The party affiliation of the Congressman is irrelevant. His comments remind me of situations found in
companies with polarized positions where people dismiss good ideas coming from
someone they dislike or disagree with.
While many of us are disgusted with a broken political system, we should
look closer to home – where we work. How
often have you seen seemingly good ideas tossed aside because one group
dislikes another or because of personality conflicts between individuals? Unfortunately, I believe it happens all too
often.
Groups within companies can become as polarized as
politicians. When this happens, people
loose touch with their common purpose and discard opportunity because they dislike
the idea’s originator. While political
issues play out in the open press, entrenched positions in companies often take
a more passive-aggressive path. New
ideas are undermined in hallways and offices behind people’s backs. The focus becomes the individual instead of
the idea; people attack the person and question their motivation or
reputation. Who loses when this happens?
Instead of embracing the positive elements in an idea,
people focus on why it won’t work.
Rather than being builders, they resort to demolition. Innovations and new ideas die before being
evaluated when people or groups become entrenched in personal politics. I’ve been in meetings where someone is
ignored entirely as if they were invisible simply because they aren’t
liked. You can watch it happen in real
time as people roll their eyes, start speaking to someone else, or begin
fiddling with their phone. In the end,
everyone loses as the potential is lost and relationships are further
damaged. This negative cycle can persist
indefinitely and doom an organization to mediocrity – or worse.
To break the cycle, move beyond personal feelings and
character attacks. When someone suggests
a new idea, separate the person from the idea, especially if you dislike the
individual. Evaluate the idea on face
value and work to uncover its strengths.
One way to do this is to imagine the idea came from another source. Resist the temptation to dismiss an idea just
because you dislike who offered it. Acknowledge
the potential benefits, and then move to collaborate toward common
understanding. Remember you are all on
the same team. Remind yourself and
others why you’re there: to build a better organization where new opportunity
lifts everyone. Be a builder, not the wrecking
crew.
For leaders, don’t allow your team to fall into a
destructive cycle. Stop the cycle before
it gets started. It’s your responsibility
to guide your team toward solutions and to pull yourself and others above the
fray. Focus people on the idea
regardless of who offered it. In
addition, be humble and encourage people to find ways to improve upon the
idea. In the end, you’ll build bridges
and move your organization forward.
If you dislike Washington politics as much as I do, remember
the same thing can happen in your organization.
Duane Grove is founder of Connect2Action, a strategy execution
specialist at the intersection of employee engagement and executive leadership,
igniting innovation as a lever to accelerate your growth. Follow Duane on Twitter @connect2action and
connect with him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+. Learn more by visiting
www.connect2action.com.