"I have a new idea but..."

"What stops people from sharing new ideas? Why do they hesitate?"

True to his style, Prasna* surprised me again. He was on the phone last night.

“I read your last post in your blog.”

“What did you think?”

“Why are you not on the subject? Instead, you are talking about some ideas that you liked. So what if you liked them?”

“No, I was just…”

“This is your problem. Always acting on impulse and forgetting what you are supposed to do. Now get on with the job.”

“Aye, aye Sir!”

“Cut the sarcasm. Another thing, your posts are too long. Cut it down by half.”

Prasna just banged the phone, leaving me to get on with my work!

When I was in school, I never asked questions in any class. It is not because I understood everything; far from it. It was because I felt uncomfortable. What would others think? What if the teacher ridiculed me? What if others thought I was dumb?

This changed when I was in my eighth standard. Sri. Natarajan Sir was our class teacher. He encouraged us to ask questions. He was patient and was genuinely delighted when somebody asked a question. That helped me overcome my fear of losing face.

Most people suffer from the same fear when it comes to sharing ideas, especially at work. We are worried about various things.

“Any monkey can think of such ideas.”

“What if it seems foolish or stupid?”

“What if it is not practical?”

“Suppose the boss does not like it?”

Many of these fears are quite real. I have seen brainstorming sessions turning into blame-storming sessions, and the focus of the session is lost.

“What is blame-storming? I never heard this one before.” Prasna was standing behind my back reading what I was typing.

“I heard about blame-storming from my friend Guhesh. It is how people get into blaming each other in brainstorming sessions. The atmosphere is vitiated by unnecessary aggression and defense.”

“OK”

The fact is that everyone has ideas. They will share their ideas without any inhibition with just a little bit of encouragement. They will get bolder if they feel safe. They will share all their ideas if they know that nothing will be held against them and no one will censor anything. They will be thrilled if they feel respected and valued. They will put all their energy and share ideas enthusiastically if they feel that there is active support from colleagues, peers, and the boss.

“Is that all? Is it that simple?”

“Yes, it is that simple. However, it is not easy to create a climate of safety and encouragement. This is the biggest challenge for the bosses. In fact, they have to change their style.”

“This is what I do with my grandchildren. I never criticize them. For me what they say is the most brilliant thing in the world.”

“So how does that work?”

“You won’t believe it. They tell me things that they may not share even with their own parents.”

“How do we create this climate? Think about it.”