Out of the box thinking. Is it good or bad for the team?

I'm going to take the approach that out of the box thinking is generally good. The reality is that the team leader sets the tone. Here are two guidelines that may help prevent the deterioration of the team spirit.

1) Out of the box thinkers are different. Often they are A-type personalities and driven to succeed. They need to be aware that they have a strong tendency to become overwhelming. Their comments and discussion points need to be tempered with a heavy dose of patience and respect for other team members. This can be difficult if they feel like they are the only one that "sees" the real answer. When a member hits that point they need to close the ONE mouth they have and use the TWO ears they were given before going any farther. Quite often teams are balanced with out of the box thinkers and those who live in and for the box. It's not a bad thing but the two have to understand each other. The team will have trouble when these two individuals cannot see the other's perspective and the project essentially becomes a turf war. This is where strong leadership is crucial.

2) You can argue a decision only until the final decision is made. Once the decision is made team members have to stop the debating and get on the same page. This may be a time for out of the box thinkers to calmly and quietly make their way back to the box. If your organization is running in circles it's probably because your leaders are not leading. If this is you and your company then I am going to suggest an expert/website in leadership training that your organization may want to have a conversation with.

www.theliveinstitute.org

Charles