Good leaders are optimistic and positive, and they often design team meetings and off-sites to include a large dose of “happy talk.”
During presentations and discussions, they paint a rosy picture of the enterprise, the vision and opportunity going forward, and the quality of the team and culture.
While this pumps everyone up, it often seems hollow and false.
Teams don’t get better unless they can be honest about their strengths and weaknesses during group dialogues. Waiting for the results of the annual enterprise engagement survey often misses the opportunity and the need teams have to hash out what to do differently right now.
But soliciting honest feedback during group gatherings can give leaders hives.
They know from experience that collecting candid views about what is strong and weak within the organization, especially in a large group, can turn ugly and give rise to discontent and frustration. And only a vocal few will play along and be direct with their honest views.
Yet, leaders also know that getting an accurate view of how the team really sees the culture and the vision is essential to create the high performance everyone aspires to.
One way to ascertain this insight is through an exercise we call Group Wisdom. In this exercise, a leader poses a handful of statements and asks everyone to offer their honest belief about them anonymously.
Inexpensive software now allows for the collection and synthesis of this data instantaneously. By scanning a QR code on their phones, the statements are downloaded in the format most preferred by the leader.
Everyone gets a minute to answer, and then the group results pop up on a presentation screen. (This once expensive process using handheld response pads has been replaced by the easy use of software available on the internet for any team or leader.)
Statement by statement, the group can see how everyone in the room honestly judges each issue. A discussion can occur after each result or after the entire statement set.
Because the software does not allow anyone to be identified, the results and individual viewpoints are anonymous and highly candid. Not surprisingly, the views of the group are often not what anyone expected. This gives rise to rich discussion.
The Group Wisdom exercise commonly involves up to 15 statements and takes about 30-45 minutes to run. Software by Kahoot, Slido, Mentimeter, and MeetingPulse are just a few of the many options available to leaders and facilitators.
To break the ice and get everyone used to the process and software, offer a fun statement to start the exercise, like “I am one of the smartest people in the company.” Have the group rate their agreement across a common Likert scale of Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree.
Once they are set, propose statements that get to the heart of the enterprise, culture, and leadership. Here are a few examples:
- The Company’s vision and long-range goals are clear and compelling.
- The majority of my colleagues are fully engaged and committed.
- Our culture is a meritocracy where the best people and ideas rise.
- The Enterprise is full of bureaucracy that slows progress.
- Team problems are addressed swiftly and effectively.
- How major decisions get made is transparent and clear.
- People are proud to work here.
- Poor performance is confronted in our culture.
- Leaders and team members execute decisions with vigor even when they disagree with them.
- Team members are encouraged to be candid and let their thoughts be known here.
- Too many leaders here operate from self-interest.
- Leadership development is a priority.
- I have the tools, resources, and support to do my best work.
You can think of other statements that would reveal what everyone wants and needs to know about the enterprise.
Group Wisdom can be an eye-opening exercise for everyone involved and works well even in the largest groups. Consider what an honest snapshot would do for your team.
The best leaders want to know what the team really thinks. They can do so in an instant.
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