Monday, June 8, 2015 the great universal sticky 'do they get it?' problem and the three types in your team
It's a problem we all face. How do we get everyone motivated, creative and innovating? Sometimes, it's not you. Or the idea.
by Dan Slee
Twice in the past couple of weeks I've been reminded about about the great universal sticky problem and what to do about it.
The problem that almost dare not speak it's name is how much your team are keen to change, innovate, be creative and explore new ways of communicating. Do they see an infographic or Snapchat and want to know more? Or do they roll their eyes and look at the clock?
In short, do they 'get it'?
The subject came up at BlueLightCamp in Birmingham which was an excellent event for people in organisations who may deal with emergencies.
You may be a great person in a senior position. You may want your team to change and adapt. But the hard fact is that they all may not. I'm here to tell you that that's okay. And it's not your fault. So stop blaming yourself.
When I was in local government I was fortunate enough to have a boss who did 'get it' and was keen for me to experiment and try things out. I was lucky. Early on I helped organise an unconference in the town where I worked to talk through some of the bright ideas on how to communicate better using the web. I invited the rest of the team along expecting them to come and 'get it' straight away. I was expecting a Simpsons moment where everyone comes, the penny drops and everyone cheers wildly. Of 16, just four came. Two were unimpressed and two 'got it.'
It took me a while to work this out. My team, your team, their team, everyone's team is generally made up of three types of people.
Section One: People with light bulbs over their head
They are the ones who need to be celebrated. They have ideas, energy and enthusiasm. They can see that the world has changed and they want to try and create the new rules. They want things to work and they'll leave at 7pm at night if they have to and carry on at home.
Section Two: People who need a piece of paper
They are the ones who don't have a lightbulb above their head. But they may have a bit of a glimmer. But the glimmer is obscured by worrying about permission and bandwidth and what the director might say. But if they have a piece of paper in their hand to say that 'it's alright, I have permission and I've been on a training session' then that glimmer may spark. And some of them may well turn into people with lightbulbs over their head. They'll leave the office at about a quarter past five.
Section Three: People who are unengaged
They don't have a lightbulb over their head. Someone tried to do something differently in 2003 and it didn't work. This won't work either. They'll fold their arms. They'll mutter. They may even be actively unengaged and want the thing to fall over. They'll leave the office at five o'clock on the dot and hate staying any later.
A simple plan for what to do
Give everyone the same opportunity. But concentre on the folk from section one. Their bright ideas, creativity and innovation will drive you forward. They'll may even bright some of the section two people along when they realise that this is do-able.
And the section three people? If they don't want to play you can't make them. Make it clear that this is the path you'll be going down. They can come with you or be left behind.
But don't beat yourself up. Not everyone agreed with Winston Churchill, Tim Berners-Lee or Steve Jobs.
Dan Slee is co-creator of comms2point0.
Reader Comments (2)
Of course, Dan, you are exagerating for effect. Everyone brings something to the team. Peer pressure, if nothing else, would send people packing if not. Those of us who have managed teams will know only too well that the "lightbulb" members in your mythical triad are likely themselves to be bereft of many of the essential skills needed to get things done. A team full of such bright sparks will quickly become a frustrating place to work. It's often those who you say "don't get it" who posess the Belbin-type "completer-finisher" skills (for example) needed to see the latest wonderful initiative to fruition while its originators are already plotting ways of piloting their umpteenth new, great idea since that one was spawned. They don't have go "get it". Their skill is in turning it out.
Beware over-generalisation!
Apologies for typos in that post. Was done on phone, on train with square wheels. Meant "to", not "go" in penultimate sentence!