Keep ideas flowing by exploring why they stop
Ideas are crucial to innovation and growth, but many employees choose to keep their ideas to themselves.
Posted: November 23, 2016
Ideas are crucial to innovation and growth, but many employees
choose to keep their ideas to themselves. Why? One of the
most common, and most easily remedied, reasons is proximity.
Studies have found that employees are extremely unlikely to
share information with co-workers who sit more than 30 feet
away from their workstations. As long as employees are in the
same building, a little rearranging of work areas or frequent
meetings can solve that problem.
More troubling are the psychological reasons behind a
failure to share knowledge:
• Fear of rejection. Many people worry that their contributions
to discussions or projects will be dismissed, so they
keep their ideas to themselves.
• Fear of exposing ignorance. Often, people are insecure
about their knowledge and keep their mouths shut for fear
they may be embarrassed in front of co-workers.
• Fear of theft. Good ideas are a hot commodity in today’s
economy, and some people worry that if they share their
ideas, others will steal them.
The first two fears are usually a matter of office culture,
meaning that change must come from the top down. To
overcome fear of rejection and fear of ignorance, managers
should cultivate an atmosphere where all opinions are respected
and a premium is placed on helping employees learn.
Managers at all levels should also be willing to answer questions
and unwilling to tolerate employees who disparage the
ideas or questions of others.
The fear of having ideas stolen is more difficult to address.
It is the reason that many organizations report difficulty in
getting employees to participate in knowledge management
systems. Some organizations have achieved success by including
the sharing of information and ideas in the annual review
process and linking such behavior to raises and rewards.
—Adapted from Better Conversations