The Innovative Brain Archive
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The Humble TeamA New & Improved Innovation Team ApproachLike never before, the ability to share and leverage the knowledge of others is separating successful organizations from those that flounder… the strong from the weak… the moneymakers from the fakers… Even with the best technology, systems can fail. So, the question becomes: how to ensure that high-tech, low tech, or even no-tech knowledge-application systems work? By allowing people to work… together. Then the question becomes: how do we ensure that people work together effectively? Here’s an idea — how about organizing a chummy, adventure filled experience that ultimately seems impossible, like snow shoeing through parts of Alaska without food, water, and toilet paper in order to reach ‘base camp one’ to get the donkeys who carry you half-way up Mt. McKinley where you leap-frog to the top and slap each other some high fives. Programs using adventure-based methods such as ropes courses and their many spin-offs have proliferated and our organization is populated with former Outward Bound instructors and Project Adventure facilitators. We’re well versed in the strengths and pitfalls of this method, which is why our approach is slightly different. But here’s the skinny… Instead of turning participants loose on challenges that look impossible but are solvable, our participants are given a series of seemingly SIMPLE challenges which could easily be overcome, but which are chosen for their uncanny ability to set up participants to behave unproductively and fail. Yes fail! Failure is Good? (Yes, didn’t you read our last newsletter?)The measure of skill for traditional adventure-based trainers is the ability to choose a challenge that initially appears impossible, but with hard work, sweat and dirty socks, success is inevitable. A ‘team spirit’, ‘can-do’, attitude ensues. However, we noticed that upon returning to the workplace, the group rapidly moved from “productive adventurers who can solve anything” to “business as usual.” The teams were proud and somewhat arrogant — and the celebratory high fives, back slaps and butt slaps were getting a little old, too. This is a perfect recipe for inattentiveness to maintaining an effective team. “We don’t need to remain vigilant for unproductive behaviors… we’re a great team!” (insert another high five) “We’re done learning!” Uh-oh. Effectively used, the opposite formula yields far more positive and longer-lasting effects. Failure, in the presence of simple challenges, establishes vigilance for unproductive behaviors. We all know how to behave in a mature and constructive manner, in theory. Unless we’re running for political office, that is. So as teams struggle and sometimes fail in our seemingly simple challenges, the lesson becomes clear: participants must remain constantly vigilant for their personal unproductive behaviors if they are to succeed in the long run and, more important, this vigilance must never end. (Kind of like an election year). In search of Personal InsightsAll of our activities are extensively debriefed for key learnings. The energy of the debriefing is one of insight and curiosity about improvement potentials rather than one of celebratory backslapping. The celebration is the team’s discovery of vigilance. Being a productive team is hard work. It takes an atmosphere of honest group introspection. Not easy work itself, yet very rewarding, satisfying, and valuable. Because this process fosters humility rather than arrogance, team members return to the workplace with new skills and an attitude of personal vigilance. They remain alert for their own unproductive behavior patterns, rather than becoming arrogant about their ability to solve the impossible. And they’re a heck of a lot better to work with. After all, wouldn't you rather work with a person who is humble than one who is arrogant? |
