Managing Idea Creep

"I'm in a leadership position. Honestly, I find it hard to balance other people's ideas with what I feel is best. I need advice on how to be more inclusive of others' opinions and how to politely decline an idea I don't think is beneficial."

I’ve led teams as large as 50 people as CMO for a public company and as small as 8 as a startup founder. 

No matter the team size, distractions are distractions.  

Early in my leadership career, I wanted to be the kind of leader who welcomed every idea. Who left the door open. Who made everyone feel heard. 

But here’s what actually happened:
Every time someone shared a new idea, it threw off the rhythm.
It hijacked meetings.
It distracted the team.
And most painfully….it diluted the vision I was trying to lead toward.

That’s when I realized something:
Operating rhythm is everything.

People need to know when and where ideas are welcomed
Otherwise, they pop up in Slack threads, email tangents, or last-minute meetings….when it’s too late to do anything about them, and too early to kill them kindly.

So I implemented this simple cadence…..and it changed everything:

📆 Every Year: Set the Vision
🎯 Every Quarter: Align on OKRs (Objectives + Key Results)
🧪 Every Month: Run a Tactical “Experimentation Meeting”

This is where new ideas live. It gives your team a safe container to pitch, explore, and test their concepts without hijacking momentum.

You don’t need to say yes to everything.
You just need to give people a trusted system for when they’ll be heard.

Here’s a simple 3 step process to balancing ideas and impact. 👇

1. Create a Clear Idea Channel
You need a system where ideas live. Not your inbox. Not Slack DMs. Not hallway chats. 

Create a monthly “Experimentation Meeting”
Set clear criteria:

• Does this idea align with our current OKRs?
• Can this be tested in 30 days or less?
• What would success look like?
• Measure level of effort vs. level of impact. 

Let your team know: this is the place for ideas. It’s not “no” - it’s “not yet.”

2. Be Transparent About Timing
When someone shares a great idea at the wrong time, you can say:

“That’s a solid idea…..and I want to give it the attention it deserves. Let’s slot this into next month’s experimentation session.”

This preserves the relationship and the rhythm.

3. Practice the Kind No
Not all ideas are right….even if they’re shared at the right time.

Here’s my go-to phrase:

“I appreciate the thought you put into this, and I can see how it could work. Since it’s not aligned with our current priorities…let’s revisit during our next OKR planning session.”

It’s respectful. Clear. And doesn’t leave people guessing.

Operating rhythm is your guardrails for keeping the train on track. 

If you want to go deeper on setting operating rhythms and frameworks for work and life, you might like my newsletter Life’s a Game. Join 80,000 high performers by signing up here. 

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