In a meeting last month, a person in management announced a change of procedure and expected everyone to be impressed with the great idea. The problem? That person did not take the time to consider that this change had ever been discussed before, much less that there were reasons why it had been rejected previously.
If It Seems Obvious, It Probably Was
Although we all like to feel brilliant sometimes, the chances are that our “bright idea” is not as bright and shiny as we think. When you feel you have found an entirely new idea, you are probably fooling yourself. Especially when you’re working in a team situation, your idea or something similar probably has been considered at some point already.
Listen to the People Already Working on It
In this situation (yes, it’s a true story), the person in management never considered that their bright idea had been debated and rejected for specific reasons. When informed of these reasons, the person’s answer was a bitter, “I didn’t know there was history, I’ve only been here a year.”
To me, the “obvious” in this story are these questions: Why didn’t this person in management ask any questions? Why didn’t they try to learn the reasons behind the current procedure? Why didn’t they think that other people may have considered this bright idea? And, most importantly, why didn’t they think they needed to have a genuine conversation with their team?
Finding Reality
When was the last time you were treated like a cog who had no independent thought? And, by the same token, when was the last time that you thought you were smarter than everyone else in the room, only to have a rude awakening that you are not? Reality is always somewhere between these two poles, whether we like it or not.