Who’s Responsible for Implementing New Ideas?

Dear L.C.,

Your note starts off saying you have “a great team of young people,” so I immediately get the sense it is off base to say you are getting old and disinterested. It sounds to me as if you welcome the new ideas, agree with most of them, and would like to see them come to fruition, but you don’t want to be the person that makes all of that happen.

This is a great opportunity to coach your team members to become “intra-preneurs”. The head of the Entrepreneurship department at Suffolk University where I teach graduate classes coined this term many years ago and it has stuck with me. The definition of “intra-preneurialship” is thinking like entrepreneurs while also understanding how to get things done within the structure of the firm.

When one is running their own business, it can be easy to try something, and if it works, then great; if it doesn’t, then you simply move on to the next thing. Inside an existing firm it is more difficult. In an existing firm there are structures, processes, and approaches in place that may need to be upended in order to implement something new. There is resistance on the part of existing team members and often skepticism about whether a new approach will work or not. As you say, generating the idea is the easy part. The difficult part is figuring out how to overcome obstacles, create a plan, and then implement in a meaningful way.

Herein lies your opportunity to teach them! When someone brings a new idea to you, accept it with the enthusiasm you seem to have been able to garner and then do the following:

1. Always ask the person to outline what success looks like. When the new idea – let’s say “a responsive service model” – is implemented, what will that entail? What will be included in this model? What will the client experience be? What components will be prioritized? Make sure the person is able to clearly articulate outcomes, not just ideas. They can write this out, draw it, or work with a colleague to create a scenario of success, but whatever they do, it has to be end-goal oriented and be clear what they are striving toward.
2. Next ask about the resources needed to achieve this outcome. Who has to be involved? Are there costs associated with what they are proposing? Will they have the internal knowledge or need to leverage third parties to get this done? What steps have to take place? What will change in the current situation to the new one?
3. Have them create an implementation plan with timelines and estimates. Tell them this should be so clear they could hand it to someone coming into the firm and they’d understand what they need to do.

You want to guide your team to generate the ideas and give them direction on how to follow through. Many managers don’t know how to do this, so you would be giving your team members a gift!

Dear Bev,

Is there a way to help team members be more accountable for what needs to be done? I feel like when we talk about things, I think it is getting covered, and then nothing happens.

K.J.

Dear K.J.,

I hear these words a lot: “They need to be more accountable.”

People aren’t as often avoiding accountability as they are unsure of what their role is, what they are being asked to do, and what steps they are supposed to take.

You might say, “Well, it’s obvious!” No, it isn’t. It can be obvious to the person in charge or when you know exactly what to do. It can be obvious when you have been a person to do it in the past. But your team members need guidance and support on what exactly they are supposed to do, when, and how. Many people are great implementers but aren’t great creatives. Be sure you give them the necessary guidance to help them see exactly what is expected of them.

I have found team members feel insulted when hearing they are not accountable, so be sure your communication and expectations are clear. If you put it in writing, there is no confusion about what needs to be done. It also gives you a way to follow up. Just be sure you receive, in writing, their commitment that they’ve understood and know what to do. You might be asking them to do something for which they need training or skill development.

I heard someone say today, “There are two kinds of people in the world: those who see the paper on the floor and pick it up, and those who walk over it.” This is absolutely true. But if you tell those people in the second category, “You are now responsible for picking up all paper you see on the floor,” it is very possible they will do it.

Beverly Flaxington co-founded The Collaborative, a consulting firm devoted to business building for the financial services industry, in 1995. The firm also founded and manages the Advisors Sales Academy. The firm has won the Wealthbriefing WealthTech award for Best Training Solution for 2022, 2023 and 2024. Beverly is currently an adjunct professor at Suffolk University teaching undergraduate and graduate students Entrepreneurship and Leading Teams. She is a Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst (CPBA) and Certified Professional Values Analyst (CPVA).

She has spent over 25 years in the investment industry and has been featured in Selling Power Magazine and quoted in hundreds of media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, MSNBC.com, Investment News and Solutions Magazine for the FPA. She speaks frequently at investment industry conferences and is a speaker for the CFA Institute.

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