Don't Demonize Employees Who Raise Problems
Nobody likes a troublemaker, right?
When employees bring up uncomfortable topics or point out room for improvement, the urge is often to shush or ignore that person. Yet, without a willingness to look at your company through a critical lens, you’ll never achieve innovation.
This conundrum is particularly challenging with new hires. Those who’ve been at the organization longer feel a certain allegiance to old mindsets and ways of doing things. When someone new comes in and challenges assumptions that are in place, egos are at stake.
For the leaders we speak with through our work at the Source and Recruit Companies, it’s a practice to listen to new points of view. When someone disagrees with you in a public way, it’s important to parse your own feelings of attachment to your ideas from what’s ultimately best for the company.
Ideally, you give all ideas a chance — even if they seem contrary to proven ways of doing things.
