Let me take you back a few years (a safe, distancing statement—clearly signalling that I’m referring to past events, not recent ones 😊), I was in a meeting with a manager who, in a moment of pure confidence (or was it hubris?), said,
“My team is really smart, if there were any additional options, they’d already have come up with them.”
I nearly choked on my coffee (as you know from an earlier post, I now drink coffee)—not because it was too hot, but because I’d just witnessed the intellectual equivalent of locking the doors and throwing away the keys to innovation.
The Genius Paradox
Here’s the thing: being smart is great. I love working with clever people. They make meetings more interesting, brainstorms livelier, and lunch debates more likely to end in Wikipedia rabbit holes. But there’s a dangerous assumption lurking in the shadows of intelligence: the belief that smartness is a firewall against missing out on creative ideas.
Spoiler alert: It’s not.
The Trap of “Already Thought Of That”
I call this the “Already Thought Of That” Syndrome. It’s the moment when a team’s collective IQ becomes a velvet rope, keeping out any idea that hasn’t already been invited to the party. It’s the belief that if a solution were possible, the team would have already found it. So, why bother looking again?
It’s like saying, “I’ve checked the freezer once, so there’s definitely no ice cream in there.” (Spoiler: there’s always ice cream hiding behind the Quorn burgers.)
Innovation Isn’t a One-Time Event
Innovation isn’t a box you tick once and move on. It’s a process of continual curiosity. The most creative breakthroughs don’t come from being the smartest in the room—they come from being the most open, the most playful, and sometimes, the most willing to look silly.
Some of the best ideas come after someone says, “This might be a dumb suggestion, but…” (By the way, those are usually my favourite words in any meeting.)
The Power of Beginner’s Mind
Remember when you were new at something and asked all the “obvious” questions? I used to say, imagine I’m a 6-year-old but stopped after someone once handed me a box of colouring crayons.
That’s the beginner’s mind at work. It’s not about being less smart—it’s about being less certain. The best teams make space for curiosity, for wild ideas, and for the possibility that the next big thing is still hiding behind the Queen.
So, Are You Smart Enough to Be Creative?
Here’s my challenge: The next time you catch yourself thinking, “If there were a better way, we’d have found it by now,” ask yourself—are you being smart, or just comfortable?
Because real innovation isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about being brave enough to keep asking better questions.
And maybe, just maybe, checking the freezer one more time.
