Best Idea Wins
How your team can thrive when you help get ego out of the way
Written by Aidan Hennebry • Amplifyr
I want to introduce you to a concept, and that concept is rather simple:
In any decision your team has to make, set the rule that the best idea you come up with is the one that you go with, regardless of who comes up with it.
In this way, we make it really straightforward for teams to understand how to relate to the task at hand. It’s no longer about authority, seniority, defaulting to the status quo. It’s not even about unanimity. If no one has a better idea, the top option is what we’re going for.
You see it all the time:
By default, most of the time, it’s boss’s idea wins.
There are tons of reasons this is a terrible choice. I’ll give you just a few.
1. The boss doesn’t always know best
If no one’s ever made it clear, you do not suddenly become perfect when you are placed into a leadership position. The boss’s ideas are not suddenly without flaw or risk. There’s a chance that the boss can overlook something that will be detrimental to the team later.
2. It stifles the participation of the team
All ships rise with the tide, and with Best Idea Wins, I firmly believe that all members of the team are going to benefit from something that could be objectively labelled the best idea (or as close-to ‘objective’ or ‘best’ as possible).
When the team doesn’t feel like their idea will be respected because they are merely just a team member and not anyone in a position of power, you lose all the fantastic ideas and perspectives they could be bringing to the table. What a tragic loss in the name of pride.
3. Your team’s output potential is limited to one person
Don’t get me wrong: there was probably some reason the boss became the boss. But even if it wasn’t just because they’d paid off the interviewer or they were the best of the worst, the greatest bosses can still have some mediocre ideas from time to time. You don’t get the collective potential of the team when it’s the boss’s idea that will always win. Instead, you only have one perspective contributing to the final outcome.
My personal experience as a young manager
When I very new to leadership, I had a habit of building out a strategy for my team behind closed doors. After 5 years of self-employment, I was used to wearing every hat in my one-man company; I did everything myself.
Once my blueprint was built, I’d present it to the team as our initiative. I got a lot of rumbles and grumbles which confused me and frustrated me. The team would then execute on my idea—and it went very well—but I still did not get the excitement I wanted. Eventually someone made it clear to me:
“This isn’t our idea. This is your idea that we are executing on. We don’t mind this, but we’d appreciate a voice at the table when you’re planning the next project.”
Next time around, I was much more inclusive upfront. Of course I still had an idea, but I was open to hearing differing perspectives and adjusting course if there was a better way to do something.
In the beginning, my preconceived idea didn’t change much by the time the team was done workshopping it. But as the years went on, gradually my team became more and more willing to speak up, and their ideas would start to enhance my own (or even replace it when the collective team had something better to say).
After a while, to my great joy, it wasn’t just on me to come up with the idea for a project when the need arose. The team took on a deep sense of ownership and pride in their work. Everyone was contributing now, and it was no longer about me.
I was no longer the centre of my team, and nothing could’ve been healthier in that moment.
Identity:
The biggest reason bosses don’t let their teams contribute
In a previous job, I’d asked my boss (who was an incredibly wise mentor and friend) what he thought was one of the biggest mistakes that leaders make. His reply knocked me onto my butt.
He said:
Most leaders overestimate how much their teams need them.
First of all: Ouch.
Secondly: He’s right.
He went on to elaborate that most bosses fall into this trap of believing that, without them, their teams won’t know how to function or think for themselves. Because we can develop this hero complex, we tend to overshare our ideas and insert ourselves into processes and projects that don’t actually require us to succeed.
It’s a fairly logical mistake to make. As I said, typically leaders are put into position for a reason.
But don’t hear what I’m not saying: This is not a license to become an absentee leader. It does, however, give you permission to let your team get their ideas across before you share yours.
When we stop seeing ourselves as the most important person in team meetings, we start to unlock true potential in our team that would otherwise lay undiscovered.
If I’m not the leader, who am I?
How do you ensure the best idea wins?
1. Align with the objectives of the project
The insecure leader among us might be thinking Well, Aidan, the best idea does win on my team, because my ideas are always the best ones. Is that objectively true?
In order for an idea to be considered the “best” of the bunch presented, it should be the one that most closely aligns with the goals of the project, has the most likelihood of succeed at hitting the goals, or has the least damage should the project go off the rails.
Your aversion to risk and your desire for success will determine which is the greater determining factor for you.
2. Welcome “stupid” ideas
A good measure of success here is how many times “This might be a dumb idea, but…” is uttered in a brainstorming meeting with your team.
It’s a great sign of trust, because risking reputation (and jeopardizing their identity!) is a serious thing that many employees aren’t willing to do in the workplace.
You’ll know you’re getting somewhere good when your team is brave enough to volunteer those thoughts they have but aren’t sure if they’re any good.
3. Create a culture of celebrating wins
If your team doesn’t perform regular post-mortems or debriefs after a project, you should really start. This is a great way to circle back and evaluate whether or not your team succeeded at hitting their objectives, or if there was potential left on the table by choosing a subpart strategy.
Both failure and successes can be insanely valuable if you slow down long enough to learn from them. Most leaders make the mistake of never understanding why they’re successful, which hurts their chances of repeating it in the future.
Don’t underestimate the power of an attaboy or attagirl to anyone on your team. When you build this culture that welcomes innovation, you’ll be impressed at how brilliant the people are that you work with.
Understood
We all just want to be
I’ll leave you with one closing thought on why I think Best Idea Wins is a concept for every leader of people to adopt:
At the end of the day, when all is said and done, I believe that we all just want to be heard. We want to know that someone out there (ideally not that far away) listened to us when we had something to say.
I’ll be the first to admit: I’m terrible at talking over people. I get excited to participate and share the thoughts in my head (and believe me, there are plenty). But nothing means more to someone than simply shutting up long enough to let them voice whatever’s on their mind.
What I hope is clear in this concept is that you don’t have to follow through on any crappy idea. In fact, you shouldn’t. It’s “Best Idea Wins”; not First or Loudest or Most Insistent.
Championing your team is not only a fantastic business decision, but it’s also a virtuous act.
When we clock out at the end of the work day, we are all humans. We’ve all got our own complexities and ideas and dreams. Implementing a concept like Best Idea Wins in your workplace is one of the most enabling things you can do for your people.
We spend a majority of our lives working. Why not create practices that make your workplace an environment that fills people’s cup instead of draining it?
Aidan Hennebry
Chief Consultant & Creative Director
About the Author
Hey! I’m Aidan. I’m a consultant, author, and podcaster who works with organizations in leadership, sales and marketing industries.
I love gaining knowledge. It’s why I consume so much (and why I’m so happy to share what I’ve picked up along the way).
If you like what I have to say, consider picking up a copy of my books, subscribing to the Amplifyr Podcast, or signing up for my weekly email newsletter called the Amplifyr Report.
And, of course, if your organization wants to explore partnering with me on leadership or marketing consulting, I would love to hear from you.
