I have always been a believer in the power of a team. I find that work is not only more enjoyable when you are working with a great team, but generally, I find you get better ideas and results. I have worked in companies that cherished the team model, and other companies (typically engineering driven cultures) that focused a lot on individual people and what they could create working autonomously (The STAR Model). Ideo harnesses the power of collect thought and brainstorming in their design thinking methodology. Most company cultures have a combination of collective creation and individual creation often driven by specific leaders and how they are most comfortable working.

The power of collective thinking became crystal clear to me a few weeks ago at a friend’s holiday party. The party included a ritual called The Eggo Challenge. The challenge consists of taking two teams of people and having them race through a series of activities. The people are very diverse. My team ranged from someone in high school to someone in their late 50’s. There were a mix of men and women with a variety of backgrounds – some engineers, entrepreneurs, homemakers, students, etc. The race included physical challenges, puzzles and other mental challenges.

Our team leader, Bill, made sure we were working in sync and not going off on our own when we had an idea. It was amazing to watch the team feed off one idea that led to another idea. Anything that was proposed was OK. There was no judgment, just open brainstorming and generating of ideas to solve the problem in front of us. The race took 4 hours and we won. It was a great time and a great learning experience. Many of the principles we used to win can be directly applied to the workplace.

Collective Thinking in the Workplace

1. When trying to solve problems, try open brainstorming. Put a time limit to it so it is not completely open ended. Set general parameters, but let all ideas be heard. The team will benefit from the collaboration and the problem may indeed be solved.
2. Don’t be afraid to run your thinking by a trusted colleague. Even when you are confident in your decision, hearing another prospective can usually firm up your thinking.
3. Run your team meetings effectively. I often find team meetings are a lot of “report out”. Have people do status reports in advance and use this valuable time to talk through issues, ideas and clarify questions about strategy.
4. Have an open mind. Try to make sure you don’t always approach things in the same way. There are a lot of ways to do things that might be better than what you have done. Hear ideas out and do not close them down.

Photo by clspeace. Licensed under CC.