Talents & Burnout: Ideation®

By Chad T. Ahern

We recognize that many communities within the United States are going through massive upheaval in trying to address longstanding, systemic racial inequality and injustice. Even as we join in the efforts to support such initiatives, we also believe continuing to share perspectives via this #talentswithoutburnout series can help people better understand one another as unique, talented individuals that should be celebrated and supported, regardless of their skin color or national origin.

Burnout Concerns

Your team members with Ideation® talents may seem more adept at adjusting to our constantly changing world, but there is still the possibility for them to burnout.

• With an influx of new & often disparate information, those with Ideation® talents may be seeing more connections and creating more ideas than they know what to do with. Similarly, they could become exhausted trying to share all their ideas with the team.
  
  
• With everyone attempting to keep connected and address the here-and-now, over scheduling video calls can diminish the independent “idea creation time.”
  
  
• Many with Ideation® talents “take in the world we all know” and transform it. Given that “the world we all know” is drastically changing, there may not be a “shared” perspective among the team or organization on the world “we all know” or any sense of “familiar challenges.” Being “out synch” could prove to be another hurdle in trying to explain how new ideas improve the current situation thus offering another point of frustration & burnout.
  
  
• Some with Ideation® talents need to gather all the information on the subject first. With information changing so fast, they may get frustrated they can’t gather everything before starting to formulate a collection of ideas to bring back to the group.
  
  
• With goals and resources seemingly changing by the day, people with Ideation® may feel they can’t connect their ideas to the practical.

Addressing Burnout

As you and your team address change, those with Ideation® talents can offer some insightful and imaginative ways to approach problems. You need these individuals to offer their best. To do so, you need to make sure you don't burn them out. Try some of the following to get the best from these talented individuals:
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• Provide clarity around what goals, objectives, and resources are still applicable so that their ideas can tie to needed team efforts.
  
  
• Be sure the team has a shared understanding of the current situation. A shared reality will (ideally) give everyone a shared starting point on which to frame new ideas. 
  
  
• Don’t over schedule. Team members with Ideation® talents need time to think and brainstorm. 

As with coaching any individual, their combined set of talent themes will effect how their Ideation® talents show up, and how to best manage them. As a beginning, next time you check-in with them, ask,

What new idea(s) are you most
​excited about right now?

Gallup®, CliftonStrengths®, and the 34 theme names of CliftonStrengths® are 
trademarks of Gallup, Inc. All rights reserved.

Photo by CJ Dayrit on Unsplash