Accessing thinking
16/04/2010, Author: Ruth Williams
To innovate at our best we need to be able to access the full potential of our thinking power. If we are working in a group with others then their expectations of us and what they believe we are capable of is likely to shape what we can do. This is an idea that pops up all over the literature both on innovation and especially creativity. The question is what are the components of a thinking environment?
To answer this question we can look to the work of Nancy Kline, who has crafted a really useful list of ten such components. These can be found in her book, ‘Time to Think: Listening to ignite the human mind’. They are:
1. Attention: we need to show we are paying attention to those we are working with by listening closely and with interest to all. This applies, of course, to the facilitator or leader (if there is one) but equally to all members of the group. Do you look to the person speaking when in a group or are your thoughts drifting elsewhere?
2. Incisive questions: asking these sorts of questions is all about investigating and exploring any assumptions that may limit the flow of ideas and suggestions. My blog last week offered a great four step model (GROW) from the work of John Whitmore that I find incredibly helpful to guide me when coming up with suitable incisive questions.
3. Equality: Kline writes about ‘treating each other as thinking peers’. In terms of the behaviour we can observe that indicates this is happening you would expect to see people taking equal turns and taking action to involve any quieter members of the group. You would also expect to see people keeping to and honouring any agreements reached or ground rules set for how they were going to work together.
This third point makes me think about Carl Rogers’s concept of ‘unconditional positive regard’; if we regard one another positively and without judgement we are far more likely to achieve equality. This does not mean agreeing with one another all the time but rather respecting all opinions as valid and listening to the rationale.
4. Appreciation: Kline suggests that we should be aiming for a five to one ratio of appreciation to criticism. If I am working with an organisation where the culture tends towards the opposite I like to try and establish this as a ground rule at the start of a session. If you do it in a ‘fun’ light hearted way it tends to work more effectively. You could use a ‘red card’ or a word selected by the group to stop excessive criticism and make the u-turn to appreciation.
5. Ease: this is all about getting into a more relaxed state; something that we have written about regularly during our blog. We also need to make sure time is not preventing a sense of ease. If we are rushing or feel excessively pressured it can biologically and well as psychologically restrict our thinking potential.
6. Encouragement: rather than competing we need to be supporting and encouraging one another. Sometimes, certain organisational cultures respond well to a little fun competition. However, the line needs to be drawn between this and any activity that diminishes any individual’s self-esteem and establishes unhelpful hierarchy.
7. Feelings: as human beings we need to release any emotional blocks to accessing our thinking power. Within the group believing appropriate expression of feelings to be OK is an important part of achieving optimum thinking.
8. Information: we don’t want to be weighed down by excessive data if it’s not relevant but we do need a full picture of the situation. Innovation is about application of our thinking so we need to know enough about the intended or possible applications. Some people experience anxiety if they feel they have inadequate information or believe they are being drip fed details on a ‘need to know’ basis. The easy way to check the information level is right is to ask the individuals involved rather than second guess and damage the dynamic.
9. Place: Luigi’s blog about the environment for innovation includes some great suggestions for how to shape the place. Kline sums up this idea beautifully by explaining that the place needs to say to people ‘you matter’. This means there is not single ‘right’ way to do this, rather you need to shape the place based on the needs of the individuals.
10. Diversity: one of the most frequently occurring themes in the literature on innovation is the value of including a mix of people within the innovation team. We find that a more diverse group will take longer to reach conclusions and experience more disagreement but the output is consistently of a far higher value. Developing genuine attitudes that value difference is at the heart of enabling innovation. This diversity can include personality, gender, technical expertise, academic discipline, thinking style, learning style, age, race and all the other many wonderful ways in which we differ!
I hope you find this check list useful. My favourite way to include the ten points is by involving my innovation teams in brain storming and agreeing how they can achieve this in the way they work together, then revisiting our flip-chart or notes at the start of each session. Feel free to comment on this blog; it would be great to know if and how you use Kline’s suggestions in your work.
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