"My team don't think for themselves??"

5 ways I use to get them driving the business forward

Morning team,

I’m writing to you from the train down to London for the week

I’ve got a board meeting this morning for a business I’ve invested in, seeing a new client, I’m a guest on a podcast tomorrow, then get to go to the theatre with friends too eek. So fun week planned.

This week we’re digging into this question from my Instagram story:

"My team don't seem to think for themselves??"

I’ve been there, feeling like I’m the only one coming up with ideas, driving the project forward, setting the vision, and solving all the problems.

And I know a lot of us managers end up feeling like we’re carrying the creative weight of the entire team.

So, how do we get our teams to step up, think for themselves, and start bringing fresh ideas to the table?

Are you 'The Ideas Guy'?

Liz Wiseman, in her book Multipliers, talks about the trap many of us fall into - being 'the ideas guy'.

The Ideas Guy is the leader who’s always got a new idea or solution. It feels good. It feels like we’re being the creative, innovative leaders we want to be.

But it’s not always great for the team.

When we’re always leading with our ideas, it can create a subtle but serious problem. The team starts to rely on us to set the direction. They might think, “Why bother sharing my thoughts when the boss will just have a better idea?”

Before we know it, we’ve unintentionally created a bottleneck, and suddenly, every brainstorming session feels like a solo act.

It’s exhausting for us and the team.

Shifting the dynamic

So, how do we break out of the 'ideas guy' role and start building a team that’s confident enough to come up with their own fresh thinking?

Here’s what’s helped me over the years:

1. Ask, don’t tell

Let’s say your team isn’t hitting targets, and you jump into a meeting with them to discuss. Instead of jumping straight in with a solution, let’s try asking.

For instance, instead of saying:

“We need to find a way to improve our sales process, have we thought about X”

We could ask:

“What is one way we can improve our sales process?”

A small change that makes a world of difference. It signals to the team that their ideas are valued and invites them into the problem-solving process.

2. Create space for exploration

B2B meetings, jam-packed schedules, hardly a moment to think creatively…. It’s no wonder our teams don’t always have the headspace to come up with new ideas.

I always try to create breathing space for exploration.

A dedicated brainstorming session can go a long way. It’s not about finding all the answers, it’s about creating space for the team permission to think outside the usual boundaries.

Something Levi and I did recently was a ‘bad ideas only’ brainstorming session to get the juices flowing.

3. Encourage failure

Putting new ideas out there is be scary if the culture feels risk-averse.

One of the best ways we can change that is by celebrating when someone takes a chance - even if it doesn’t work out perfectly.

Measure failure in your reporting meetings, ask people to talk about times they’ve failed this month. It shifts the focus from “I have to get this right” to “What can we learn from trying this out?”

4. Clarity in direction

Giving more freedom doesn’t mean we leave the team to figure it all out on their own. I like to set clear goals first, then step back to let them work out the ‘how’.

For example:

“We need to reduce customer wait times by 20% - let’s brainstorm how we can make this happen together.”

Then balancing that structure with space for creativity and safety to fail. It helps keep the focus, but it gives the team the room to explore different ways to reach the goal.

5. Don’t try be the hero

Eeek this was tough for me, I think at the beginning of my leadership journey I SO BADLY wanted to prove that I was a hero. That I could be the saviour. That I desereved my position.

So it’s soooo tempting to jump in with a ‘great’[ idea when things aren’t going well.

But this is where we really have to have a handle on our behaviour and reactions, we have to step back and let the team find their own solutions.

We’ve got to remind ourselves to be more of the facilitator than the saviour.

It’s amazing what can happen when we let go just a little.

We’ve got this

Moving from the 'ideas guy' to a leader who empowers their team to think independently means we must channel our energy into building a culture where everyone feels like they can contribute.

It’s not always easy, but the payoff is huge.

When we pause before jumping in with our own solution and make space for our team to step up, we might just be surprised by what they come up with.

We’ve got this

Peace,

H