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Summary
How do we coordinate people for complex challenges? Certainly not with traditional work structures, designed to optimize for performance. Rather, we need new ways of working—new structures—that have been specifically designed to coordinate people for understanding. We'll look at a framework that can be used by teams, organizations, and other groups of humans working on complex problems. Stephen P. Anderson is a speaker and author who spends too much thinking about visual collaboration, how people learn, and board games; not necessarily in that order. Oh, and he’s on a mission: To make learning the hard stuff fun, by creating ‘things to think with’ and ‘spaces’ for generative play. This mission has led Stephen to MURAL, where he facilitates design strategy and innovation. Stephen's newest book, Figure It Out: Getting From Information to Understanding, has been described as both “required reading for designers and anyone else who needs to explain things” and a book that will “change the way you see the world.”
Key Insights
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Complicated problems can be solved with structured approaches, while complex problems require dynamic human interaction.
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Effective communication is essential when managing complex challenges.
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Shared standards and control vocabulary help align collective efforts in teams.
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Designing environments (both physical and virtual) can significantly impact group collaboration and outcomes.
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Psychological safety is foundational for fostering open dialogue and trust within teams.
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Regularly reassessing team dynamics and structures can prevent 'infant' behavior in groups during reorgs.
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Utilizing metaphors such as gardening can help convey complex ideas simply to ensure collective understanding.
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Encouraging diverse perspectives can lead to more innovative solutions to complex issues.
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Group behaviors and the ways teams interact influence the results of collaborative efforts.
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There's a difference between assimilating and accommodating information, affecting how teams adapt to new ideas.
Notable Quotes
"What I want to share today is how to coordinate people for complex challenges."
"There's an interesting twist when you talk about complex problems, like mapping the human genome or building a new rocket."
"This is not just about problem-solving; it's about bringing people together."
"Many of the traditional ways that we manage people probably don't apply when we're dealing with complex problems."
"Psychological safety is the foundational thing for teamwork."
"Effective collaboration requires just enough structure, but no more."
"The smartest person in the room is the room itself."
"Creating shared vocabulary can help avoid miscommunication in teams."
"We need to rethink the structures we use to coordinate people for complex challenges."
"Empathy and awareness of self and others is key to accumulating perspectives."
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