“Your team isn’t bad at brainstorming. They’re just afraid of you.”
I was facilitating a quarterly strategy retreat for a new team, something I’ve done countless times before. The manager warned me that his team was terrible at brainstorming new ideas. He said, “My team’s terrible at brainstorming. Don’t be surprised if you don’t get much out of them.” Challenge accepted, I thought. I had a toolkit of activities to get even the most hesitant group to generate ideas. But then, something unexpected happened: nothing worked.
My activities usually sparked excitement and ideas, but this group remained stubbornly uncreative. I felt like I was trying to squeeze water from a stone. Frustrated, I decided to take a break to regroup. On the break, I chatted with two team members to see if I could get some insight as to what was going on. Their feedback floored me:
“Your activities are actually really good,” one team member said.
“Okay, so what’s the problem?” I asked, genuinely puzzled.
“Well,” they said in unison, “it’s our manager.”
It turned out that their manager had a history of reacting harshly when they tried something new that failed or didn’t work perfectly right away. His reactions were so disproportionate to their mistakes that the team learned it was safer to stay in their lane and “play not to lose.” “Playing to win” wasn’t worth the potential consequences.
This manager, through his actions, had inadvertently trained his team to keep their ideas to themselves. He had created an environment where sharing ideas felt unsafe. A failed attempt or a half-baked concept wasn’t just met with constructive feedback. It was met with harsh criticism or outsized consequences.
The result? Over time, the team learned to keep their heads down and stick to the status quo. Not only did they avoid taking risks, but he also found himself micromanaging every detail, surrounded by yes-people afraid to challenge him.
Leaders, take note: Stifling your team’s willingness to speak up doesn’t just limit their growth; it traps you in a cycle of control and missed opportunities.
But here’s the good news: Change is possible.
- Start by recognizing that mistakes are learning opportunities, not personal failures. When your team tries something new and it doesn’t work out, ask “What did we learn?” instead of “Who’s to blame?”
- Be mindful of how you react to challenges. Your team is always watching. If you model openness to risk and celebrate effort, even in failure, you’ll create a culture where creativity thrives.
- Reward the willingness to try something new, even if it doesn’t workout. This isn’t about ignoring that actions are one thing but results are what really matter, this is in addition to celebrating results. But if your team doesn’t have the psychological safety to try something new, good luck getting the results you want.
Remember, a leader’s job isn’t to control every outcome; it’s to create an environment where everyone feels safe to contribute, take risks, and grow. Every leader should ask themselves: “Am I creating a space where they feel safe to innovate?”
It’s not easy to change a culture of fear, but the rewards are worth it. When you lead with openness and trust, your team will surprise you—with their ideas, their creativity, and their ability to take your organization to the next level.
