How to lead through ideas - becoming an idea magnet

I remember the whiteboards more than the spreadsheets.

The moments when you and they feel that "click" of discovery at the exact same moment. Everyone's united in purpose. Everyone has added an insight or two. It seems like we've found a new way forward together. I can remember the faces of those co-workers, the places they were standing, the chart they scribbled. It's hard for a bonus check or award to compete.

I've weaved the title and topic of facilitation throughout my career, drawn to the places and people willing to buy and sell creativity and curiosity. It's my disposition becoming motivation, becoming a path to a paycheque. There are two rules (among many) that I, fortunately, learned early and appreciate ever more with time:

• Ideas people do, in fact, get paid
• Ideas people don't, generally, get paid for their own ideas

A serious ideas person will work hard to become an idea magnet if they're serious about success. They've correctly interpreted past frustrations with people "not listening" as a call to leadership: people want to create, but few have the knowledge or confidence to get the ball rolling. A great idea is just a ball that collects more ideas as it rolls, growing toward unstoppable momentum.

Sounds lovely. But how do you become an idea magnet right where you are today so you can cherish tomorrow?

As a colleague: relentless initiation

I'm talking about those positions of informal leadership and influence: you can't tell your colleagues what to do, but you need something done.

I'm that "ideas" guy at work. Seeing different angles on a problem is one of my ADHD superpowers. At first, those new ideas look more like a bunch of loose threads tied together - a bit of a mess! I find clarity faster when I listen to myself speak my thoughts, when I watch others' reactions. That's the moment when I need to brainstorm with colleagues, exactly when I don't have a lot of clarity to offer them. I long ago accepted colleagues will rarely understand my first swing at sharing a new idea, yet they'll make time anyway.

I need to be energetic and enthusiastic because that's what people will buy when all you've got to sell is a vague notion.

At that point, colleagues are investing time in me and not my idea. If you're bored of the day-to-day and looking for a new approach, so are they. Maybe progress is more important to me. Maybe I am just lucky/unlucky enough to be the first one with an idea and some courage. Either way, I'm not expecting my colleagues to initiate.

I'm going to put myself out there time and again, with the same idea or a bunch of different ones, until that idea inspires at least one idea in someone else. I'll pivot, iterate, adopt, curse - but I won't stop until until I'm confident an idea is or is definitely not going to resonate.

As a colleague: asking questions to back yourself and others down to data from opinion

"Why?" is so powerful because it calls people to expose what they've learned on the way to forming an opinion. People feel vulnerable when asked why - you can sympathize with their occasional befuddlement, confusion or anger at the question. Yet you and they need to pierce this discomfort if you're going to work together because sharing is the first step to understanding.

Data is the glue that can bind people's different ideas together.

Data is an observation, an experience, a quote, a financial figure, a feeling shared - anything that tells us about what we're seeing and experiencing in our part of the world. When I understand your data, and you understand mine, then we can walk in the same direction together. Ask why a thousand ways. As a colleague of mine, John Whaley put it:

"There are certain people I don’t care to get feedback from because I already know what questions they’ll ask me, and I can tell from their followups that they don’t listen to what I’m saying."

It's risky to share an idea - the reward is deep consideration and inspiration to think up even more ideas, ideally together. If you're not giving as much consideration as you're receiving, expect no rewards.

As a leader: curiosity and honesty

Which actions or character traits lead to leadership? I'm an optimist at heart, so I see people rising in the ranks because they can make people feel heard (even if it's a smaller group of people than you or they would like.)

I asked another colleague, Jonathan Wou for some examples of people and practices that make him want to bring his ideas forward. He pointed to our Co-CEO at Jane.app, Trevor Johnston :

"I’d say his ability to make people comfortable when asking questions like 'what are 3 things we should do?'"

Our developers still regularly work with code Trev wrote when starting Jane. He literally knows the product inside and out and rightfully shares that background, context and important considerations with product teams. Yet he wraps those insights, data and opinions with:

• Curiosity. He ended his reply to my first Slack question with, "Is that helpful? Why do you ask?" I shared a bit more background behind my question and got even more insight in return.
• Honesty. He frequently peppers in words like "maybe" and "I think." Old-school leaders state things unequivocally to appear strong even if they hope to be challenged.

Simply put: techniques for becoming an idea magnet

• Lead with excitement, even if it feels embarrassing: it's literally all you've got to sell in the early stages;
• Persistently draw people into conversation - not because you love your existing ideas, but because you want more of them;
• Ask why a thousand different ways so people share the data behind their thinking - and return the favour;
• Ask with genuine curiosity and a commitment to checking people feel heard every time;
• Pepper your experience and opinions with qualifiers like "maybe" and "I think." Push back against old approaches to leadership that prized direction over learning and progress.