Want the Truth? Ask This Question
Are your group or team conversations truly reflecting the full range of thinking happening inside the heads of those in the room? It needs to if you are to truly harness the collective intelligence potential that is greater than the smartest people in the room would be alone. (And this is not a given, by the way.)
There is one question you can ask that will help you actually hear the truth right then and there from the people who have information or perspectives that you can't yet see.
That question is: "Who sees it differently?"
Followed, of course, by an encouraging phrase, such as "We'd welcome your thoughts" or "We'd love to hear from you."
The point is: you might have to actively and explicitly invite divergent perspectives. It's so common, especially for American teams, to be too "polite" and prefer staying silent over the discomfort of divergent thinking. The risk of not getting these perspectives on the table, of course, is groupthink, or simply wasting everyone's time pretending to collaborate when one person's brain would have been good enough at solving this problem.
Notice I did not write "Does anyone see it differently?" The question above that starts with "Who sees...." implies that expect divergence out there. You know that it would be natural for someone to see this situation differently, and you're asking them to share. In doing this you're making it a safer environment for that divergent thinking to get shared.
If you say, "Does anyone see it differently?" you ask a yes/no question and it is too easy for others to water down their own opinion in their own minds and stay silent.
Now, if you think your team is not yet at the maturity level to rise up to a question like this, I recommend a process such as council in which each person gets a turn to speak from their heart without intermittent questions, comments, or conversation until everyone has taken their turn.
Give “Who sees it differently?” a try. If it feels too bold or risky, try playing around with the phrasing:
"Who sees it slightly differently?"
"Who sees a potential risk to this idea?"
"Who has an alternative perspective?"
"Who has more information that would add depth to what we're considering?"
If the “who” feels too direct, then try:
"What might we be missing here?"
"What would a devil's advocate say?"
"What other perspectives haven't we considered?"
Again, the point is to actively invite your team to stretch the collective thinking that is happening and make sure it is, well, actually collective. An important dimension of your leadership is to show up knowing that the people on your team are going to expand and challenge your thinking. Asking for alternative perspectives will send the message that you as a leader are willing to expand your own mind and that you understand that the best idea needs to get mined from the collective wisdom in the room.
