I am guilty of contributing to the rise of what Susan Cain calls the New Groupthink. I have clients do exercises in “table groups.” I conduct brainstorming sessions. I observe companies creating tiny, open “collaborative” workspaces. They build on the concept with flexible workspaces – the kind where the employee gets a rolling cart and choses a new space each day.

Are these suddenly outdated? No. Research shows that people are happy in a workplace where they have friends, a trusting atmosphere, and a free exchange of ideas. But, research supports the other side of the equation too: the need for personal space to work in quiet and solitude.

Privacy and uninterrupted time allow for learning and creating new ideas. The freedom of space and time allows our brains to quiet and focus on the one task at hand. IPNB tells us that autonomy motivates and stimulates creative thinking. Cain quotes organizational psychologist, Adrian Furnham. “If you have talented and motivated people, they should be encouraged to work alone when creativity or efficiency is the highest priority.” Companies who offer employees private space benefit from increased quality and quantity of work.

The counterintuitive evidence in the research is that people who collaborate remotely outperform other teams. While more research is needed, the hypothesis is that the electronic distance allows us to be “together alone.”

There is a balance: a need for interaction and idea exchange – and – a need for privacy and uninterrupted time to think. I’m considering how I structure my engagements, classroom, and work time.

What ideas does this stir for you?
(Note: Blogs fit into the “together alone” category!)

Read the full article: The Rise of the New Groupthink
Creating a space for critical thinking

How do we create the maps that we use to navigate everything from the work environment to our relationships to the grocery store? What happens when change, either gradual or catastrophic, requires us to re-imagine our maps? These questions re-emerged as I began with reflecting on a blog post by Shirley Showalter, writing about memoir and walking in the city.

And, the questions appeared in recent conversations with leaders. The conversations about navigating organizational waters roiled by the economy, a new generation of workers, and shifts in how people communicate and connect. Thomas Friedman’s recent column asks us to re-imagine the map we call leadership, “The role of the leader now is to get the best of what is coming up from below and then meld it with a vision from above.”

So here, to stimulate your map-making imagination, is an excerpt from The BFG, by Roald Dahl:

In the leading machine the Head of the Air Force was sitting beside the pilot. He had a world atlas on his knees and he kept staring first at the atlas, then at the ground below, trying to figure out where they were going. Frantically he turned the pages of the atlas.

‘Where the devil are we going?’ he cried.

‘I haven’t the foggiest idea,’ the pilot answered. ‘The Queen’s orders were to follow the giant and that’s exactly what I’m doing.’

The pilot was a young Air Force officer with a bushy moustache. He was very proud of his moustache. He was also quite fearless and he loved adventure. He thought this was a super adventure. ‘It’s fun going to new places,’ he said.

‘New places!’ shouted the Head of the Air Force. ‘What the blazes d’you mean new places?’

‘This place we’re flying over now isn’t in the atlas, is it?’ the pilot said, grinning.

‘You’re darn right it isn’t in the atlas!’ cried the Head of the Air Force. ‘We’ve flown clear off the last page!’

‘I expect that old giant knows where he’s going,’ the young pilot said.

‘He’s leading us to disaster!’ cried the Head of the Air Force. He was shaking with fear. In the seat behind him sat the Head of the Army who was even more terrified.

‘You don’t mean to tell me we’ve gone right out of the atlas?’ he cried, leaning forward to look.

‘That’s exactly what I’m telling you!’ cried the Air Force man. ‘Look for yourself. Here’s the very last map in the whole flaming atlas! We went off that over an hour ago!’ He turned the page. As in all atlases, there were two completely blank pages at the very end. ‘So now we must be somewhere here,’ he said, putting a finger on one of the blank pages.

‘Where’s here?’ cried the Head of the Army.

The young pilot was still grinning broadly. He said to them, ‘That’s why they always put two blank pages at the back of the atlas. They’re for new countries. You’re meant to fill them in yourself.’

Where is your organization in uncharted waters? Is the way you lead changing?

a look AT the windshield
Turning off the autopilot

The mental “stop sign” was part of an ongoing thought process from earlier today. This morning, I was having a conversation about organizational change and how to introduce change models to a leadership team. Another person in the conversation asked, “What would be a good metaphor for introducing a change model?”

Two hours later, driving through pouring rain, this presented itself: When I’m driving I see through the windshield. I use a windshield every day, but how often do I stop to think about the windshield itself?

One metaphor for a change model is a windshield. The windshield is allows us to drive safely in challenging weather conditions, protects us from bugs and thrown rocks. It also allows passengers to see clearly and ride in safety. Like the windshield, organizations and individuals have belief systems that allow us to “drive through” life experiences without thinking about the belief system or mental model.

Consider the windshield …. In the same way, a change model offers a “windshield” experience. It offers a mechanism for viewing the world. It offers a way to navigate the landscape ahead. And, just as windshield systems come with wipers and wiper fluid, change models include tools to navigate landscapes altered by adverse conditions and reduced visibility.

If you are an organization leader, I encourage you to get to reflect on the belief system and mental model that you use to navigate your world. Then I challenge you to research at least one new change model. As organizations face ongoing, discontinuous change, this is the equivalent of cleaning your windshield of bugs and dirt, topping off the windshield wiper fluid, and buying new wipers.

What is your preferred change model?

Our Maps of the World
The Dragon Next Door

Idea for reflection -32

My summary in a earlier post focused on the importance of the “who” in luck. I continue to value my trusted advisors who have helped me make important decisions.

What is your perception on what luck has to do with it? Is luck important or do other factors weigh more heavily? Do you make the most of the chances you’ve been given?

