Great Groups! - Getting a Group to Think Like a Genius
Great Groups! - Getting a Group to Think Like a Genius
Great Groups! - Getting a Group to Think Like a Genius
Wouldn't it be great to have an Edison or Einstein, or Mozart at your next meeting? If you had a genius at your meeting, do you think you might come up with better results? Let me be the first to tell you that those people won't be at your next meeting. But there are some things you can do as a facilitator - some techniques and tactics that you can use with the group that will help them work better. In this article you will learn some of the strategies of geniuses (adapted from Thinking Like a Genius, by Michael Michalko in the May 1998 issue of The Futurist), and how to apply them within any group you are working with.
Geniuses look at problems in many different ways The key to this strategy is helping a group find new perspectives. Often a group gets "locked in" on one specific solution or cause. The goal should be to slow the group down and help them look at their situation from a variety of perspectives. Once a group has an initial approach, encourage them to stop and force a new perspective - force them to re-conceptualize the problem.
How To Do It Once a group has settled in on an approach, encourage them to step out of the room. When they return, explain the concept of looking at the problem from another perspective. Ask the group to list three or more other perspectives that this situation could be viewed from. From that list, pick one for the group to reconsider the situation from. (If the group is large enough have sub groups work different perspectives.) The time spent in reviewing the situation from the new perspectives should be as rigorous as the first analysis. Once the group has completed their reanalysis, have them look at all of their results. At this point encourage them to make the best decision, given all the data they have at their disposal.
Geniuses make novel combinations Sometimes geniuses don't come up with new ideas, but combine existing ones to make great advances.
How To Do It Once a group has a variety of possible solutions (possibly by using some of the steps above), have them try to combine them, rather than just pick one. Spur them on with questions like: ? How could you do both A and B? ? How could you gain the benefits of both A and D, while minimizing the risks?
Geniuses force relationships This may be the genius' biggest strategy of all, and one you can employ easily with groups.
How To Do It Always have a few (or a lot) of disparate items on a list. At any time that a group is stuck, ask them to force a relationship between their problem to one of the items on your list. (You could also have pictures of the items, which might spur their creativity even further.). These relationships may be forced, and this may be where the breakthrough comes.
Note: Some groups or individuals will scoff at this idea as silly. Acknowledge this, but encourage them to try anyway. They may be very pleasantly surprised. Remember too, that the quality comes with quantity rule applies here. You may need to try more than one or two forced relationships before real progress is made.
Geniuses make their thought visible This strategy is often put to use in group meetings, but only at the lowest level. Recording a group's work on a flipchart, or whiteboard, is a small step in this direction, but to take this to the next level (to the genius level!), you need to get more visual.
How To Do It Have members of a group draw their solutions to a problem, or draw the results of implementing their solution. If you want to look at a variety of solutions at once, have sub groups do this for different scenarios. Focus the group(s) on making it visual and inclusive of their whole idea. The goal is to communicate not wow the group with artistic abilities. Once the groups have completed their drawings, review all of them to see if new ideas, or combinations of ideas are found.
Geniuses think in opposites Often it is very revealing to examine the opposite of your situation, or ask the opposite question.
How To Do It Rather than having the group ask the direct question on their task, have them ask the opposite. For example, if the question is, "How do we attract new Customers?", more new ideas and insights might come from asking, "How could we drive all of our Customers away?" With the answers to the opposite question, tactics and plans for avoiding this outcome can be developed.
Geniuses think metaphorically Aristotle believed that metaphors were a sign of genius. If they were good enough for Aristotle, they should be good enough for us!
How To Do It Have the group compare their situation to anything else (another place for your list mentioned above). The more metaphors (or analogies) the group can draw between their situation and these random items the better. The insights will flow from the discussion of these connections. You can also ask the group to tell you what they might compare the situation to, which is another method of initiating the metaphors.
Geniuses prepare themselves for chance In a group situation, this most likely fits after a solution has been implemented. This "preparation for chance" will be enhanced by the willingness to do two things: admit mistakes, and spend time reviewing the results of the decision or solution.
How To Do It After a decision is made, encourage the group to schedule time to review the results of the decision. Time might also be scheduled to discuss the process the group used for coming to the decision. By reflecting on the work and the results, often new ideas and improvements can be found. The decision to take this time is seldom the natural inclination of a group. Group dynamics are such that when the result or decision is made, that the group is ready to "cross that item off the list", and move on. As a facilitator you can provide significant value by encouraging this review process.
