Continuing on from my previous blog on Appreciation, in this series on the Thinking Environment, I share my thoughts and experiences on the component of Appreciation in this one.
Definition
From Nancy’s explanation: Regarding each other as thinking peers, giving equal time to think.
Even in a hierarchy people can be equal as thinkers.
Everyone gets a turn to think out loud and a turn to give attention. To know you will get your turn to speak makes your attention more genuine and relaxed. It also makes your speaking more succinct.
Equality keeps the talkative people from silencing the quiet ones. And it requires the quiet ones to contribute their own thinking. The result is high quality ideas and decisions.
What does this definition mean to me?
I think what has struck me the most about equality, is that no one is competing as a thinker. I have found this to be such a profound departure from the conventional approach in meetings and conversations where people are looking to one up each other and power dynamics are in full swing. I’ve personally found the typical “brainstorming” meeting a near affront to my senses sometimes- within minutes people are expected to generate breakthrough ideas while everyone is secretly struggling to think or be heard. At Thoughtworks specifically, we had long been aware that we unintentionally favour the “extrovert” and “talkative” type who is willing to think out loud, often at the cost of taking up space that should belong to others in the group. This awareness has only led us so far as to tell our people that they should “speak up” and “have their voice heard”, but there isn’t enough intentional effort to design our rituals and conversations in a way that creates structural space for everyone to share their opinion.
Enter the Time to Think Rounds!
The simplest building block, but perhaps the easiest tool to apply to create a sense of equality and ease. We began using rounds in almost every meeting after we did our foundational learning. While we embedded rounds in nearly every ritual, we also began using thinking pairs and rounds in our team ritual of reflective spaces. We had done some of these earlier, and while they always worked well, the impact of rounds was remarkable. As our team became used to rounds, it created a sense of slowness and ease automatically - this is evidence for Nancy’s words “To know you will get your turn to speak makes your attention more genuine and relaxed. It also makes your speaking more succinct.”
I worried initially as a facilitator that the more verbose or talkative members would not appreciate the time boxing of rounds. To some degree the worry got realised in the early days - a couple of folks would keep overshooting time. We then began talking about how the time limits are meant to ensure equality while setting the group norms for the reflection. That seemed to strike a chord - the idea that time limits aren’t about enforcing censure but to create equal space for everyone. By now, our rounds are quite smooth and the quality of reflection and ideation is significantly better. This has been my lived experience of Nancy’s idea that “The result is high quality ideas and decisions.”
I’ve also found the idea that “Even in a hierarchy people can be equal as thinkers.” quite refreshing. We began experiencing this in our own meetings as we used the tools of thinking pairs and rounds along with Appreciation. But another story really put a steak in the ground on this one for me. We’d had to make some fairly difficult decisions as a company as the economic downturn came around recently. Two very senior leaders and their team had to lead during this challenging time, while also facing the brunt of people’s emotional reactions and resistance. It was an experience that was both rich and difficult enough that they wished to spend some time reflecting on it as a group. I designed and facilitated this meeting using time to think. I was nervous because this group knew nothing about the Thinking Environment and had not experienced the building blocks. A couple of leaders also had a clear preference for unstructured and free flowing conversations. The power dynamics with the leaders present in the group were another element that made me wonder whether I’ll be able to truly create space for Equality. As the meeting began and progressed however, I was a little bit stunned! Thinking pairs, rounds, open discussion, appreciation - the group used all of these with such elegance and grace and needless to say the discussion was as relieving for everyone as it was rich. A participant later shared that this was the first time they had actually been able to understand what another leader was saying and meaning - while in the past they always struggled to make sense of what they meant.
I think the structural equality and ease that comes with the building blocks completely changes the quality of how people think, talk and behave in the group.
Everyone felt heard and seen and everyone felt that they had understood others. As we shared the scribed summary notes after the reflection - the notes clearly reflected that great thinking and ideas had emerged from every participant.
And I must say that wild horses will have to drag me away from my very firm stance now that “Even in a hierarchy people can be equal as thinkers.“
I also realised that I subconsciously and sometimes consciously engaged in competitive behaviour while thinking in the past - I think I have prized intellectual prowess and accomplishments above other key qualities, especially in my younger years and up to more recent times. The thinking environment and the component of equality made me challenge this attitude and as I have practised the building blocks - I have seen for myself the deep and rich thinking people are capable of. So this component has been a big humble pie for me and I am glad for it. It has given me a pivot into a much more meaningful way to relate with other human beings - aka as equals!
In the following blog, I will share my experiences with the component of Place.
Credit: Illustration by Chitra