Holtz believed the answers to these questions are best given through actions. When we consistently act in an authentic and trustworthy manner, we will gain trust. But what do those words mean? And, how can we develop authenticity and trustworthiness in ourselves?

Authenticity arises from being yourself, which comes from the story you’ve lived. Being authentic means knowing and living your story. Authentic leaders are steady, confident, and consistent. They are the same person day-in and day-out.

Trustworthiness is made up of several things: sincerity, reliability, competence, and care. Sincerity is honesty: you say what you mean and mean what you say. Your opinions are backed by the facts and sound thinking. Reliability means you keep your  commitments and promises. Competence says you have the knowledge, skills, and resources to do your job. Caring is keeping other’s interests in mind as you act and make decisions. When we say someone is trustworthy, we may mean one or all of these things. Likewise, saying that someone is untrustworthy may mean they have failed at one or more of these things.

Leaders who are authentic and trustworthy have the ability to create and manage teams for each season. They mentor and teach others, developing capacity and connection, calling each person to develop their gifts and skills. They work with individuals, creating a team identity and purpose. They inquire into their team’s experience in order to know and live the team’s story along with their own.

I’ve written a longer article that includes questions for reflection as you consider Holtz’s questions for yourself.

*Holtz quote from “The Art of Innovation” by Tom Kelley, p. 85

Those of you who have attended one of Friesen Group’s training sessions on public speaking and presentation know that we recommend the minimalist approach to PowerPoint slides. So you may have already guessed that I’m not talking about those kind of bullets – you remember, the bulleted list.

Instead, I’m writing about an idea from Great by Choice. Collins and Hansen tell the story of the Captain of a warship that has a limited amount of gunpowder. One option is to use all of the gunpowder to fire one big cannonball to disable or destroy the other ship. Problem: if it misses, there are no resources left. The wise Captain will instead fire a few bullets first – “ping” – “ping” – “ping” - to discover the best trajectory. Once discovered, the remaining gunpowder can be used to fire the big cannonball – at the precise trajectory needed to accomplish the desired outcome.

A “bullet” in an organization is a calculated, creative test. It is a “low-cost, low-risk, and low-distraction” experiment. Successful organizations are disciplined and innovative. They try multiple ideas. They iterate, trying again, making adjustments, measuring carefully. If they fire a bullet that misses, they aren’t critically crippled. When they fire a bullet that hits its mark, they can commit additional resources to exploit the opportunity.

Need ideas for creating and firing “bullets?” IDEO and the Stanford d.school have published processes for doing disciplined, creative research that leads to results:

d.school Methods
Open IDEO

What “bullets” are you firing, measuring, and validating?

Commit to disruption

Their research uses their standard research method: compare matched pairs of companies using market data and original documents. These companies were chosen for achieving spectacular results, while navigating uncertainty and chaos in their industry, and for being vulnerable early in the time window as young, small, entrepreneurial companies.

The value I found in this book is that it adds detail to Collins’ idea that great results are driven by disciplined people, disciplined thought, and disciplined action. Through stories drawn from their research and stories of explorers and adventurers who demonstrate the traits, Collins and Hansen make the case for what discipline looks like:

• 20 Mile March – the discipline to have understandable and rigorous performance mechanisms.
• Fire Bullets, Then Cannonballs – the discipline to blend creative methods with the ability to amplify its value.
• Leading above the Death Line – prepare when things go well, manage risk, ask the tough questions.
• SMaC – Specific, Methodical, and Consistent – make operating practices visible and replicable.
• Return on Luck – Luck happened, both good and bad; the question is what return did you get on it? But the most important kind is “Who Luck” – the luck of finding the right “mentor, partner, teammate, leader, friend.”

Each chapter ends with a summary and a list of questions. Even if you find yourself arguing with Collins and Hansen’s methods or opinions, the questions are worth asking about your business and your self.

Who is your best luck?

Uncertainty as Opportunity
A vision is not a destination

Hold leaders and managers accountable for treating all employees with respect and care, all of the time, and encourage them to regularly recognize those they supervise for the positive contributions they make.

People who choose to lead positively are what make a place somewhere other people want to work. Respect and care are attributes that have made Kouzes and Posner’s top 20 characteristics of the best leaders since their survey began in 1987. Perhaps it is because genuine respect and caring are critical ingredients of trust – a requirement for a successful organization.

Which of these attributes speak to you?

Resource: 40 Lessons to Learn from Southwest

Beginning with President Reagan, each U.S. President has left a private letter in the Oval Office for the incoming President on inauguration day. In the Leadership and Coaching course that we’re teaching, a student wrote an interesting post integrating this idea with organizational leadership. Here is the post, shared with permission:

Something the other day reminded me of the White House tradition of outgoing presidents leaving a letter in the oval office for their successor. As we lead from any level in an organization, I had to ask myself: What would this tradition look like at other levels of leadership? What would I write and leave behind for somebody taking over my role?

It didn’t take long to come up with an answer – now that I’ve thought of it, I can’t “not” do it. So, today I will begin a “working” letter that I will keep updated until I have the opportunity to pass it on. I want to leave behind a narrative about each member of my team … with a twist. It’s going to be 100% positive. Strengths only. I want to highlight successes, great moments, memories, and wins that each person has been a part of. Go to him for this, and go to her for that. I want any future leader of my team to have a feel for what is best about each person.

As far as the negatives and weaknesses, that can and will surface on its own energy (not to mention personnel records). I prefer that anyone taking my role discover those attributes without my input and bias. Who knows, maybe in a transition some leaves will be turned. Why bring up attributes that have potentially met their end?

What’s in your letter to your successor?