While you encourage your employees to suggest ways to improve the business, not all of them are worth considering. Some ideas might be too hard to swallow. You have no choice but to reject the suggestions and move forward. The problem is you also don’t want to hurt your employees since they might feel discouraged to participate. Here are some tips to help navigate this tricky process.
Try to assess the request
Before you come with your knee-jerk “no”, it is best to assess the request. It would help if you determined how engaging, interesting, and exciting the idea is. Then decide whether the idea has the potential to help you out. It is good not to say no, till you are very sure that you don’t need them.
The assessment process should be a solo endeavor. Make sure to provide the person with the context about the workload you have. This is to evaluate the scope and scale of the idea.
Don’t say no during a brainstorming session
If you’re brainstorming with employees, never reject any idea. It’s not the right time. The goal is to bring as many responses as possible. You have more time to polish these ideas and decide which one is good enough. If you’re planning a party to celebrate a milestone, some suggestions might be too extravagant. Note all of them and decide later. Who knows? If someone suggests having a funfair stall for hire, everyone will enjoy it. Many companies have a funfair to give everyone a break, even for a day.
Always say thank you
Acknowledge all ideas and say thank you to the employees who participated in the discussion. It’s a sign that you appreciate everyone’s efforts to be a part of the conversation. You will also encourage more voices if you show that you listen.
Give the employees a chance to explain
After receiving the initial suggestion, try to ask questions and provide opportunities to explain. These employees understand that their ideas might get rejected. However, they will feel good if they got a fair shot at explaining them.
Adjust your expectations
Even you follow all the tips and are very polite; you will still face negative feedback. The client or the colleague may not be happy. It is important to keep in that one can influence how the person reacts, but one cannot control it. Experts suggest adjusting the expectations will help you to accomplish what you hope. Also, one must not consider this as a choice between preserving a relationship and confrontation.
Explain your reason for saying no
If you already have to decide which one to pursue or reject, provide a clear explanation. Don’t say no, and move on. You will make your employees feel terrible. They worked hard to think of ways to improve the business. The least you can do is say why you decided not to accept the suggestion. It shows that you considered it, and you weighed the choices well.
It’s good to be firm at times
In case someone does not accept your denial, get this very clear that the person is probably not a well-wisher, true friend, or does not even bother to respect you. Thus, it is better to stand firm. One must not feel compelled to just give in to the proposal just because the person is uncomfortable.
Always be fair
When you ask for suggestions, decide based on the quality of what you receive. Don’t prefer one over another because you like that employee. It discourages everyone from participating in the future. They know that their voices won’t matter even if they work hard because you already know whose ideas are better. After all, you like those employees.
Never humiliate your employees
It’s already enough to say no and explain the reasons behind your decision. There’s no need to humiliate your employees. Don’t make fun of their ideas while rejecting them. It won’t reflect how bad the ideas are, but how terrible you are as a leader. You can make jokes at work, but not at the expense of someone else.
Reconsider the ideas for future projects
There are great ideas that you can’t pursue now. You might do it at some point. If so, tell your employees that you will keep these plans in your file. You can revisit them if the right opportunity arrives. Some leaders use this excuse instead of outright rejection. If you say that you might consider the ideas in the future, you should mean it.
You can act selfishly
When it comes to business – make sure you to out the needs first always! If you give priority to the idea of the other person over your, you will definitely suffer with productivity. In addition to that, with time, your level of resentment will also mount up. You can learn from Warren Buffet himself, who said –
“The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say not to almost everything.”
With these tips, you will have a fruitful discussion where no one feels bad.