What Box is YOUR Team Stuck In…And Why Should You Care?

Like the fish surrounded by everpresent water, we always think, feel and act from within a box of assumptions, perspectives and beliefs – and like the fish we just take that “box” for granted, unaware of it’s limiting impact. Without awareness of the frames of reference that define our boundaries, our choices of action remain stuck in territory that is safe, comfortable, and that prescribes to traditional rules and norms. The good news is that this enables us to be efficient and to survive. The bad news is that we get stuck in ruts that block creativity and sustained team performance.

What boxes does your team habitually get stuck in?

Classic examples of organizations stuck in boxes include the mainframe computing giant of the 80’s that clung to the belief that no one would ever want a computer in their home…or the swiss watch makers who, certain they knew how watches must be made, missed the move to digital time pieces. We can refer to moving beyond our boxes as examining mental models, engaging in double-loop learning, or organizational transformation – by whatever name, it is at the heart of creating learning, change, and results that have more impact than the status quo.

Now, back to those fish…Leaders that foster radical change and innovation – better yet, TEAMS that self-enable continually expansive ways of working together – become adept at unearthing previously taken-for-granted ways of thinking. It is a leadership and team capability that is learned from experience. It is, as they say, a capacity to fish for oneself rather than being given a fish.

Walls of our boxes arise from many sources. Here is a sample list of questions to ask with your team as a way of illuminating boxes:

• Based on how we’re actually operating, what rules are we following?

• What do we believe is true about “the way it is done?”

• What might we be avoiding by playing it safe?

• What five aspects of this situation to we most take for granted?

• As an outside observer from another culture, what is most noticeable about the way we work?

When we work with leadership teams most often there is a continuous thread of boosting awareness of the boxes that limit creativity and action. Nothing beats the moments when new possibilities and ways of thinking emerge that open the path for creative action.

Also In This Issue

• Cool Tool Highlight: Let ideas loose with online mind-mapping.

• Meet a colleague who ventures “Beyond the Box”: Heidi Wormser of MagicBox Studio