The Collective Genius Hack
Fact………Collective Genius brings us farther, faster, and higher than our Individual Genius.
This is counter to how we all grew up. We competed for the best grades in our class. We strove to make the sports team by competing against others. We took standardized tests to try and get into the college or university of our choice. In all these situations, we were competing with our peers.
In an oxymoronic twist of life, business and organizational health is not maximized through competition, although there definitely is a place for this. Organizations truly come to life when we are selfless and focus on getting more out of our team than ourselves. The sooner we can transition from Me to We, the better our organization will perform.
This is especially true for leadership. We set the pace. We talk the talk and walk the walk. Selflessness starts at the top. 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:
- Leaders should be self-deprecating and get out of the way as much as possible.
- Remarkably, meetings are a great way to leverage Collective Genius very effectively. Regular leadership meetings with all disciplines represented, focusing on the most important operational steps that support our vision and strategic plan, are vital for organizational success.
- Organizations need to brainstorm consistently and move the best ideas along the storming/forming/norming/performing path to success.
- Leadership needs to model receptivity to the best ideas regardless of source or whose position they challenge. This starts with the stance that no idea is a bad idea, and that the best ideas are not respecters of position.
Ultimately, it’s not about what I accomplish, but what we accomplish.
What steps do you need to take to better maximize your organization’s Collective Genius?