Egoless Innovation
Ideas are not personal
I worked with an executive coach for about a year recently. One of the many insights she gave me was that people come into a situation with one of three intents: A. To win or be right, B. For everyone to get along, and C. To get the best outcome. And that “most” people are in A or B.
I hope it goes without saying that to deliver the most innovative outcomes, you need to be in C.
I wrote recently about the necessity of conflict when innovating, and how hard it is for most people (including me). This was a very tactical blog, with a call to enter into collaboration (the ‘C’ mindset) and suggestions for how to do it.
But I find it is far more effective to set an intention than to use specific tools. You don’t have to remember the words you are supposed to say because they will just come out. And perhaps more importantly, you will be authentically entering into collaboration as opposed to a “fake it til you make it” approach.
We all recognize when someone is not being genuine, and whether we acknowledge it or not, it’s presence will erode trust. So this article is about setting the intention of egoless innovation.
Wait… You thought I wanted you to fail?
This A/B/C concept was a revelation to me. It changed every meeting for me when I was aware enough to think about it. I have lived my entire adult life with the core assumption that when I am collaborating with people, ideas are not personal.
If I challenge your idea, this has nothing to do with what I think of you as a person. I am not challenging your competence, invalidating your values, nor making you wrong. I am trying to get to the best version of the idea because anything less is a waste of our collective (precious, very expensive) time. This is the essence of what it means to be in the C mindset.
But often, my quest (typically in the form of questions) for the best outcome was met with defense or frustration and I struggled with this for years. For those not in C, it feels like I am working really hard to…
