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 lack organization and discipline, but this doesn't mean that they do not work well. Most often, representatives of the air group are very gifted and talented, and some are even brilliant.

It's just that standard work instructions or conditions are usually not enough to unleash their potential in favor of the team. Firstly, they need to have the right to do everything at their own pace, and secondly, they have to be interested in it. Then individuals from the air group are comfortable working and they are able to show amazing results.

People of this type are endowed with the most creative abstract thinking and imagination. They constantly generate new ideas and they just need to voice them. Even if the Idea Generator has other responsibilities, they're sure that their main mission is to suggest ideas, concepts, and innovations. And it doesn't matter if what they suggested will not be implemented, the Idea Generator is already satisfied - after all, 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, when looking for non-standard methods of solutions to current problems.

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

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

• A combination of lateral thinking and a fair amount of laziness often push the Idea Generator to interesting suggestions for optimization of routine processes.
• Idea generators keep the whole team in good shape - they love brainstorming and creative meetings.
• They are able to find an unusual but effective solution for a difficult task.
• 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 possibilities.
• 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, they are the ones 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 developing new projects and working methods.

It depends a lot on the team atmosphere and the readiness of the top management to support their ideas to what extent the Idea Generator will be able to realize their potential.

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

Such people do not work well under pressure - as creative individuals, they need space and freedom of action. Overworking, deadlines, and big responsibility are not their cup of tea.

The main mistake of top managers when working with the Idea Generator is making them bring their idea to life. The chances of an Idea generator being able to take an idea to its logical conclusion are very poor.

If there are several Idea Generators in the team, they will spend a lot of time discussing ideas with each other, falling into despondency if someone else's idea has been supported, and forget about their current responsibilities.

People of this type like to feel their importance, it is imperative to involve them in the search for solutions to all complex tasks.

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

Representatives of this type should learn to stay calm when criticized and even benefit from criticism. Idea Generators who can independently refine their suggestions to a working model are very much appreciated in modern business. Representatives of this type should also learn to take into account the team's possibilities, 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 come to a decision to start their own business. At the same time, it is very important for people of this type to moderate their conceit and to critically evaluate their organizational skills. The Idea Generator needs reliable assistants and partners capable of taking the Idea Generator's ideas to their logical conclusion. Many Idea Generators assemble a team of their own kind; as a result, a business with excellent ideas, but without their high-quality implementation, naturally collapses.