The Power of Brainstorming and Why You Need To Do It Now!
Posted on January 05, 2016 by Nick Mariniello, One of Thousands of Business Coaches on Noomii.
"You cannot mandate productivity, you must provide the tools to let people become their best." - Steve Jobs
The buzz phrase “Employee Engagement” gets bantered around on a regular basis and for good reason. Staff is added to any organization to leverage the skills of the founders, executives, and managers so that a company can grow exponentially. The best companies always have the best trained, best motivated, and most engaged employees. The staff understands the vision of the company’s leaders, why it is important , what needs to get done, and where they fit within the “big picture.” The first few weeks of a new year is always an excellent time to get your employees “engaged.”
If you have come into the first week of 2016 with a renewed vision and ambitious goals for the year, you are definitely not alone. All good leaders would have spent the time over the last several weeks and months thinking about what they can and should do better in 2016 and what effect that would have on their business and their life. However, most often, the vision and goals are created by an individual or a small group of executives. When, in fact, the realization of those visions and goals requires the engagement and efforts of their respective teams. Now, practically speaking, it is not feasible to have every employee involved in creating the goals for the company for all of the obvious reasons. However, simply proclaiming a vision and informing your staff as to what the goals of the company are for 2016 just isn’t enough. You need to engage them in the process.
Well, how do you do that without creating a quagmire that becomes counter-productive?
Schedule a “brainstorming session” with your key players as soon as possible. Discuss the thought process you went through to arrive at your vision and goals for the new year. Explain the “why” and the “benefits” to all when your vision becomes a reality and the goals are achieved. And then ask them, “How do you think we get this done?” It’s Okay to make yourself vulnerable by asking for their input and seek to understand their ideas or concerns. You need to get them to “Buy in” to the program and the most effective method of achieving that “Buy in” is to get their minds and hearts involved. You know the old saying, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care”. Well, employee engagement begins with a foundation of trust and the process of asking for their opinions and ideas is a driver of that trust. They need to know that you care. They may not agree with the ultimate decisions that are made, but they know that you considered their position and didn’t just “dictate” to them.
The most powerful Synergy comes from the emotional attachment and commitment individuals make to a cause that is greater than their own.Brainstorming has so many benefits beyond the generation of ideas and possible solutions to an issue. If done properly it will build trust, respect, synergy, and commitment. If you have never facilitated a brainstorming session, there are hundreds of articles on-line that can teach you the basics. Google “brainstorming session”and you will get over a million hits. You can even hire a professional to facilitate the session for you. This is often viewed by employees as a real commitment to the process and can actually enhance the engagement & effectiveness. However, you need to be an active participant in the session or it will have the opposite effect. Don’t try to hire someone, give them a sheet of paper with your vision and goals on it and abandon the process. I assure you that would lead to disaster.
Try facilitating the brainstorming session yourself. Like most things in life, it’s not as challenging as you may think. Then encourage your key players to do the same with their teams. It takes some work but the rewards are exponential.
If you would like to discuss your particular situation and how to use brainstorming as an effective tool to achieving success in 2016, please call or email me. Maximizing opportunities to communicate vision, establish effective goals, and energize an organization through employee engagement is what we are all about. Good luck and good fortune in 2016!
