In the eyes of effective leaders, great ideas and best practices are never sacred. They find and exploit any idea, practice, or action they think can make the team more effective.
They don’t fall into the infamous trap of Not Invented Here (NIH). When it comes to leading a highly effective organization or team, the desire for originality and creating distinctive ideas can become a roadblock to success. The best leaders know this and find ideas anywhere they can.
Investigate the history of a market-leading enterprise and you will often find that the idea they have perfected…didn’t start with them. They likely discovered that idea or practice already in the marketplace and decided to make it better.
Once you borrow an idea from elsewhere, it becomes a mandate for good leaders to strengthen or improve on it. The result is often a new version of the practice that helps to make the team more effective.
Smart leaders are in the business of recognizing the value of any existing idea, model, or concept and making it their own. They are always on the lookout for any practice or idea they can adopt and then adapt. They are particularly interested in the schemes, designs, and processes used by competitors. They know that is execution, and not the idea itself, that makes all the difference.
Savvy leaders also recognize that some of the most inventive ideas are actually already in play inside their own organization. They remain hidden from view or disregarded because of the dreaded Not Invented Here disease.
Internal teams and business units are notorious for ignoring the most effective practices of other teams. Effective leaders don’t accept this. They push through any resistance and apply best practices in one part of the organization and quickly transplant it elsewhere.
To be the best, great leaders find the best idea wherever it resides and then incorporate it inside their own team and organization. They are not prideful. They see no need to have originated the practice. They know that pride of ownership is a drawback when it comes to best practices. Instead, they believe that executing the best ideas flawlessly is how teams make the fastest progress.
