Behind the scenes of a visionary’s idea process
My title in our business is Chief of Vision. I am responsible for thinking about what's next for our company and team and how we can continue to evolve and grow.
In my 17 years of leading my business, I’ve noticed a pattern with our evolution: We come up with our next great idea, we implement it, we focus on making it the best it can be for a couple of years, and then we maintain it until I get the itch to start something new again.
Our last big evolution was selling the cleaning business, going all-in on the speaking and leadership development business, and implementing the Human Leadership Program. That’s been our focus for the last several years, but now, I can see our next evolution on the horizon. I thought I could give a peek behind the curtain of what it looks like when you are a visionary and you know that an evolution is coming.
The first thing I do when I’m in this phase is give myself time to think about and explore my ideas. I call it the ideation phase. I don’t have any expectations in this part of the process: I give myself permission to live in the unknown, to search for answers but not necessarily find them, and to follow any train of thought that's exciting to me.
During my ideation phase, I read a ton of books. I seek out titles that will inspire me and make me think and reflect. I go on lots of walks, which I love to do, and I keep the notes app on my phone handy so I can jot down ideas as I think of them. I lean heavily into journaling: I sit in my office in the morning and write about whatever is on my mind. Over time, these rituals help me get clear on what I think the next few years should look like for our business.
When I’m in the heart of the ideation phase, I keep most of my thoughts to myself—which I’ve learned is crucial. In the past, I’ve invited others into my ideas and solicited feedback too early in the process, and it never turned out well for me or for our business. I’ve found that if I bring people in when I'm not yet clear on what I feel in my gut, the ideas don't necessarily hold up. They aren't always sustainable, or it turns out that they won’t get us to the next level because I haven't done enough thinking to give us a strong foundation on which to build. That’s also how we end up running after an idea that even I'm not fully bought into. And if I don’t believe in my own idea, how can I expect anyone else to? It wastes my time and the team’s time, and it costs us valuable momentum.
On the other hand, I have to be careful not to stay in the ideation phase alone for too long. If I keep the ideas to myself and don’t get feedback, I can get too in my head. I start to doubt my ideas and overthink them, and then I get really overwhelmed and start to feel stuck. When I get to that place, it’s harder for the team to help me, and again, we lose momentum in the business.
So how do I know when I’m ready to share what I’ve been thinking about?
I know it when I get a consistent “heck yes!” feeling in my gut. I might not know exactly how to get there yet, but I know where I want to go, and I’m excited and passionate about it. If I’m ready to start thinking about the “how” of it all, I know it’s time to bring in my team: Their strength is the “how.” When they are clear on where I want to go, they will help build a path to get there.
There’s something else that tells me I’m ready to bring in the team: fear. In his book The War of Art, Steven Pressfield wrote that fear is a compass. He says that when we feel resistance to or fear about something, it means that we care about it. If we didn't care about it, we would feel nothing. In that way, fear can show us where we need to go. So when I feel excitement and fear, I know it's really time to start talking about my idea.
The next step is not to simply blurt out my ideas at a team meeting, though. I’ve learned over the years that it really overwhelms my team when I do that. While some people thrive in brainstorming conversations, others get overwhelmed really quickly, and that can stop a new idea in its tracks. So, before I go to the team, I do something very important first: I talk through my ideas with Monique, our Chief of Growth.
Monique is my right-hand in the business, and I am both lucky and grateful that she is my thought partner. The way it works is that once I am clear on new ideas, I bring them to Monique, who then challenges them and brings up potential issues and roadblocks. That helps me get even more clear on what I want. Monique helps make my ideas stronger and better and helps me determine when and how to bring in the rest of the team so that it is a smooth, calm process for all.
Thought partnership requires a really open and trusting relationship. Sharing ideas that no one else has ever heard can feel vulnerable, and in those early stages, ideas are fragile and can be easily shot down by a dismissive or apathetic reaction. But with Monique, I know that I can come to her—and she can come to me—completely unfiltered and messy, and she will respond with curiosity instead of judgment. With her, my idea doesn't have to make complete sense right away and it doesn’t have to be perfect. I can simply tell her, “Here's where I want to go, and I don’t even know if it’s possible to get there. Here’s what scares me about it. Here’s what excites me. Tell me what you think.” From there, we go back and forth until we have reached a point of complete clarity, and that is the idea we present to the team for feedback. (By the way, we do all of this by sending voice notes to each other on WhatsApp. It’s our favorite thing because we can listen to each other’s voices and hear their tone, but we can also take time to think about the message and respond when we’re ready.)
By the time we get the whole team involved in an idea, we’re ready to start rolling. The team’s input and feedback helps polish the idea even further, and we quickly move to the execution phase.
It’s taken us a long time to learn this process and make it work for us. Two great books that really helped are Rocket Fuel (which introduced me to the terms “visionary” and “integrator” and showed me how they can work together) and Free the Idea Monkey (which is about how every “idea monkey” needs a “ringleader” who can help them manage their ideas). That’s really what Monique is for me: She's my integrator and my ringleader.
I hope that me sharing the behind-the-scenes of my idea process with you does a few things:
First, I hope it encourages you to connect with yourself and gives you permission to set boundaries about your ideas. It’s okay to stay in your mind and heart for a bit before you let others in.
Second, I hope it encourages you to find a thought partner of your own. You don't have to own a company or lead a team to have one. Thought partners can be all around us: Who in your life will listen without judgment? Who has the courage to challenge you? Who can help you flesh out your ideas and stay true to what you know in your gut?
In my opinion, if we all did a version of this, we’d have a lot better ideas. We would make decisions that are more authentic and aligned with our values, we would feel supported, and we would have a better chance of driving meaningful change together.
I want to know . . . what about this post stood out to you? Do you have a process for ideas that is different from mine? Hit “reply” and tell me everything . . . I’d love to learn more about how you shape your ideas.
Happy visioning and big hugs,
