The Ideas Thief

How to stop your colleague stealing your ideas

Your ideas are your intellectual capital – and if they’re any good, they could catapult you to the top of your game. But if you’re not careful, they could spell success for someone else. So stop others from stealing your ideas – and watch your career skyrocket.

Beware of the Idea Leach
The Idea Leach is the person in your office who is always hanging around stealing other people’s ideas. They are normally very charismatic and take the time to have a chat with everyone in the office. But while it might just seem like a friendly conversation to you, just be aware of how much information you are sharing with this person, in particular your business ideas. Keep in mind that not every friendly person is an idea leach – you’ll see the idea leach in action when they start promoting your ideas as their own in team meetings.

To deal with the idea leach, use these tactics:

Strategy 1: Prevention is the best cure
• Do not discuss your ideas with the idea leach. Simply put: no ideas discussed, no ideas to steal.
• Make your ideas transparent by e-mailing and discussing them with management before meetings. That way, everyone knows that you’re the brain behind the brilliance.
• Next time the idea leach asks you what your ideas are, put them on the spot and turn the tables – ask them for their ideas instead.
• Arrive at meetings with your ideas typed up and printed out, and hand a copy to every attendee before the meeting starts.

Strategy 2: The goose approach
• Share only bad ideas with the leach. They will soon learn not to come to you for ideas.
• Tell everyone else in your team about your idea first. Then when the leach approaches you, ensure that you are overheard discussing the idea with her. That way she will look like a goose when she tries to claim it as her own.

lisa@careerscoach.com.au
www.careerscoach.com.au

By Lisa O'Brien