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February 03, 2007 | Comments: (0)
Encouraging critical thinking, or not
Dear Bob ...
Your topic (in "Non-Boolean governance," Keep the Joint Running, 1/29/2007) gave me an idea, so I thought I would try a practical application to test the theory. I floated a bad idea on purpose in a project meeting just to see how many of my subordinates would agree, and the results were astonishing – out of about 6 in the meeting, only one refuted the logic.
Afterwards, when I explained that it was a test there were some red faces. It shows how, even in an organization where free-thinking is encouraged, many are erroneously trying to earn favor by being agreeable. My comment was that if I wanted robots, we'd buy robots to agree with everything we say/do. We need people ready to challenge the status quo and push service delivery to the next level.
Thoughts?
- Experimentalist
Dear Experimenter ...
I'm not sure I agree with the tactic of mousetrapping your direct reports. On the other hand, you did make a telling point with them. So long as they didn't end up feeling like you set them up, it sounds like a win.
So here's my question to you: You say it's an environment that encourages free thinking. How do you encourage it? You might have accidentally encouraged uncritical thinking, as is the case if you've brought in the "professionals" who teach that when brainstorming, the group has to dully pass the conversational baton clockwise, in sequence, without anyone ever making a comment on anyone else's ideas.
It's also possible that you simply don't discourage free thinking. Certainly, not shooting people when they disagree with you is a positive. Still, it's different from active encouragement.
Understand, I'm not criticizing - I have no facts with which to do so (and I realize I'm bucking the trend by letting that stop me ... but I digress).
My advice, for whatever it's worth, is to look hard at whether, and how, you're actively encouraging critical thinking and open discussion. It isn't easy to get started, but once you have it creates an immensely rewarding environment.
- Bob
Posted by Bob Lewis on February 3, 2007 08:50 PM
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One practical way to actively encourage free thinking is, whenever floating an idea of your own to your direct reports, ask everyone what could go wrong. No one can say, "Gosh, chief, that's just the most wonderfullest, most perfectest idea I've ever heard," without sounding like an utter boot-licking lackey.
Once you get people accustomed to the fact that you really do want them to tell you when you're wrong, then you can really say you've got a free-thinking environment.
Posted by: Drew Kime at February 6, 2007 08:04 AMA different tack on the free-thinking aspect: I've always been impressed with companies that allow their employees use a specified percentage of their workweek to focus on their own innovative projects, rather than just the ones assigned to them. Granted, not every company may have the staffing to provide this luxury. But if successfully implemented, it would start to foster an environment of innovation and free thinking, which may spillover to the meeting room scenario you described.
To build a free-thinking environment, you have to do more than just state that you want one. I think steps like the above (and there's certainly many other strategies that can work too) do more to create this environment than trying to establish it by fiat.
Posted by: Mike at February 7, 2007 12:42 PM|
Three books. Three ways to change the world, your life, or at least Bob Lewis' bank account. Leading IT: The Toughest Job in the World distills the world of IT leadership into eight learnable skills and gives you concrete, practical techniques for each one of them. Bare Bones Project Management: What you can't not do makes project management manageable, even for first-time project managers with no formal training in the discipline. ManagementSpeak: What managers say/What they mean … well, it won't help your career, and won't make you a better manager. Mostly, it will make you chuckle, guffaw, and maybe even chortle. Make friends - it's the perfect gift for anyone who has ever suffered through one of those meetings. Order your copies today! |
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