Signal value

When the boss presents an initiative at the team meeting, and you know that the feasibility is not there - what do you do? When a customer comes to you with a proposal for co-operation and the intended proposition is blurred - how would you react? Your communication in the above cases is a signal and the impact of your response is what I refer to as signal value.

Signal value has a profound impact on stakeholders and it's value is often underestimated.Too often, our responses are in the negative, the justification being 'lets not waste time' or 'not sure where this is going'. When the outcome is uncertain, we choose to take the conservative line.

When someone comes to you with an initiative, that person is brimming with energy and imagination, your immediate negative response is a mental setback - a sure bridge burner (even if you are ultimately right). Unless it is a sure write off, you are better off responding with statements like - "Seems like an interesting idea, let's look into it" or "I am happy to invest the time into this co-operation and explore further". Perhaps after a few exploratory sessions, it is concluded that the idea is not worth pursuing. Even if the initiative did not make further progress, your positive intent builds so much more for your relationship. This is the power of signal value.

Talk to folks around you and they will tell you that some of their biggest wins have come from ideas that were in unsure territory. They chose positive signal value. New ideas emerged, things took a turn and before you knew it, you were on a winning project.

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