Sometimes the boss can be very proactive, enthusiastic, creative and constantly come up with new ideas. Moreover, it may feel depressed when it is not possible to realize its creative ideas. There are several useful strategies to maximize the creative power of your boss and minimize the stress of talking to him when he is distracted by too many creative ideas.
Foster mutual respect
If you feel overwhelmed by the creative ideas and inconsistency of your boss, you are most likely an action-oriented person. If you are not careful, your critical attitude may begin to take shape, for example, you may begin to think that you are the only one who is doing something real and useful. And such an attitude can lead to a loss of respect.
Avoid this trap and instead focus on mutual respect. Maybe you really do the job better, and that’s your advantage. It is possible that your boss really helps to better determine what to do, or prevents obsolescence of equipment. Instead of considering his initiatives as bad, it is more useful to consider them additional assets, and to think that you both contribute to teamwork.
Recognize that not all ideas require action
If you are an action-focused person, you can automatically assume that when your boss proposes an idea, he expects you to do something about it. But often this is not entirely true. Creative people can come up with a hundred new ideas before breakfast. It is physically impossible for someone to manage to implement all of them.
In most cases, your boss just wants to share what is on his mind and he will be satisfied simply by acknowledging the idea. The general rule in these situations is to wait until he voices the idea several times before doing something, otherwise you can just forget about it.
Find out the details
Creative-minded people often have difficulty evaluating how long an implementation will take. If you find that your boss seriously wants to tackle a new idea, help him understand how many hours or days it will take. For example, you can explain to him that it takes 20 hours of work time and 15 hours of contractor time to advance an idea. Would he be comfortable with such a distribution of hours and budget?
After such detailing, the boss may decide that it will take much less time than he originally thought. And there is a chance that this will not seem as important as before. Having found out the level of costs, including time, he may refuse to spend the necessary resources on this idea.
Back to plan
If your boss has a tendency to be distracted by new ideas, it is probably hard for him to set priorities. Instead of upholding the idea that you want to implement, redirect his attention to the monthly or quarterly plan of the team. Ask him a few questions, for example: "How do you see this new idea in accordance with our current goals? If we take this new initiative, will we have to abandon some other one? Is this an idea that we must implement now or can be considered at next year?"
Studying the possibility of implementing a new idea will affect other priorities, and you can help your boss evaluate what makes more sense from a strategic point of view.
Working with a boss who has a steady stream of creative ideas can be challenging or debilitating. Using these four strategies, you can use the creative power of your boss while minimizing stress and frustration while trying to keep up.