Solution-Building™: The Rules, Part 3
The second Guideline follows, at least to a great extent, from the first. It, too, is a part of commitment.
Guideline Number Two: You must come to the group ready and willing to participate
Seems obvious, right? Doesn’t everyone come “ready and willing to participate?” Most of us have had experiences in which this is not true. Some people do not participate for a wide variety of reasons.
One reason is that they may feel uncomfortable offering ideas. This, in turn, may arise from either a feeling of inadequacy or a bad experience in similar situations in the past. When the principles we have discussed in recent posts, commitment, objectivity, and courtesy, are not followed, we can see unpleasant behavior and especially can see ideas offered by some of the participants attacked, belittled, or rejected without discussion by others. If an individual has experienced this, they may well hesitate to speak up.
Or, they may feel they have nothing to add to the discussion. Perhaps the topic is outside their expertise or even their education and training. They may just be shy about speaking up, again for a variety of reasons.
Maybe they just do not want to be involved in the process and want the meetings to end so they can get back to what they consider their “real job.” On the other end of that, they may have what they consider the truly genius solution and are just waiting to spring it on the group when progress grinds to a halt, thus being the hero, saving the day. I have seen this happen and I don’t doubt that others reading this have as well.
For whatever reason, some people will simply not participate actively. They may spend the meeting on their computer, tablet, or smartphone, they may take notes (or doodle), or sit and at least seem to pay attention.
No matter what they are doing, they simply will not participate.
So why do we want them to participate?
When we are trying to make a decision or solve a problem, we need a range of ideas, thoughts, perspectives, and suggestions; we need a range of input that can help spark creative thinking on the part of every participant. Those who are a part of the group and who think they do not have the expertise or training to meaningfully add to the discussion often can do so, precisely because they have a different perspective because of their expertise and training.
We talk about “thinking outside the box,” a phrase so overused that it has become trite and nearly meaningless. I know it is meant to tell us that we need to step away from our rote thinking about issues and find something different. We praise (some sometimes even revere) people who seem to be very creative thinkers and who come up with clever ideas and solutions to problems.
I don’t want to sound as though I am putting people down who do have the ability to study an issue or problem and come up with those clever ideas and solutions and I am not. It very often does seem that they fit the description of thinking “outside the box,” and indeed are a valuable asset to the kinds of efforts I have been talking about in this series of posts.
But . . .
There is another saying or aphorism, ascribed to one of the most famous inventors (one of our definitions of a creative person who thinks outside that box – whatever that box is) in the 19th and 20th Centuries, Thomas Edison. He is quoted as saying that “genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” Other versions of the quote read ten percent inspiration and ninety percent perspiration but the difference is moot.
I believe that genius, or creativity, or invention or whatever you want to call it, is actually the result of preparation. That preparation is exemplified by learning. I don’t necessarily restrict my meaning to the formal training leading to one or more academic degrees and the ongoing work to stay current in a field, but that can be a part of it. The rest is demonstrated by wide-ranging interests that expose the mind to a lot of different subjects and topics, many of which are not directly, or perhaps not even remotely, related to a person’s perceived expertise. Such wide-ranging interests can be demonstrated in anyone, irrespective of their education or profession.
Different fields of study have their own different internal structures, or frames of reference, and logic. Those who have these wide-ranging interests, and who follow them, begin to see the world from those alternative frames of reference as well and find themselves not tied to just one, that of their formal training or the profession they practice.
To me, this is Edison’s perspiration: layer upon layer of acquired knowledge that provide an opportunity to look at an issue or problem from a different frame of reference. This is, to me, “thinking outside the box,” meaning the barriers that we erect when we are so focused on one way of looking at things that we cannot see beyond or around them.
To use another phrase that has become trite, they “connect the dots.” Especially dots that only the individual sees because of their unique perspective that comes from preparation.
This, then, is why we want everyone to participate fully in the discussions needed to make decisions or solve problems. Everyone has their own unique background, can see over the sides of the boxes that are created by our training and education; they have dots to connect that others do not. Their contribution is needed, even if it doesn’t seem to them that they have anything to offer.
Now . . .
How do we get them to participate?
The role of the leader, chair, convener, whatever this person is called, includes drawing out those who seem to be holding back. This can be done directly in a meeting by simply asking for input from them. This may not work but is worth a try.
An alternative is a one-on-one meeting with a person who is not participating to encourage them to speak up, either at the group meeting or in private. Again, this may not work but is worth the effort.
I favor starting out any process of decision-making or problem-solving with a very short reminder that everyone was asked to participate because they were considered to have the ability to contribute and that, to make certain the process can have the best outcome, they all need to add their ideas.
Although at the beginning of this post I said that this Guideline is about commitment, the beginning of the group process would benefit from a reminder about courtesy. This includes the concept that any idea is considered and will not be attacked or put down. The idea may very well end up discarded, along with many others, but that will come as a result of the ensuing discussions.
Ultimately, the chair of the group will not be able to force an individual to participate if they are determined not to do so. With diplomacy, commitment, and courtesy, they may be encouraged and drawn into active discussions.
We will move on to the third Guideline in the next post.