Say This, Not That for a More Creative Team
If you want a more creative team, there’s one simple but powerful habit you need to avoid: crushing their courage with careless language.
You don’t need bean bags and brainstorming retreats to build innovation (although we know how to do a GREAT team offsite that drives innovation and practical follow-through).
You need language that encourages risk-taking, connection, and possibility. Creativity doesn’t thrive in fear. It thrives in psychological safety, curiosity, and conversation.
So before you ask for your team’s “next big idea,” ask yourself this: are your words making it safe to share one?
Let’s take a look at the worst offenders—the creativity-crushing phrases that sneak into meetings, email threads, and brainstorming sessions—and what to say instead if you want to unlock brilliance, not barricade it.
7 Destructive Phrases That Crush Creativity (and What to Say Instead)
1. Don’t Say: “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
Say Instead: “This is a bold idea—how might we break it into phases?”
The phrase “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves” might seem like a responsible guardrail, but it’s actually a speed bump to vision. It quietly tells your team: Dream smaller.
Instead, acknowledge the ambition—then guide the conversation into tangible steps. You get forward motion without the foot brake.
2. Don’t Say: “Can we really afford to take that risk?”
Say Instead: “What’s a smart way to test this without overcommitting resources?”
Yes, risk management matters. But this question often reads as: “Let’s not try at all.”
Try inviting a conversation around strategic experimentation. Great ideas don’t need a blank check—they need a beta.
3. Don’t Say: “This is how the industry works.”
Say Instead: “That’s the norm—what could a better way look like?”
This classic creativity killer deserves its own plaque in the museum of mediocrity.
Challenge the status quo without torching it. Acknowledge the current model, then ask for a fresh perspective. Many of the world’s most disruptive innovations came from someone asking, “But what if we didn’t?”
4. Don’t Say: “We shouldn’t complicate things.”
Say Instead: “This is complex. Let’s untangle it together.”
Innovation is complex. This phrase can make your team feel like their thinking is too much.
Give people permission to wrestle with complexity. Problem-solving is messy before it’s magnificent.
5. Don’t Say: “That’s not how we do things here.”
Say Instead: “That’s new for us—tell me more about how it could work.”
Few phrases slam the door on creativity faster than this one. It’s the corporate version of “go back where you came from.”
Instead, cultivate curiosity over conformity. You don’t have to implement every idea—but you do need to listen if you want people to keep sharing them.
6. Don’t Say: “Our customers aren’t ready for that.”
Say Instead: “What would help our customers get ready for something like this?”
Assuming your customers can’t handle innovation is a quick way to fall behind your competitors who believe they can.
True innovation sometimes asks your customers to grow with you. Help your team imagine how to lead the market, not just follow it.
7. Don’t Say: “Let’s stick to the plan.”
Say Instead: “What’s changed that might require us to adjust the plan?”
There’s nothing wrong with a plan—until it becomes a prison.
When you’re too married to the roadmap, you miss the scenic detour that could change the game. Invite your team to reflect and adapt. Innovation lives where flexibility meets intention.
The Words That Build a Creative Team Culture
Want your team to take more initiative, bring better ideas, and collaborate courageously? Create the linguistic environment where those behaviors can flourish.
Try these Powerful Phrases from Powerful Phrases for Dealing with Workplace Conflict to get you started:
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“Tell me more.”
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“I’m curious how this looks from your perspective.”
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“What would a successful outcome do for you?”
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“Let’s put the fish on the table and talk about what’s really going on here.”
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“What’s one action we can both agree to as a next step?”
Your words can spark possibility—or shut it down. Use them wisely, generously, and with just enough self-awareness to laugh when you accidentally say something dumb. (It happens to the best of us. We wrote a whole book about it.)
Want a More Creative Team? Start Here.
Innovation isn’t about having a “creative type” on your team. It’s about making everyone feel safe enough to think differently and brave enough to speak up.
And that starts with what you say next.
You may also enjoy our related books: Courageous Cultures: How to Build Teams of Micro-Innovators and Problem Solvers, and Powerful Phrases for Dealing with Workplace Conflict: What to Say Next to De-Stress the Workday, Build Collaboration and Calm Difficult Customers.
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