Creative ideas rarely come out as fully formed amazing ideas. They come as half-baked “what ifs” and it’s the team’s job—and your job as a leader—to help develop those ideas into something that is really workable. Ed Catmull, the founder of Pixar, liked to say that every film started as a terrible idea. And it was Pixar’s job to get the idea from “suck to nonsuck.” THAT was the creative process—taking an idea and slowly refining it until it was good.

The beauty of Catmull’s concept is what he’s not saying. If every idea starts out terrible, then the leaders of Pixar obviously aren’t responding to the initial idea with judgement. They’re not saying “this isn’t how we do things around here.” Instead, they’re asking things like, “How would this create value?” “What else do we need to know?” “Who else has an idea that would coincide with this?” or my favorite: “What would have to be true for that idea to work?”

The questions that you ask in response to a new idea—and they should almost always be questions and not statements—are the responses that are going to create a social environment of creativity. They’re also the things that are going to help that individual idea move forward, make progress, and eventually be something that is really creative and innovative.

So how do you respond to new ideas?

1. Stay Curious.
People who are good at making things happen are curious. Curiosity fuels the acquisition of new information and is the source of creativity and innovation.

Innovation leaders are curious about why things are set up the way they are, open to doing things differently, and willing to try things that don’t neatly fit into their own assumptions. When you feel you already know the answer, there’s no curiosity.

2. Be Tolerant of Ambiguity.
Ambiguity is uncomfortable and challenging. But the ability to slow down and be okay with ambiguity is necessary to innovate in the face of complexity.

Innovation leaders balance the need to move forward with the need to hold themselves open to options. Creative thinking and innovative solutions increase when leaders are willing to stay open to possibilities longer.

3. Practice Affirmative Judgment.
Instead of telling people what they don’t like or what won’t work, innovation leaders let people know what they do like. They point out the strengths and value of a new solution or idea. This lets the team know they’re on to something new and useful, and ensures they retain the most valuable attributes as the idea evolves.

Affirmative judgment also provides recognition and promotes a sense of accomplishment and progress, which employees need to keep them motivated.

4. Remain Persistent.
By definition, new ideas are strange and different. So selling that idea to others to get buy-in takes a lot of work and time.

A senior leader once told his people that if they propose an idea and he says “no,” don’t give up. If they still believe in the idea, he told them he wanted them to try another way to pitch it until he sees its value. For him, that was the definition of “empowerment.”

Innovation leaders empower themselves to do what it takes, which typically requires great persistence. Innovation and innovative mindsets don’t happen without leadership. Regardless of the brilliance of your strategy, remember that the culture will support it or kill it. Since leaders have such a significant impact on the culture, it’s up to you as the leader to develop it.

The next time you hear a new idea or are asked to weigh in on a new solution, make a choice to lead with an innovative mindset and foster innovation.

Sources:
https://www.fastcompany.com/1742431/pixars-motto-going-suck-nonsuck
https://www.inc.com/david-burkus/the-best-way-to-respond-to-creative-ideas.html
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