©1999, All Rights Reserved, Kevin Eikenberry. Kevin is the President of The Kevin Eikenberry Group, a learning consulting company that helps their Clients reach their potential through a variety of training, consulting and speaking services. To learn more about services on facilitation go to http://www.kevineikenberry.com/consulting/consulting.asp or contact Kevin at toll free 888.LEARNER.
RELATED ARTICLES Discover the Astonishing Power of Words Today! Picture all the people you know who are dynamic, successful and self-confident. The ones who are the stars of every gathering. The people who are witty, intelligent and entertaining. The scintillating personalities who can be relied upon to light up every occasion. One Bad Apple One Bad Apple I know what you are thinking but no, I am not doing a tribute to Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5. Although I will admit that their hit song from the 70's keeps rolling around in my mind as I type this. While the Jackson Five might have believed that "One bad apple can't spoil the whole bunch" I don't think that they were responsible for getting high quality production results from their bunch. The fact is, in business one bad apple can make your life and the life of the people who work for you, pretty miserable, reduce production from your organization, and even cost you good employees. The "one bad apple" that I'm referring to of course, is that one bad employee in your department who drags everyone down with them. I'm not talking about the employee who is temporarily struggling with their productivity. A lot of employees go through that problem from time to time. With training and coaching, these are potentially very productive employees. And I'm not talking about that the employee who is going through some personal problems and is struggling to keep their business and personal lives separate. This is also a temporary situation that usually rectifies itself relatively quickly. Instead I'm talking about the employee who seems to have made it their personal mission in life to be unhappy, and to ensure that everyone else around them is just as unhappy as they are. These "bad apples" come in various shapes and sizes, all kinds of different backgrounds, and all different levels of experience. You have the: · Information hog - who hides key information about their tasks and projects · Martyr - whose assignments are always more difficult than any else · Bully - who intimidates all those around them · Professional Devils Advocate - who never met a concept that they actually liked, but they will gladly take credit for any concept that actually works · Company/Management Haters - who spend all of their free time telling anyone who will listen (and many that won't) how bad and evil the Company and Management Team really is · Slacker - who never really seems to do anything, but is always telling everyone how busy and overworked they are Generally speaking, it's not hard to tell if you have a bad apple in your group. They do tend to stand out. They wear their misery with pride. All kinds of bad things happen to them routinely, but the problems are never their fault. And anyone who is nearby (and some who aren't so nearby) will hear about it. The problem is not that they are miserable. The problem is that they make everyone else miserable as well. Sometimes it's pretty blatant. They actively incite or intimidate those around them so that no one has a comfortable working environment. They get their power by sucking the life out of people around them and they know exactly how to do that. As a leader, your team looks for you to lead and to remove obstacles that can keep them from being productive. This bad apple is an obstacle and how effectively you deal with them is a barometer that your staff will measure you by. The place to start is with Performance Management and measuring their productivity. But don't limit Performance Management to production only. Remember that all members of the team are responsible for soft skills as well as hard skills and that an employee who produces acceptable numbers but doesn't share information, or bullies those around them is still a Performance Management problem. Manage the soft skills the same you manage the hard skills, with detailed Performance Plans. Remember, even if they play key role in your department one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch, for everyone. Work closely with your HR representative to ensure that you are in compliance with both company policy and federal law, but you must remove them. And speaking of HR reps, take a minute to think about yours. A good HR rep is worth their weight in gold. A good HR rep will help you in identifying problem employees when the issues go beyond straight production. They will also work with you to ensure that you are working the issues both legally and that your conclusions are based on fact and not emotion. A good HR rep is also a boon for the employees, because they will work with the employees to improve their performance by identifying problems before they become severe. If you are one of the lucky ones that have been blessed with a good HR rep, then take the time to thank them for their work. Being an HR rep is a thankless job, and never more so than when they are doing the right things by being actively involved in resolving problems. In Leadership, The Critical Convergence Drives Great Results The Leader's Fallacy lives! We subscribe to the Fallacy when we believe our enthusiasm over a particular leadership challenge is automatically reciprocated by the people we lead. The Power of the Contract in Performance Management An essential step in managing the performance of salespeople is that of establishing a sound and agreed contract between manager and the salesperson. A contract in this context is simply an agreement between the manager and the salesperson as to how best they are going to work together. It is a chance for each party to outline expectations, hopes and fears and is a superb opportunity for both the manager and salesperson to fully understand each other in terms of personality style, motivators and de-motivators. It is also an opportunity for the manager to ensure that the salesperson fully understands their role and their responsibilities