{"id":48565,"date":"2024-02-11T11:56:47","date_gmt":"2024-02-11T16:56:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/?post_type=articles&p=48565"},"modified":"2025-07-23T08:32:50","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T12:32:50","slug":"how-do-you-respond-to-a-new-idea","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/www.ccl.org\/articles\/leading-effectively-articles\/how-do-you-respond-to-a-new-idea\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Foster an Innovative Mindset at Your Organization"},"content":{"rendered":"

How Do You Respond to a New Idea?<\/h2>\n

What happens at work when you\u2019re presented with a new idea?<\/p>\n

Do you play devil\u2019s advocate, punching holes in the idea or pointing out roadblocks? Do you shut it down with a quick retort or dismissive gesture? Or do you ignore it, hoping the idea (and the person who had it) will just go away?<\/p>\n

What a leader says and does when someone comes to them with an idea can either spur innovation or stifle it. In fact, studies show that up to 67% of the climate for creativity in organizations is directly attributed to the behavior of the leader.<\/p>\n

Caution, skepticism, judging, and dismissal are understandable \u2014 and typical \u2014 responses to new ideas, especially when resources are strapped. Yet they\u2019re also signs of subconsciously sabotaging innovation<\/a> and the development of innovative mindsets. In order to foster trust, creativity, collaboration, and innovation within and across teams, you must work to create a psychologically safe culture<\/a> where team members feel comfortable sharing their ideas. These unfiltered ideas are what lead to innovation.<\/p>\n

Want an Innovative Mindset? 4 Requirements for Leaders<\/h2>\n

To counter this natural tendency and to foster innovation in their teams and among their direct reports, leaders can develop an innovative mindset \u2014 along with learning innovation processes, tools, and skills. What\u2019s an innovative mindset exactly?<\/p>\n

Leaders who have an innovative mindset:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Have curiosity;<\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. Are able to tolerate ambiguity; <\/strong><\/li>\n
  3. Practice affirmative judgment; and<\/strong><\/li>\n
  4. Show persistence.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"Infographic:<\/a><\/p>\n

    4 Facets of an Innovative Mindset<\/h3>\n

    1. Stay curious.<\/h4>\n

    People who are good at making things happen are curious. Curiosity fuels the acquisition of new information and is the source of creativity and innovation.<\/p>\n

    Innovation leaders are curious about why things are set up the way they are, open to doing things differently, and willing to try things that don’t neatly fit into their own assumptions. Curious leaders ask, What if?<\/em>\u00a0or How might we do something different?<\/em>\u00a0They shift their focus from, There\u2019s no way we can do that!<\/em>\u00a0to I wonder how we could make that happen.<\/em><\/p>\n

    When you feel you already know the answer, there\u2019s no curiosity.<\/p>\n

    2. Be tolerant of ambiguity.<\/h4>\n

    Ambiguity is uncomfortable and challenging. But the ability to slow down and be okay with ambiguity is necessary to innovate in the face of complexity.<\/p>\n

    Innovation leaders balance the need to move forward with the need to hold themselves open to options. Creative thinking and innovative solutions increase when leaders are willing to stay open to possibilities longer.<\/p>\n

    3. Practice affirmative judgment.<\/h4>\n

    Instead of telling people what they don\u2019t like or what won\u2019t work, innovation leaders let people know what they do like. They point out the strengths and value of a new solution or idea. This lets the team know they\u2019re on to something new and useful, and it ensures they retain the most valuable attributes as the idea evolves.<\/p>\n

    Affirmative judgment also provides recognition and promotes a sense of accomplishment and progress, which employees need to keep them motivated.<\/p>\n

    4. Remain persistent.<\/h4>\n

    By definition, new ideas are strange, unusual, weird, and different. So selling new ideas to others to get buy-in takes a lot of work and time.<\/p>\n

    A senior leader once told his people that if they propose an idea and he says \u201cno,\u201d don\u2019t give up. If they still believe in the idea, he told them he wanted them to try another way to pitch it until he sees its value. For him, that was the definition of \u201cempowerment.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Innovation leaders empower themselves to do what it takes, which typically requires great persistence.<\/p>\n

    Innovation and innovative mindsets don\u2019t happen without leadership. Regardless of the brilliance of your strategy, remember that the culture will support it or kill it.<\/strong> Since leaders have such a significant impact on the culture, it\u2019s up to you as the leader to develop it.<\/p>\n

    The next time you hear a new idea or are asked to weigh in on a new solution, make a choice to lead with an innovative mindset, and foster innovation.<\/p>\n

    How to Encourage an Innovative Mindset on Your Team<\/h2>\n
    \"Guidebook:<\/a>Learn how to encourage innovative mindsets at your organization with our guidebook How to Treat New Ideas<\/em><\/a>. The book identifies 5 tips that can help leaders nurture new ideas and foster innovative mindsets in the workplace, based on personal experience, data, and lessons from scores of organizations around the world.<\/div>\n

    5 Tips to Foster Innovative Mindsets<\/h3>\n

    1. Resist the instinct to kill a new idea.<\/h4>\n

    Leaders need to understand that their first reaction to a new idea is typically \u201cfight or flight.\u201d When an idea that is new, foreign, or maybe even odd emerges, we\u2019re programmed to fight it or resist it, perhaps maybe even ignore it in hopes that it will go away.<\/p>\n

    But leaders who want to encourage innovation should take a deep breath and allow themselves and their teams to think through the idea before rejecting it.<\/p>\n

    2. Practice innovation thinking.<\/h4>\n

    There\u2019s nothing wrong with traditional business thinking \u2014 it\u2019s required to manage a modern organization. But when a new idea comes along, it\u2019s time to switch into innovation thinking mode. Innovation thinking gives new ideas the oxygen they need to continue developing.<\/p>\n

    3. Frame and clarify the idea\u2019s purpose.<\/h4>\n

    Successful innovators often ask themselves what problem a new idea can help solve or what opportunity it might address. Sometimes this takes a little patience.<\/p>\n

    When 3M scientist Spencer Silver created a \u201clow-tack,\u201d pressure-sensitive adhesive instead of the super-strong glue he\u2019d been trying for, he couldn\u2019t imagine what it would be good for. When a colleague mentioned a problem with the slips of paper he used to mark songs falling out of his Sunday hymnal, Silver had a solution. The result was 3M\u2019s Post-it\u00ae notes, now a staple item in every office supply closet.<\/p>\n

    4. Use the POINt technique.<\/h4>\n

    At this juncture, the promise of at least some new ideas might be starting to clarify. But to sharpen that promise and test it a bit more rigorously, you can use the POINt technique developed by Pfizer executive Bob Moore.<\/p>\n

    POINt stands for:<\/p>\n