Last week we talked about some of the qualities of a boss who is also a leader. One of those qualities is a willingness to listen to and reward creative solutions offered by members of their team.
As marketing professionals, we know how to develop successful strategies to reach our potential customers, but sometimes we could also benefit from thinking of our boss as a “target audience” when we have creative and innovative ideas:
- Make your pitch match her personality type. Does she like numbers? Does she like passion? Does she like simple or complex? Think about what she likes when you are planning your pitch.
- Tell him a story. An engaging hypothetical can engage his imagination and bring him into the story with you.
- Make it fit. Find the qualities in your idea that make it perfect for your culture and put those at the top of your list of arguments.
- Use the right voice. If you have a great idea but you’re not the right person to approach the boss, team up with someone who has the boss’s ear and convince them first.
If your boss doesn’t like to hear from the peanut gallery, you might have more trouble. But if your boss is a leader and likes to utilize the creativity and imagination of his or her team, make it easy for her to say yes and she will do it more often!
Wendy Stackhouse, for Artisan Creative