Sometimes it seems like your boss doesn’t like any of your ideas. More often than not, it feels like your boss ignores them. On top of that, he rarely has ideas of her own. It is so frustrating!

Does This Sound Familiar?

You’re at an ideation meeting with your team. Your boss asks for ideas and everyone gives them. He hones in on one and ignores the rest. Even when a project has started, he doesn’t seem interested in hearing new supporting ideas or small changes in direction.

Your team does good work, but his gift is discernment. It’s likely that his natural abilities, particularly his Low-Idea Productivity, could be the issue at hand.

What Is Low-Idea Productivity?

Idea Productivity is an ability revealed by the Highlands Ability Battery (HAB) that shows how quickly and easily you come up with ideas. If you score high in this area, you likely have a steady stream of ideas, good and bad, related and unrelated, and the people around you can have a hard time sorting through it all. If you score low, you might not have such an easy flow of ideas, but you do know a good one when you see it. The real upside to Low Idea Productivity is your ability to stay focused.

What Idea Productivity Looks Like in a Business Leader

Bosses with Low-Idea Productivity are an important part of the management or executive team. They are good at staying the course, keeping others focused on a single goal (if they’re the manager) or vision (if they’re the CEO), and avoiding distraction until the project is completed or significant advancements toward the vision are made.

Unfortunately, Low-Idea Productivity bosses can also be frustrating for people with a lot of ideas. These bosses only like to focus on one idea at a time, so it might seem that they are dismissive of your ideas. They might also seem inflexible because of their singular focus.

While Low Idea Productivity bosses might not come up with a lot of ideas, they are very good at deciding which idea is best.

How to Handle a Boss with Low-Idea Productivity

First and foremost, it’s important to remember that your boss isn’t trying to frustrate you. It might not feel like it, but he is doing what he is supposed to do. He is sifting through all of the ideas to find the best ones and then keeping everyone on track by limiting new ideas until the project is completed.

If you feel like you have a good idea that’s being ignored, try talking to him individually to see if there’s a way to incorporate it. Of course, this is easier to do when your entire team takes the HAB, and there is a common understanding of natural abilities.

The HAB will reveal communication, learning, and other practices essential to workplace success, and it will help you reach a greater understanding of your boss so that you can all be more productive.