Imagine you are teaching a child to ride a bicycle. You make sure his helmet, elbow and knee pads are on correctly. You help him onto the bike and give him a gentle push and he peddles away for the first time.
Fifteen seconds later, the bike starts to wobble and the child falls off the bike. You catch up to him in a few seconds. He is unharmed and is looking up at you, waiting for you to give him feedback.
Would you say something like? “I can't believe you fell off. You made a mistake. You’ll never learn to ride a bicycle!”
Of course you wouldn’t.
You’d probably focus on what worked and give a suggestion for improving. Maybe you’d say something like “Way to go. You rode the bike for 15 seconds. Try again and this time try to hold the handle bars straighter.”
Now, why is this second approach much more useful to a child? Because it encourages him to continue to do what's working and tweak what’s not.
And here’s the thing, this same principle applies to the people you are leading in your organization. If you want more creative thinking from them, give them feedback in a way that supports them.
And one of the best feedback tools you can use as a creative leader is POINt.
What is POINt?
POINt is a creative thinking tool that is especially effective for giving people feedback in a way that encourages creative thinking. It is a simple structure that is easy to use.
Each letter in the name of tool has a meaning:
- The first P stands for Pluses – what's good about the idea?
- The second O stands for Opportunities – if the idea succeeds, what positives might result?
- The I stands for Issues - phrased as an open ended question that starts with How to...
- The Nt stands for New thinking – brainstorm ideas for overcoming your issues.
When you, as a creative leader, want to give someone feedback on a new idea or on an ongoing project use POINt. Here’s an example of how to use it.
A POINt example
Let’s say that you run a local sandwich shop and you’re looking to grow the business. One of your employees comes up with a detailed recommendation to attract college students to frequent your sandwich shop.
Using POINt, you would give feedback to this employee in the following manner:
- Pluses: What's good about the idea?
So looking at the recommendation, you might say:
Pluses: The College Market is huge, there are lots of colleges in the area, this is great way to spread word of mouth marketing - Opportunities: If this idea succeeds, what benefits might occur?
Opportunities: It might lead to… increased profits, the ability to expand the store to other areas, more vacation time - Issues: Phrase any key issues you have as an open ended question starting with how to:
Concern: How to make a really compelling offer to a college student? - New Thinking: Brainstorm ways to overcome your key issue.
New Thinking: How to make a really compelling offer to a college student? Do a buy one, get one free offer. Offer a mid-semester or final exam special. Start a delivery service. Offer student groups discounts to cater their events.
Now imagine the person who came to you with this idea. By giving them feedback in this manner, you will have empowered them to continue sharing their creative ideas. And this is just one of the benefits of POINt.
Why POINt is so useful as a creative leader?
POINt is so useful as a leader because it really creates a safe environment for people to share their ideas and to try new things. Instead of projects or ideas that don’t go perfect, being “punished”, the emphasis is on learning and focusing on what works and tweaking what doesn’t.
It's also useful because it's quick to use. In fact, you can do a POINt in ten minutes or less. And the tool is so easy to use that once people use it, they understand it. As a creative leader, POINt will help create a common approach for how feedback is given among your team or organization.
Now, you may be thinking something like this POINt tool is too easy, how can it really make a difference?
Put POINt to the test in the next 15 minutes
POINt can really make a HUGE difference in how feedback is received and acted upon. From having personally used this tool with everyone from teenagers, to teachers, to Fortune 500 executives, I can tell you it's a hugely powerful tool that creates a lot of positive energy. But don’t take my word for it. Try it out for yourself.
I want you to put POINt to the test and here’s how.
The next time someone (your child, spouse, co-worker, employee) brings a new idea to you or you need to give someone feedback on a project, use POINt.
As a reminder:
- First share the pluses: what's good about the idea/project.
- Then share the opportunities: if this idea or project worked, what benefits might result.
- Think of any issues: share them as a How to question.
- New thinking: Come up with ways to overcome the issue.
Use POINt and watch what happens.
Just like a child who falls off a bike needs a little bit of encouragement to get back on and try again, the secret of creative leadership is that the same principle works with most adults.
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