Tricky Case Coaching: Managing Ideas and Overwhelm

Today, we're diving into a topic that resonates with many leaders and managers out there: managing ideation. It's not just about brainstorming sessions and post-it notes; it's about cultivating an environment where creativity flourishes while still meeting deadlines and achieving goals.

Tricky Case Session Recap

Britt is challenged in managing and prioritizing numerous ideas for her team without overwhelming them. In the tricky case forum, she shared her desire to create a strategy that will enable her to set stronger goals and better focus the team's efforts when holding meetings that focus on idea generation and planning. During the Tricky Case Forum, participants asked probing questions to understand Britt's current approach to goal setting and ways to evaluate the impact and urgency of ideas. 

Britta's Challenge

Britta expressed her struggle with having many ideas but not wanting to overwhelm her team. She wanted to create a strategy or set goals to prioritize the work they should focus on together.

Current Approach

Britta shared that they have been using Trello and Jira to track work in progress, but still have many ongoing tasks. She has tried refining ideas with the team and leading like a Scrum Master, but feels she needs to be more strategic.

Evaluating Ideas

Participants asked questions to understand how the team is currently evaluating and prioritizing ideas. The discussion covered topics of urgency, risk, impact on the business, interconnected projects, and customer feedback. Britt noted that while things are generally going well, there is room for improvement in efficiency.

Empowering The Team

The conversation explored empowering team members to help prioritize, considering interconnected projects, using virtual tools like Mural, defining team values, and finding an accountability partner to help execute the strategy. Britt committed to asking a team member for help, documenting her thoughts, and sharing resources on strategy creation.

Britt's Action Plan

• Ask a specific team member for help in prioritizing ideas and creating a strategy during their one-on-one meeting
• Document her thoughts and ideas before the one-on-one meeting to have a focused conversation
• Better leverage resources on strategy creation and connecting strategy to action
• Find an accountability partner from her team to help execute the strategy

Final Thoughts

Britt's journey during the Tricky Case Forum is emblematic of the common struggles many leaders face in fostering creativity while maintaining focus and direction. Through insightful discussions and probing questions, Britt recognized the need for a more strategic approach to goal-setting and idea evaluation within her team. By harnessing the power of collaboration and leveraging resources like Trello, Jira, and virtual tools like Mural, she's poised to take next steps to better empower her team and hit critical results.