There ’ s a big promise associated with any team : that by bringing together a group of talented people , so much more is possible . Better ideas , stronger performance , greater endurance , more fun . ( Perhaps you ’ ve heard the cute line that the word TEAM stands for “ together everyone achieves more ”?)
But teams also face a challenge : that each of the talented , motivated individuals comprising the team will have their own opinions and ideas about how to go about things , making it likely that they ’ ll pull the chariot in different directions . It ’ s this challenge that often makes it difficult for teams to fully realise their promise .
Of course , the diversity of ideas and thinking in a team is part of its magic , so the question is not how do you stop people thinking for themselves . Rather , team leaders and members need to be excellent at inspiring one another to listen to new ideas , and to unite around the best ones ; to execute those ideas with focus and energy . So how do you ensure your own ideas get cut through ?
1 . Have a Big So What To get the team ’ s attention , have a compelling answer to this simple but powerful question : SO WHAT ? After all , if you can ’ t answer that question with clarity and conviction , then why should anyone listen , let alone buy into your idea ?
Asking yourself “ so what ?” forces you to think of the practical ( not intellectual ),
meaningful ( what actually matters to your team ?) and compelling reasons for action . The honesty of the language ( try saying “ so what ” with the jaded tones of a less-than-convinced teenager sitting opposite you , arms crossed and with a disbelieving look on their face ) forces honesty in the answer . It requires you to be your own hardest critic before you present your ideas . And it also jolts people to sit up straight .
Ask yourself “ so what ?” – and keep asking it , until you can come up with a truly compelling reason for action , before you pitch your idea to others in the team . This is what I call the BIG SO WHAT – the one that will pack the greatest punch . The Big So What needs to connect to something that actually matters to the team : a current goal , a pain point , something that inspires them .
2 . Read the play It ’ s often said that the secret to good comedy is timing . Well , the same is true when it comes to getting your team to listen to an idea . Knowing when to pitch your idea – and when to put it on hold – is critical . This means knowing how to “ read the play ” – a sporting term that refers to the way some players read the game as its unfolding and make judgements about how to adapt . When getting your team to buy into a new idea , be careful not to simply jump out of the starting gates once an idea has crystallised in your mind . Read the play by adjusting your approach and timing to account for the prevailing mood , distractions , competing priorities and even organisational politics .
3 . Make action easy One of the most common things that thwarts new ideas and initiatives is the perceived difficulty in actually doing the work . Do we have the time ? Do we know how to do this ? Does it all feel too hard ? Getting your team to buy into an idea and , ultimately , to act on it , is much easier if you break the first stages of action down into tiny chunks . Take the example of a manager who wanted his team to increase the number of sales calls they made each week . Rather than asking people to make ten extra calls ( the required number ), he broke the change into tiny chinks , asking everyone to make just one extra call in the first week . Easily done . He then upped the target to two calls , and so on until the team was happily making the ten extra calls .
“ The diversity of ideas and thinking in a team is part of its magic , so the question is not how do you stop people thinking for themselves .”
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