The Strength of Collective Genius
Fact……..Collective Genius brings us farther, faster, and higher than our Individual Genius. We are so much stronger as a team when we can harness everyone’s brain power…..the “Collective Genius” of the entire organization.
Collective Genius is not about agreeing with each other but about finding ways to constructively disagree. It is about intentionally seeking input from team members who have very different skill sets and perspectives than our own. I was reminded of a Dutch saying by a friend recently along these lines…..“If all of us are agreeing, none of us are thinking”
This is an organizational challenge and opportunity!
Here are some keys to facilitating and leveraging our Collective Genius:
- “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”…..Peter Drucker. Leadership needs to model receptivity to the best ideas regardless of source or whose position they challenge. Leaders should be self-deprecating and get out of the way as much as possible.
- Effective meetings – Regular weekly team meetings (leadership, operations, sales and marketing…..the entire team represented), focusing on the team’s vision for the future and steps needed this quarter/week to accomplish the vision, are critical for maximizing our Collective Genius. Gino Wickman’s book “Traction” and Patrick Lencioni’s book “The Advantage” are two great resources on this subject.
- Organizations need to brainstorm consistently and move the best ideas along the storming/forming/norming/performing group development path to success.
How have you leveraged Collective Genius in your career? I’d love to hear about it.
