Ideas Generator Team Role Explained

Belonging to the group according to the team role theory: Air group

Air personality types have a fluid emotional intelligence and often have their heads in the clouds. At first glance, such people may seem disorganized and undisciplined, but that doesn't mean they don't work well. Most often, representatives of the Air group are very gifted and talented — some are even brilliant.

It's just that standard work instructions or conditions are usually not enough to unleash their potential for the team. First, they need the freedom to work at their own pace; second, they have to be genuinely interested. Then individuals from the Air group are comfortable working and able to deliver amazing results.

People of this type are endowed with highly creative abstract thinking and imagination. They constantly generate new ideas and just need to voice them. Even if the Idea Generator has other responsibilities, they're sure their main mission is to suggest ideas, concepts, and innovations. And it doesn't matter if what they suggested isn't implemented — the Idea Generator is already satisfied, because they accomplished their mission, which means they did an excellent job.

Such people are very valuable for the team at the business-formation stage, when starting a new project, and when looking for non-standard ways to solve current problems.

Idea Generators are broad-minded, creative, and talented. Because they know this, they demand an appropriate attitude from others. Most people of this type are open narcissists, and praise from colleagues and recognition of their merits by top management is vital for them to work effectively.

Representatives of this type can have completely different personalities — from show-off introverts to extravagant extroverts.

• A combination of lateral thinking and a fair amount of laziness often push the Idea Generator to interesting suggestions for optimizing routine processes.
• Idea Generators keep the whole team in good shape — they love brainstorming and creative meetings.
• They are able to find unusual but effective solutions for difficult tasks.
• Typically, the Idea Generator's regular innovative ideas increase the interest of other team members in the workflow and contribute to the overall progress of the team.

• They often ignore important nuances and limitations in the team's capabilities.
• They overreact to criticism.
• As a rule, Idea Generators completely lack management skills and aspirations.
• They have a hard time completing repetitive tasks that require focus and attention.
• They're not inclined to structure their ideas — they can forget their own idea and come up with it again.
• They help the team too little when everyone needs to complete high-volume workloads.

Most often, the Idea Generator has to interact with the Analyst and the Director, who critically evaluate the Idea Generator's suggestions and make adjustments. Depending on their loyalty and the level of the Idea Generator's vanity, such communications can either cause conflicts and discontent within the team or lead to the development of new projects and working methods.

The extent to which the Idea Generator can realize their potential depends a lot on the team atmosphere and on top management's willingness to support their ideas.

The Idea Generator needs time to get comfortable on a team, understand all processes and methods of work, and face specific challenges.

Such people don't work well under pressure — as creative individuals, they need space and freedom. Overwork, deadlines, and heavy responsibility are not their cup of tea.

The main mistake top managers make when working with the Idea Generator is forcing them to bring their idea to life. The chances of an Idea Generator taking an idea to its logical conclusion are very low.

If there are several Idea Generators on a team, they will spend a lot of time discussing ideas with each other, getting discouraged if someone else's idea has been supported, and forgetting about their current responsibilities.

People of this type like to feel important, so it's essential to involve them in finding solutions to all complex tasks.

Idea Generators enjoy learning new information (especially instead of routine work) — they should be sent to all possible courses, seminars, and workshops at the company's expense.

Representatives of this type should learn to stay calm under criticism — and even benefit from it. Idea Generators who can independently refine their suggestions into a working model are highly valued in modern business. Representatives of this type should also learn to take into account the team's capabilities, deadlines, and potential risks when suggesting their ideas.

Having reached this level, the Idea Generator can significantly stimulate the development of the team and business processes, and investments in the implementation of their ideas will almost always pay off.

Having gained experience and earned money with their initiatives for the company, Idea Generators often decide to start their own business. At this stage, it's very important for people of this type to rein in their ego and critically evaluate their organizational skills. The Idea Generator needs reliable assistants and partners capable of taking their ideas to a logical conclusion. Many Idea Generators assemble a team of their own kind — and as a result, a business with excellent ideas but no high-quality implementation naturally collapses.