The X-Mentor | Teaming

Issue #8

The Secret: The Way A Job Gets Done Can Matter More Than the Job Itself.

The Source: Some teams are built to execute. While other teams are built to innovate. However, if teams are not mindfully built, they’ll do neither. They will come up with ideas that don’t resonate with customers. They will get stuck. There will be conflicts, and they will lose respect for each other. Likely, they will fail. Or much worse, they will be outflanked by competitors in their market.

What It Means: Manage Personal Innovation Preferences of Teams.

Frist, measure the cognitive diversity and thinking styles of your team. Then, “compose” teams accordingly to achieve the desired business outcomes.

Research has validated the following preferred innovation profiles and styles:

·       Generators – Initiating new ideas, seeking new problems to solve.

·       Conceptualizers – Defining and understanding new initiatives.

·       Optimizers – Turning ideas into reality by producing concrete solutions.

·       Implementers – Acting, making things happen, finishing things.

Example: Microsoft was once a dominant market force (e.g., Windows, Office). Then competitors encroached their markets and eventually outflanked them. When Microsoft set out to understand what was happening, they looked at their employee’s innovation styles. Here’s what they learned:

1.    Teams were overwhelmingly composed of Implementers.

2.    Employees were rewarded for “shipping” (not customer Utilization).

3.    Culture of “Get Stuff Done” and “Bias for Action” permeated teams.

Skills will not reveal an employee’s innovation styles. Only an assessment tool designed to uncover individual approaches to problem-solving (e.g., Basadur Profile) can reveal the way a job gets done on an individual and team basis.

When To Use: Hiring. Team Building. Managing Innovation.