When we come together to accomplish important work, the pressures of the workload and time often inhibit us from opening to differences—of perspective, opinion, or thinking. It is natural to try to avoid arguments or disagreements, and often we think that conflict will occur if we ask people to share what they really think.
In our efforts to get stuff done and avoid conflict, we miss opportunities to expand possibilities and increase our abilities to work with complexity. Inviting in multiple perspectives helps us deal with complexity, and it is not as hard as we think.
Here are some tips for leaders to welcome multiple perspectives:
1. Listen to others before giving your opinion. Sit back and listen rather than talking, even (especially) when you want to charge ahead and decide for the group.
2. If someone states a strong point of view, ask, “Who sees it differently?” and ask the person with an alternative perspective to share their view.
3. Listen, listen, listen. Encourage others to listen.
4. Reflect back the different points of view; synthesize the different perspectives for the group
5. Ask, “What have we missed?”
6. Wait for someone to answer the question, and listen again.
7. Surprisingly, when we need to make a decision, we have more valuable possibilities for action.
This may seem confusing, but actually when all the perspectives are welcomed, the best action emerges in collective thinking that is much more powerful than individual thinking.
We need to learn how to expand possibilities to deal with the complexities of our situation. Things are less predictable, more complicated. When we put our heads together, we are smarter together than we are individually.
This blog aims to be a resource for leaders at all levels and locations that want to improve dispersed team effectiveness. Our focus is learning to work together in ways that turn distance and difference into strengths.
