Working with new staff who have new-fangled ideas: Snapshot survey
In the June 2009 eNewsletter we invited members to share their experiences of working with a new staff member who has all sorts of new fangled ideas.
 With most everyone starting off in a new team at some point, it was unsurprising that over 90% of respondents said that they had worked with a team member who brought new, untested ideas to the table. And with all the organisation shake-ups that have gone on in the past year, it was unsurprising that 30% of respondents said that they are currently in that position.
In response to new ideas that team members bring to the table, over 80% of respondents replied that they had resisted a team member’s idea without giving them a fair hearing. Respondents noted budget constraints (52%: “There’s not enough money for that”) and pragmatic justifications (43%: “On paper it works, but here in the real world”) as the main reasons for resisting new ideas.
 All the controversy and the feeling of being threatened by a new team member, most people replied that they either felt terrible for not giving the idea a chance or okay as they didn’t have the time/resources to fully investigate the idea.
A lesson to learn from those who are starting out in a team, when presenting new ideas, the top three factors that will help your idea to be properly tested are:
- the soundness of the presentation and the logic behind it
- the presenter’s professional experience/expertise
- and any past evidence of the idea.
Interestingly, people’s gut reactions play a notable role. More than half of survey respondents (58%) reported that when it comes to giving an idea a fair hearing, their gut reaction to the idea played a role.
Shifting people’s gut reactions will require more nuanced interpersonal skills of reading the decision-makers’ personality and preferences.
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