Better Think Tanking #2
Remote Work Requires Different Leaders
The charisma that makes for a good in-person leader may not translate into remote work. Researchers have found that “doers lead the pack” in times of virtual collaboration, as colleagues assess leaders based on whether they actually get things done, not based on who they are. Depending on your skill set, this may be good or bad news. To us, it sounds like a welcome push for a different type of leader, team productivity, and quality output.
Your Team Needs Geniuses - And Butterflies!
Talking about skill sets…here’s the truth:
We like working with each other because we’re very similar. Collaboration is easy when you sync in near telepathy. That’s one reason why people tend to hire mini-mes - candidates who are similar to them. Just take a look around your office or team call. But different personality types and their interplay are important elements of workplace diversity that lead to better results in the long run.
Here’s an example: An organization full of geniuses may come up with a lot of great ideas. But without the ability to learn from each other, most ideas won’t ever be realized. Instead, the editors of Farnam Street recommend pairing Geniuses with Butterflies - often underrated, socially attuned people who are primed to adopt the successful behaviors of those around them - and creating the infrastructure to share, teach, and learn from each other (offline and online).
High-Performing Teams Need Psychological Safety
According to a massive two-year study, the highest-performing teams at Google have one thing in common: psychological safety, or the belief that you won’t be punished for mistakes. This is especially relevant for organizations that depend on creativity and innovation - like think tanks.
“The brain processes a provocation by a boss, competitive coworker, or dismissive subordinate as a life-or-death threat. The amygdala, the alarm bell in the brain, ignites the fight-or-flight response, hijacking higher brain centers. This “act first, think later” brain structure shuts down perspective and analytical reasoning. Quite literally, just when we need it most, we lose our minds.”
Leading by fear does not - we repeat - not lead to the best results. Here’s some advice on how to create psychological safety instead.
How To Diversify Your Team - And Support Colleagues
Diversifying a team for better results sounds great. But how to make it work? NPR Life Kit has got you covered. We recommend the audio version. Our key takeaways:
Ask yourself why people are struggling in your organization. Actively help them to find ways to succeed, even if they're different from the dominant group. How can you ensure that structures (feedback, hiring, compensation processes) that have long benefitted you can be changed to benefit everyone else?
Are you seeking any advice from people who don’t look like you? Stop replicating age-old leadership styles and create a workplace that works for a more diverse set of people.
Underrepresented people don't have all the answers, because they did not create oppressive structures in the first place. We need empathetic leaders, who listen, ask questions, educate themselves - and take action.
Leaders need to look at high-potential candidates who don’t look like them and say: This is the person I am going to put my name, reputation, and weight behind, speak about in rooms where their name would normally not be mentioned, introduce them to clients, give them access.
If the pandemic has shown us anything, it’s that we can transform the way we work in a very short amount of time. Let’s be as ambitious with regard to diversity!
Be An Unlikely Ally
Most movements for change would have been massively delayed if it weren’t for unlikely allies, argues Nita Mosby Tyler and wonders: What if heterosexual cis people led the fight for LGBTQI* rights? What if men led the battle for equal pay? We wonder: What if you stood up for your colleague next time they’re treated unfairly, especially when you’ve never experienced the same discrimination? If the same people speak up in the ways they’ve always spoken up, we’ll only get the same results.
U.S. Grand Strategy
Is it just us, or do men tend to dare things on their own while women do the same things in teams - moderate a panel, write a book, start a newsletter or podcast? And should this bother us? It may be a reason to rethink trust in women’s abilities and the gendered dimension of overconfidence.
But when great thinking emerges from all-women teams, we’re not mad about it. For example An Open World: How America Can Win the Contest for Twenty-First-Century Order by Rebecca Lissner and Mira Rapp-Hooper. On the Bombshell podcast, the authors talk about U.S. Foreign Policy and how they navigate the world of grand strategy as women. We’re here for it!
What We Are Thinking About
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Thanks to Sonya for a lovely photoshoot!
Theresa & Sarah