as well as their sales and activity targets. Managing Change - Get it Right In any event, getting the process right is a vital component. The credibility of the change managers will be scrutinised closely enough on the issue itself, with all processes in place. If process is at fault too, then things can get very messy indeed. Top 7 Methods to Empower Employees How many times have you asked someone to do something like "draw up a plan for such and such project"? Your employee completes the plan, but then you say, "That is not what I wanted" or "That is not how you do it". And so the employee thinks: you didn't tell me exactly how you wanted it done. Hiring for Success Hiring someone new to work in your business is one of the most critical decisions a business owner makes, although it is not always given the justice it deserves. If a position is vacant, or additional staff are needed, recruitment decisions are often driven by the pressure to get someone in quickly, rather than waiting for the best person to fill the job. Lack of proper and systematic recruitment process can also result in a high cost to the business. Motivating Employees - Ten Ways to Start You Off Yet there is a place for those external 'raft-build's', 'away days' and 'paintballing'! Just get them in context; there is work to do up front to leverage those experiences and get the best value from them. Just build great relationships in your business or organisation, one-to-one - then have the fun day out and grow even more!"Motivation is like food for the brain. You cannot get enough in one sitting. It needs continual and regular top ups."Peter DaviesSo a 'people-focused' way of being in your business generates Motivation permanently and ongoing.Start at the Beginning Are You A B.O.S.S. -- Boisterous, Omnipotent, Self Indulgent, Sociopath Boisterous, Omnipotent, Self- indulgent Sociopath. Avoid the B.O.S.S. syndrome with five leadership principles that translate academic leadership theory to real world, 21st century application. Sweet Parting Of Ways Why settle for bad feelings when your employee leaves the firm? Human resource managers can help to sweeten the occasion during the exit interview, and get valuable information to help the company in the new knowledge age. Delegation Obstructions OBSTRUCTIONS: 1. Staff deficiencies. Lack of confidence in employees quite understandably leads to a reluctance to delegate. When deficiencies exist, action must be taken to restructure jobs and/or retrain, reassign, or as a last resort terminate employees. 2. Management deficiencies. Intimidation or lack of organization on the manager's part makes effective delegation impossible. In such a case, it is the manager's responsibility to seek training in the delegation process via seminars, self-help courses, and the like. Re-Discovery Procedures for Building Effective Management Systems: Phase V Now we turn the corner to our final phase: Re-Discovery. The Four Key Steps In Hiring And Keeping Top People "When you hire the best, the rest is easy!" We have heard this phrase many times, but how do we put this concept into action? We know that hiring the best people is vital to the success of your business, especially for fast growing businesses. And certainly, your customers have high service expectations. So?how do you hire and keep top people? Let's start from the beginning. Employee Retention: Five Leadership Fundamentals Are your management practices on the right track? Retaining your valued or high performing employees must be a strategic issue for your company. Throwing more money at your workers is not the answer and can become very costly. The more effective way to retain top talent is to address their important needs. A Renewed View of the Modern Business Culture Life can sometimes be unexciting if not refreshed by the will to create according to one's own conscience and freedom. Often, the power of passion fuses into unexciting or appealing activities. One sometimes expects to be free from the demands, the macro-strings of the society, so that one could do what one wishes. In many different ways, one could say that freedom of this nature may bring about towering creativity though it can also breed chaos. How to find a method that could encourage a pleasing freedom as well as bring about the desirable creativity is very important for the society in general and for business in particular. In short, a balance needs to be sought and erected. But the balance, as I will show, is the one that encourages conceptual creativity to soaring heights while it limits dispositions or practice in line with the prevailing macro- or micro-culture. Quick Tip - Effective Meetings Begin With Goals Goals are critically important for the success of a meeting. You must know what you want so you can ask for it. And the participants need to know what you want so they can help you get it. Without goals, a meeting becomes a journey without a destination. Tales from the Corporate Frontlines: Providing Career Opportunity This article relates to the Career Opportunity competency, commonly evaluated in employee satisfaction surveys. It explores issues such as internal growth opportunities, potential for advancement, career development importance, and the relationship between job performance and career advancement. It examines whether your employees believe they have a chance to grow within the organization. Studies show that lack of career opportunity is one of the top reasons why employees leave an organization. Learn to Assert Yourself Pinpoint your own blocks to assertiveness: fear of disapproval, need to please others, fear of being too masculine or feminine, or the dread of making mistakes. The Higher You Go The higher you go, the cooler it becomes. Really? Let us begin from first principles. This is a maxim we learnt in geography about the weather. Having come a long way in our professions and careers, can we really say it has been cooler over the years as we ascended the corporate ladder? Even at that,, how can we sensibly apply the Higher You Go principle in the way we work, and the way we live? Managing People - No More Mr Tough Guy I believe the media and our culture sends the wrong messages about how to manage people and this makes it difficult for Business Owners and Managers.