“The question is usually not how well each person performs, but how well they work together.” – Vince Lombardi
Years ago I was listening to an audiotape (yes, audio cassette tape!) of powerhouse motivational speaker, Anthony Robbins, talk about the process of thinking. His view which is corroborated by many other thinking experts is that thinking is a process of asking questions. When you ask questions the brain begins to search for an answer. The point of his audio was that you could change your mood by asking different questions. If you ask, “Why does this always happen to me?” or “Why am I so stupid?”, your brain will search for an answer. In those cases the answers will depress you and your mood will change for the worse or be stuck in a downward spiral. By contrast if you ask “What happened today that makes me feel lucky?” or “What are my blessings in life today?”, your brain will seek those answers as well and elevate your mood. The spiritual masters consistently tell us that gratitude is a basic ingredient to sustained happiness. In this case the life circumstances and the brain that did the thinking are exactly the same but the questions or focus of inquiry invoke very different answers which ultimately lead to different results.
You can harness this same phenomenon with your team. By asking different questions your team can generate very different answers. By having more insightful answers to choose from your group can pursue a superior path that may be a better and more complete solution than the path you are on or considering right now. This will lead to higher levels of group success.
In Collaborative Intelligence, one of my favorite books about group thinking written by Dr. Dawna Markova and Angie McArthur, they outline four cognitive styles of thinking – analytic, procedural, relational, and innovative. Here’s a summary of each thinking style.
Analytic (Facts) “Why?” – What are the facts? What is the logic behind this? Why is this true?
Procedural (Method) “How?” – How will we do this? How does everything work together and are those things in place? Can we finish in this way before the deadline?
Relational (Feelings) “Who?” – How do you feel about that? Who can help? What kind of support do you need?
Innovative (Imagination) “What If?” – What have we not thought of that can change our approach? Is there a better strategy or direction for this? What’s our final vision?
Each of us has a default comfort zone in one or two of the four areas. To have a more complete view of a challenge we need to be pushed to consider the other areas that are in our “blind spot” or areas that we’re not as comfortable with. Take note of the one or two areas that you immediately run to when confronted with a challenge. Teamwork is about getting input from someone who is strong in the areas that you are weak in. To quote the authors Markova and McArthur, “Breakthrough thinking happens when we explore the quadrant we most often avoid.”
Welcome and value the thinking of others particularly those who think differently. Many of us have heard about the concept of “left brain” and “right brain” thinking. Analytic and procedural are left brain styles and relational and innovative are right brain styles. It is particularly useful if you find yourself on the left brain side to welcome thinking from the right brain side and vice-versa.
Often when we listen to other people we notice two things – the content of what someone is saying and the emotional reaction it stirs within us. The collaborative way is to disarm our emotional reaction and wonder which quadrant your partner is coming from. That way you can truly be open to their perspective and begin a synergy of the two approaches. Most likely this will begin to formulate a more well-thought out approach which is the best of both.
Action steps:
1) Self-inquiry: Notice when you are faced with a challenge which quadrant(s) feels most comfortable to you. Also notice which quadrant(s) feel least comfortable or paths of questioning that you rarely ever use. Write down what are your strong spots and what are your “blind” spots.
2) Repeat for the group and discuss: Have every team member do the same exercise then compare notes. Sometimes others can see your attributes more clearly than you. At the end of this step every team member knows the categories where they are strong and the categories where they are weak.
3) View the group thinking on a map and adjust: Write out four quadrants and list the names of each group member that’s strong in each category. This will show whether or not you have a balanced thinking group. In the future make sure each quadrant has a voice in group discussion. If there’s a quadrant where there are no group members ask yourselves questions thinking from that perspective to “generate” that point of view. You may also consider asking an opinion of someone outside the group or a member of a different department who thinks from that perspective to be a part of the decision-making process.
All in all learn to appreciate those who think differently and try to figure out where they are coming from rather than defend your ground. If there is a difference in opinion between people of different quadrants invite and explore the differences, try to see problems from all four quadrants, and draft solutions that meet the needs of all four thinking styles. You can start today by trying to guess which quadrant people are coming from in the conversations you have in the next 24 hours. Repeat. The more you practice, the better you get at it. Have fun with it! At your first opportunity use the Four Quadrants of Inquiry procedure and see what was different about the outcome. Write back to me and tell me how it went!