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Chicago Executive Coaching presents
Perhaps you have the authority to fire or relegate the fools in your midst. Or, contrary to the urging of St. Paul, you want to get rid of those who spout seemingly foolish ideas. Might this be another example of:
Just because you CAN, doesn’t mean you SHOULD
Our tolerance for foolishness can and should have its limits. But at what point does a leader’s intolerance of perceived foolish ideas or ideas from diminished contributors threaten creativity and innovation?
Professional facilitators who lead brainstorming and ideation sessions are trained to establish critical ground rules:
Brainstorming works best in an atmosphere that allows one idea to build off another. When thoughts are instantly squashed, what happens to creativity? Without creativity, how is innovation possible? While there are no bad ideas, there will be ideas that we choose not to utilize. While they end up on the cutting room floor, they still bring value to the creative process.
There’s at least one in every crowd. One who just doesn’t get it. Who is to blame? Might it be a failure in your communication process?
If you discover that one person doesn’t get it, might there be more? How many more? How might your intolerance or inability to suffer fools gladly be sabotaging innovation?
Here in Chicago, The Second City teaches conversational improvisation with the “Yes, and” approach. They teach an understanding that the words NO and BUT will shut down a productive discussion of ideas. The “Yes, and” approach keeps the conversation going. But to implement this as a leadership collaboration skill, you need to develop an attitude of empathy for those offering ideas.
Negative Judgement Shuts Down Creative Thinking and Problem Solving
Suffering fools gladly requires us to build our empathy muscles. Empathy for what we might consider foolish ideas and empathy for those who share them. Everyone has their own unique frame of reference.
Here’s the hack for your belief system to enhance your tolerance.
Every person’s idea is at least 10% valid.
How can you find that 10% that you can agree with? Is there an honorable attempt to contribute or solve?
“People’s minds are like parachutes – they only function when they are open.”
-Thomas Dewar
With an open mind and enhanced empathy, you can improve the “Yes, and…” approach by adding:
Yes, and what I love about your idea is ___________1.
Is your existing belief system resisting these time tested concepts? Is it time to enhance your Positive Intelligence?
The phrase “suffer fools gladly” originates from the Bible, specifically coined by the Apostle Paul in his second letter to the church at Corinth, found in 2 Corinthians 11:19. In the original King James Version, the text reads: “For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise”. Wikipedia
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