INDIVIDUAL’S BEHAVIORS
- Defer judgment
- Agree on issues, methods, and ideas
- When listening to an idea, build on the idea, suggesting ways to improve, expand
- Put up the problem on a common wall and have everyone around put up suggestions on the paper, post-its, etc. Keep issue up for 3-4 days
- Send folks to functional/non-functional outside seminars and conferences
- Encourage people to build on other’s ideas
- Ask leaders for what is needed from them to develop an idea
LEADER’S BEHAVIORS
- Recognize that employees are people
- Encourage to pursue an idea
- Listen to all ideas, don’t eliminate any
- Offer encouragement for ideas and plans
- Appreciate suggestions and consider them carefully
- Say “Thank you” often
- Look at the idea right away, do no just shove it aside
- Offer new projects with new tools
- Ask people to write up their idea in a report
- Comment on a “good job”
- Establish concurrence
- Listen
- Set up routine meetings to share ideas and share personal things — format for getting help and support for ideas of all members of the group
- Review project with the supervisor, he/she “asks”: “What other approaches might work?” “Have you considered? ” “How else can this be done?” “What kind of support do you need?”
- Listen to an idea, build on the idea, suggesting ways to improve, expand
- Provide the freedom to develop a plan to resolve a problem
- Say “That was a great idea” or that I “…did a really good job.”
- Recognize hard work and effort
- Share ideas in a team setting which allows discussion without judgment
- Create a non-evaluative E-mail conference for idea generation
- Have an idea room for idea generation
- Encourage a synergy that often is not realized because management does not take/have time to coach, critique or add to ideas. Ideas often die on the vine because they do not receive the necessary initial nurturing
- Ask “How can I help you achieve your goals?”
- Ask for people’s opinion, make them feel valued
- Knockdown barriers that employees can’t conquer
- Maintain a genuine openness for new ideas, but insist they be well thought out. Listen attentively and thoroughly, and give them full consideration until they are accepted, or circumstances divulge their faults
- Set up an award system for those ideas that benefit the organization the most. Recognition should be public. If an idea isn’t used, explain why and encourage more
ORGANIZATION’S BEHAVIORS
- Provide sufficient resources
- Provide an environment conducive to creativity such as “idea labs”
- Organize E-mail conference for brainstorming
- Permit off-sites, outside seminars, and conferences