no NO, BUT but YES, AND!

getAbstract recommends the time-tested, commonsense system presented by Kelly Leonard and Tom Yorton in their book “Yes, And” (2015)  to executives, managers, HR officers and anyone who works with other people.

• The getabstract-rating: 9 (#Applicability: 9 #Innovation: 9 #Style:8)

My personal take-aways from the getabstract summary*:

Mastering these 7 elements can help you improve your organization:

1. Yes, And: when an idea comes up welcome it  – YES! – and further explore its potential – AND – instead of evaluating or criticizing the idea (No, but…).
2. Ensemble: Do not celebrate individual glory, but prioritize building, maintaining, and developing ensembles.
3. co-creation: Dialogues push stories further than monologues.
4. Authenticity: Respect is healthy. Reverence is counter-productive.
5. Failure: Embrace failure as part of the process. Fear of failure stifles creativity.
6. Follow the follower: Shifting status among team members is an art, not a science. True leaders don’t worry about maintaining status.
7. Listening: Listen to understand – not to respond.

Exercises like these can teach the team members to trust, to listen and to use the power of collaboration:

• one word at a time: 6 to 10 people in a circle. Tell a story by each person adding one word
• talk with out “I”: in pairs, any topic, important: no “I”.
• Mirror: in pairs, mirror the other persons face/body mimic/movement.
• Emotional option or Emo OP: in pairs, the leader calls out an emotion, anyone talks in the tone of that emotion
• string of pearls: group stands shoulder to shoulder, first and last person get a sentence, the group connects the two sentences by each one saying one sentence
• last word response: converse in pairs, one sentence at a time, last word of the sentence becomes first word of the next sentence.
• repetition: converse in pairs, repeat the sentence of the other person before you form your sentence.

My personal insights – not new, but good to repeat in theory and in practice:

• True leaders don’t worry about maintaining status.
• Fear of failure stifles creativity.
• Developing a strong team consciousness helps individuals perform better.
• Listen to understand – not to respond.
• Hear what others say – and what they choose not to say.
• If each person gives up the need to be right, ideas can flow more freely and with less fear.
• It is always good to laugh about yourself – at least once every day.
• Ideally, an ensemble will nurture team members’ best traits and mute their shortcomings.

*: The special shared link allows everyone to read the full getabstract summary for three days.