Nurturing
A cornerstone innovation behavior which guides us to protect and encourage each other’s ideas to help them grow until they are ready to be judged.
Download the behavior guideWhen to Apply Nurturing
Nurturing is a behavior and a habit that we need to practice all the time. You should practice this behavior when a colleague presents a new and/or unfamiliar thought. Nurturing can be used anywhere that new ideas are shared, formally or informally. This includes in team meetings, working sessions, client calls and workshops.
"A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a joke or worried to death by a frown on the right person's brow."
– Charles Hendrickson Brower
American Writer
How to Practice Nurturing
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1
Suspend Judgment: Practice holding off rendering a decision on what people say until you've heard it fully through. Remind yourself to stop before you start.
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2
One Good Addition: Every time you hear something you think is a solid idea, make it a point to always add one more good addition or improvement.
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3
Practice with a Bad Idea: Take a terrible idea from shark tank or the internet and practice making it better by adding ways to reposition or enhance the idea.
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3
Use the Language of Nurturing: There are power expressions (e.g. Tell more, Yes...And, And what if we...) that you should try to use EVERY, SINGLE, DAY.
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4
Incorporate Artifacts Sometimes the use of props or physical items can help to convey your meaning without saying a word. For example, using a prop such as a gavel to signal that whoever holds the gavel speaks and everyone else listens.
Download the Nurturing Guide
Get access to a detailed guide on how to apply this behavior in your practice
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The
Deliberate Nurturing Guide
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