The 5 Unseen Forces In Meetings
Why do we brainstorm? This is the question I ask colleagues and the talented people I meet in my workshops. Around the world, most professionals seem to believe that the main purpose of brainstorming is to solve problems, get feedback, and discover new perspectives.
But then something strange happens. When I ask the same people “How was your last brainstorming session?” their faces change, and I get a whole different set of answers. They use words like frustrating, exhausting, ineffective, and confusing. A few have positive things to say, but the vast majority are clearly uninspired.
It’s not our fault these kinds of brainstorming meetings and exercises don’t work; there are powerful forces at play. These unseen forces prevent us from creating the impact we want and stand in the way of success. We need to be aware of:
1. Bias
We naïvely hold opinions in our minds, and sometimes those ideas are wrong. We can believe in our ideas so strongly that we might act irrationally, mislead a group, or make poor decisions.
2. Disconnection
As we work through multiple iterations, we begin to drift away from the original problem we are trying to solve. We are often tempted to pursue ideas that might be great but don’t quite solve the specific problem we’re after.
3. Seniority
What if your boss is in the room? Or your client? Often the opinions of a manager or senior will have greater influence than those of junior or a frontline employee. Sometimes this yields a good result, but not always.
4. Personalities
Any team has a variety of personalities. Some people are more extroverted and talk more. Other participants may have a quality idea but are hesitant to speak. Personality traits can determine which ideas are put forward and which are completely ignored.
5. Fear
No one wants to feel embarrassed, especially in front of co-workers or clients. Fear of judgment can harm creative thinking. It is absolutely possible that we will need to wade through nonsense before reaching any breakthrough.
Let’s revisit our brainstorming session. We have plenty of smart, talented people at the table, but a resolution must be reached within the next hour. Eyes are glancing at the clock behind you. You are exhausted. And hungry. This is when the worst pitfall of all enters the room: Compromise.
Compromise results in some unhelpful combination of what people have liked and which iterations sound most feasible. These resolutions make participants happy but aren’t always solving the problem at stake. Before you know it, development resources are invested and products are shipped to customers’ hands. The next day we check metrics to see what has changed too often we see that the needle that moved isn’t the one we wanted to change.