You get a moment to choose.
Your decision influences the dynamic of talk and wonder, whether you like it or not.
The pocket-sized hidden curriculum encourages or dampens enthusiasm-worse still, it spirals into self-preservation.
Questions litter the learning space in the primary and early years, often strewn around quite randomly.
I was once asked, If a pea had a brain, how big would it be?
Mourn Those Precious Little Sparks
These precious sparks exist momentarily, but the impact of our response to questions has an extended half-life.
Each of us is born with two contradictory sets of instructions: a conservative tendency, made up of instincts for self-preservation, self-aggrandisement, and saving energy, and an expansive tendency made up of instincts for exploring, for enjoying novelty and risk. We need both. But whereas the first tendency requires little encouragement, the second can wilt if it is not cultivated.
Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention — Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
How you react to ideas is comparable. Consider the response when new ideas or contributions are shared in your team. There is a fundamental similarity to this moment of micro-judgement.
I wonder how the tiny moments of judgement or encouragement shape the climate of our teams? My hunch is, over time, they shape our experience in a significant way.
Culture Is Key To Innovation Potential
The Australian software company Atlassian recently published results of a study into the health of teams with evidence from 1,500 team members outside of Atlassian in the US and Australia. They found that 88% of participants are operating in an ‘unhealthy’ environment.
56 percent feel their team is poorly connected on a personal level, and 37 percent feel like they can’t try new things or express themselves fully.
This is the outcome of the block we started to explore, the micro-judgement of new ideas (or questions).
I wonder why 37 percent of participants can’t express themselves fully? The reasons for holding back might be:
- fear of being penalised unnecessarily
- perceived lack of impact or influence
- worries about how their manager will respond
- fear of not looking like a team player (they don’t want to appear different)
The Hidden Curriculum of Your Teams
I’ve seen this happen many times. A team member shares something new, and others require an immediate response in the group. Someone questions it confidently (because decades of experience tell them it’s not worth exploring), and the others on the team nod (because they’re too afraid to be the first one out). The new idea is squashed.
It takes more courage to applaud someone who shares new ideas than put them down.
What does this do, though, in the long term? If we belittle, shoot down or diminish new ideas or people who present them, the person might learn that it’s not safe to share in this environment.
In our study, members of healthy teams noted feeling a sense of belonging and support for new ideas. This creates an environment of high engagement, which, in turn, serves as a buffer against burnout and fuels even higher performance.
The first responder to questions or new ideas sets the tone.
Your Talking Points
A few weeks ago, I shared the mental model of compounding in issue 237.
Unnecessary negative micro-judgement of new ideas compounds, the result is unhealthy teams — an example of how compounding works even for negative behaviours.
Your challenge is to notice the first responder and reflect on what behaviours and responses are your standard.
Some of the report’s takeaways direct leaders to focus on encouraging ideas and are worth discussing with your colleagues. Let me draw your attention to these below:
- Carve out time to explore new ideas, both individually and as a team.
- Make space for calculated risks and incorporate the lessons you learn.
- Elevate the importance of diverse viewpoints and make space for respectful dissent.
You can read the complete set of recommendations here from the State of Teams Report 2021 — Work Life by Atlassian.
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