Do you remember that time when you had an amazing idea or a project you believed in? You were excited to share it with your colleagues or managers in a meeting. And when you finally decided to share it with them, they didn't share the same enthusiasm and said no without even considering it. Then, once it got rejected, you immediately gave up without even trying to fight for your idea? Sounds familiar?
How many times did you give up on your idea because it got rejected right away? Or how many times have you decided not to share it with others because you were afraid it'd get rejected?
Or maybe your idea got rejected right away, you stopped fighting for it, and then one of your colleagues presented a similar idea in a couple of months, and it got approved right away? Sooo frustrating, right?
I've been through this many times. Yet, I've never fought for my idea or tried to improve it and then present it again. Somehow I always believed that the opinion of my colleagues, leaders, and managers is the right one and that I'm wrong. Now I know the only thing I was wrong about was not fighting for my idea or questioning their opinion.
Giving up on ideas is your worst enemy, and here's why? You never get over that feeling of giving up on something you came up with, something you felt passionate about and believed in. It affects your performance in the future and lowers your self-confidence. But, more importantly, you're giving up on something that potentially can be crucial for your career. That idea you gave up on might have been a game-changer for you.
So, here are 8 ways to defeat it and start fighting for your ideas:
1. PREPARE AHEAD
You must check your idea first before getting it out there. Here are some questions you can go through:
How is this a great idea? How can it improve the processes? How can it make the processes easier? What is some potential positive impact of this idea? What are some potential obstacles? What are some disadvantages? How can I improve it? But most importantly, make your concept CLEAR and SIMPLE before presenting it.
2. BELIEVE in your idea and yourself
Do you believe in your idea 100%? If you don't, it's most likely others won't as well. Prove how amazing it is to yourself first. On a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you believe in your idea? What would make it a 10?
3. BE CONFIDENT
If you start questioning the idea the moment your colleagues and managers don't seem enthusiastic about it, your confidence will drop, and everyone will notice it. Remember that asking questions doesn't mean they don't like it. Maybe they just need more clarification. Once you strengthen the belief in the idea and yourself, staying confident will be easier.
4. SHARE NUMBERS
Show the impact in numbers. This might not apply to every idea, but if you can't give the numbers, give them concrete examples of your idea's impact on employees, processes, or profits.
5. ASK follow-up questions
If your idea gets rejected right away, don't be afraid to ask some questions such as:
"What do they think can be done differently? Why does it seem like not such a good idea to them? What would make it a good idea?" You don't have to do it right away during the meeting. You can schedule 1 on 1 with your manager and ask for feedback instead. Maybe it just needs a bit more refining on your side.
6. Don't take it personally
If they don't like your idea, don't take it personally. Either try to refine it or come up with some other idea. When you take it personally, you make it mean something about you that's not right and not the idea. When others tell you, "This is not a good idea. I don't agree. It's not going to work.", you hear: "I am not good enough. I am not capable. I'm not an expert. I need to improve." Consequently, you shut down, start doubting yourself and your capabilities, and most likely avoid presenting any other ideas in the future. This can affect your performance and taking the initiative, leading to a lack of motivation. Remember, they are not evaluating or criticizing you and your skills, but the idea.
7. Evaluate
Evaluate how you performed and presented your idea during the meeting. What went well? What didn't go well? What could have been done better? This will help you detect areas that need improvement and give you guidance on what to focus on and make better or change in the future.
8. Don't get too attached to that idea
If you're too attached to the idea, once it doesn't go through, you will be devastated, and it'll be difficult to move on. You don't want to spend time dwelling on the past, thinking about your idea that got rejected last year. You want to look for ways to improve it or new and fresh ideas.
And if you check some of the most successful people, you'll see that a lot of them got rejected the first time they presented their patent, book, or some innovative idea. But they didn't give up because they believed in themselves and their idea enough to keep fighting for it.
Don't be scared to fight for your ideas. If you don't, who else will?
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