking into their organizations. But let’s stop and back up. Before bringing in new talent, let’s take a crucial look at how organizations already deal with new ideas developed in house.
From the outset, everyone understands that people dislike change, and new ideas bring change. Change upsets people, and most resist even the most straightforward idea, that will lead to success. From a distance, we admire people who can develop and initiate change in other organizations, but may disdain people trying to make changes in our own organizations. We are hardwired, as a part of our evolutionary process, to conform. Through our evolutionary past we learned, people who tried something new and different may have been eaten by the large animal waiting for an easy meal. Today, a new idea brings up the same connotations of fear and trepidation that one company may get eaten by another after it implements a new idea.
Now, at the individual level, we have to examine how organizations treat their own employees with new ideas and strategies to create effectiveness. Have you ever heard some version of the saying, “If I wanted to hear your ideas, I would give you them.” We may bring in a consultant for new ideas, but intentionally over look internal ideas from subordinates. This train of thinking goes back to the heart of the matter in developing organizations. When someone is hired, at a lower level, they are brought on to accomplish tasks set out in their job descriptions. They do day to day tangible activities that in general do not impact the long term success of the organizations. Initially, their job is not to develop long term strategies, which are the jobs held in senior management positions.
When someone in middle management, or below, develops a new idea they have to find a champion at a higher level who is willing to run with the idea, or it will not gain needed traction. However, they must still over come the initial fear that someone at a lower level has an outstanding idea which may create a competitive advantage. How dare a lower person presume to have the next big idea? Why, because senior managers resist ideas from subordinates. Why, because senior managers fear loosing their jobs to a subordinate. Worse, one may think senior managers would value a person who brings lots of creative ideas that improve effectiveness and efficiency to their attention. Well, yes and no. If the person has already been picked as a future leader in the organization then the ideas have a better chance. If the person is outside of the established developmental pool then ideas are less likely to be listened too; and the person may cause greater fear in the senior management. Why, because he or she is an unknown commodity and sees things that the senior management has missed. This perception of blindness by senior management creates more resistance to new ideas; especially if they were not looking for new ideas. Again, conformity to ones station in the organization is valued at the subconscious level over conscious level saying we value new ideas.
So, let’s recap and tie it all together. We are hard wired to conform to norms as a way of surviving. In most organizations, out of the box thinking is valued, as long as new ideas were requested from employees, or is occurring in other organizations. Every idea will have some level of resistance no matter how much an impact it will have on improving efficiency. When unsolicited ideas are brought up a champion at the senior level must be brought in who supports the idea for it to have any chance. Ideas from the lower levels are always said to be welcomed, but in most organizations actually cause fear in senior managers who are in charge of long term strategies, over people who handle day to day operations. In short, all organizations who want to succeed need to develop cultures where fears of ideas at any level are over come, and in fact welcomed. The way you do this is through open dialogue. Open the communication pathways both up and down. As the culture of inclusiveness grows, the fear at the primal level of new ideas is mitigated with every success. In the end, managers are still responsible for strategic development, and lower level associates are responsible for day to day activates; however, as a group, they can develop synergy and take their organizations to levels only previously dreamed.
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