The Whole Brain
Multidisciplinary Team A storybook by SeriouslyCreative to help your pull together successful innovation creating teams
SeriouslyCreative.com
You just can’t do it alone
Then
single function solutions
It used to be that to solve a problem we could simply pull together an expert or two, give them some time, maybe some coffee and - by applying their deep knowledge of what had been done before and accomplished by others - they could arrive at the appropriate solution. Yes, challenges were complex but they were isolated to specific functions. Marketing challenges were delt with by marketers. Finance by CPAs. etc, etc, etc. Those days are over. Today’s challenge are more often more complex, more fast moving and need new solutions rather than old applications. And it means that the sole expert can’t bring you the answer - at least not by themselves. This is the new world of multidisciplinary teams with diverse thinking styles that work together much like a movie production crew - experts and technicians from various and diverse areas come together for a period of time to create something new. Less department focus, less bueracratic walls, more great work done.
Now
solutions created by multidisciplinary teams
This is a good thing. The flip side means that in our complex and lightspeed world of business we can create the solutions by sourcing the ideas from a cross section of people in our organization. Read on and we’ll explain.
SeriouslyCreative
Whole Brain Teams
Great people DON’T think alike “I use not only all the brains I have but all that I can borrow” Woodrow Wilson US President & one great team leader SeriouslyCreative
Dr. Ned Hermann, author of The Whole Brain and formerly the head of talent development at GE, discovered that the concept of right and left brain thinkers was just a bit too simple. In fact, the brain has four functions - investigative, creative, evaluative and planning. We all have the ability to do any one of these functions but we each have favorites - skills that come more naturally than others. This means that if you are an investigative dominant mind you value data and sequence more than someone who, say, is a creative dominated person who values big picture and strategic intent more. The down side of this is that when we put people with different thinking styles in a meeting they tend to struggle to make the rest of the group “see it their way” or focus on what they think is important. Fear not. There is a silver lining. These different perspectives can lead collaborative teams to create much more holistic ideas that produce better business results. The secret to taking advantage of this diversity is to make sure your planning, strategic, ideation meetings have a diversity of thinking styles included and that everyone is aware of the thinking styles and the need to assure that each styles is given it’s opportunity to shine. This is called WHOLE BRAIN THINKING.
investigators ask “but why...”
experimenters ask “which one...”
I E
D
designers
A
evaluators
ask “what if...”
ask “who, how & by when...” Whole Brain Teams
Aligning your thinkers based on their skills Investigate
Investigate to find needs & insights that help us set a direction to real opportunities
Design
Design new ideas and powerful concepts that help us shift the playing field so that what we consider creates competitive advantage
Experiment
Experiment with concepts to check for viability and feasibility so we know we are on target
Activate
Activate prototypes and plans that we rapidly learn from so we can modify our solution for best results in the marketplace
A team aware of their thinking preferences and given an approach to assure that all these talents are used in a coordinated approach can do great things. Innovation and creative problem solving has a proven trajectory that assures each thinking style is harnessed and that you move from stage to stage building towards a real world solution.
Then use them in powerful ways. Having Whole Brain teams is a great start towards more innovation. But it is half the secret. The other half is pulling together project teams with diversity of experiences, different roles in the organization and different specialties.
If I have an idea and share it with you there a good changeHERE you will NOW have a great idea too.
Departments and divisions kill creative thought We have departments to assure we have the right specialties together and to assure accountability and focus. But this tried and true (or is it untrue?) business organization practice is getting in the way of our ability to create and champion great new ideas and game changing solutions. Today’s business complexities demand a more holistic and collaborative approach. So, what are we to do? Create “T-shaped” teams. (T-shaped what?). Stanford university refers to T shaped teams to describe multidisciplinary teams that have people with very deep expertise (think the shaft of a “T”) matched with people with broad knowledge that can connect these areas of expertise (think the top of the “T”). This means that whenever you have a challenge - problem or opportunity - that needs some new thinking, new ideas, a differentiated solution - pull together a team from across the organization to lead and contribute thinking to your challenge. This means enticing people who may not be accountable to the end results of the challenge to join in and dedicate time to building a new solution. A marketing challenge (for example) might benefit greatly from the perspective of a non-expert in accounting. Think not? We have seen it happen. The more complex the challenge with more effect on the overall organization the greater the need for these multidisciplinary team. Now, we know that getting someone from another department or division to join your innovation team might be, let’s say, “difficult.” But don’t be deterred. Look on your own team for diverse thinkers who bring unique experience along with a broad reach to your challenge. You will be pleased by the results (and other departments will be jealous!)
So, what can you do next to benefit from this? “the more you use it the easier it becomes.”
Project Teams Every time you have a need for some innovation thinking create a project team and give them the time, space and freedom to really deal with the issue. This means carefully selecting members of the team to assure some diversity.
Let people know Make sure everyone on your team knows the thinking style of the other so they are aware of how others think, how they think and how this matters when we need to work together.
Thinkers on Loan
You’re on the sales team but need someone from operations to help broaden your thinking? Ask for the thinker on loan. Some companies designate people on different team as available for “loan” to another team needing their different thinking. Of course, some coordination is needed between leaders.
Post it if you have to Some organizations make thinking styles visable by posting each persons thinking style on their office door. They also post reminders of what different thinking styles want and need in a meeting in every conference room.
Cross Team Rewards Reward systems often help reinforce barriers between people, By creating rewards and reconditions that encourage cross functional teams you are more likely to get people to really work together.
Do you want to hear more about what we are saying?
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