Understanding and Investing in Your Ideation Talent

On this Theme Thursday Season 4 webcast, Jim Collison, Gallup's Director of Talent Sourcing, and Maika Leibbrandt, Senior Workplace Consultant, talk about Ideation.

People exceptionally talented in the Ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to break topics into ideas and find connections within and between them. Two words can represent Ideation. They are creative and "creatable". Creative is being, "drawn toward novel and different takes on standard issues or ways of working. It's constant pursuit of discovery and creation." "Creatable" is, "being able to create something authentically new." Creativity through Ideation is that authentic creation of something.

When Ideation is at its best, it's leading your team toward the intersection of novel and noteworthy, not just different for the sake of different. It's about noticing connections that build something like understanding, teamwork, relevance, or profit. It's offering fresh perspectives that help your message stick. It's bridging gaps between ideas for others that help you communicate, teach, and inspire.

Do more of offering your quickness with ideas as a service for others. Offer your help by lending your ideas. Get involved in pilot and review phases of projects. These are typically safest times to throw around Ideas that may be out of the norm. Seek out the "what if" spaces within your team or within your world. Where are big ideas floating? Where are dreamy conversations happening without the gravity of commitment? Show up there.

Ask for freedom to put a new spin on things. You may need to know specifically which parts are sacred, i.e. what rules can you not break? Look for appreciation and invitation to "riff". Where can you talk about possibilities and explore new thoughts without having to commit to making them real?

Worry less about repeating things the same way every time. You can be reliable without being predictable. This comes from delivering on a promise that focuses on the destination, not the journey. You can promise and deliver on what you say you're going to do but the way you do it can be different every time.

Expect creative quickness. People exceptionally talented in Ideation are fast to be able to offer new perspectives. They'll be excited when you ask for new ideas. Expect distinction between ideas and opinions. It's that idea of, "throwing a lot at the wall, then we'll see what sticks." The benefit of this can be bouncing ideas off one another. Be cautious with this and don't take every idea as having the same weight or any at all.

Recognize those with high Ideation by looking for what they have done or offered that was groundbreaking. Recognize a time when their work brought boldness that pushed others to something new. Recognize them for a time their Ideation was great assistance to another person or project.

Stretch by helping them communicate their ideas to others. Stretch them by knowing when and how their peers best hear them. Send people to them for ideas. Think with them about the connections between ideas, especially when new challenges arise. Challenge them to design something, ask them to bring their ideas together on many levels like overall space, ideas within the details, and ideas within transitions. Stretch them by not always accepting their first response, as the best response. Challenge them to think deeper.

When partnering with someone high in Ideation, question and challenge this person, and ask them to keep thinking and ideating. Explicitly set time to think together, muse, brainstorm, or have "blue sky thinking". Catching the ideas that resonate and tell them why they're resonating. You can help direct them down the most relevant or helpful path.

If Ideation is one of your Dominant Themes, invest in it this week through the following challenge items:

• Set a daily reminder to write down all the ideas you've had in the past 24 hours. Give yourself a time limit -- 3-5 minutes.
• Identify a great thinking partner and invite them to brainstorm with you for 1 hour this week. Quantity rather than quality is the value here.
• Thoughtfully package your best idea. What's the best idea you've had today? Practice the message so that it's fully considered and you can help others connect the dots before presenting it. Write it, say it, re-write it, test it, and present it.

If Ideation is not one of your Dominant Themes, invest in it this week through the following challenge items:

• Name your access to creativity. When was the last time you offered a new perspective? How can you prepare to do this in the future?
• If you aren't an inventor, be an idea broker. Ask someone who you find to be creative to share the best ideas they've had lately. Encourage those you find most helpful.