This week has been quite interesting. It feels like we are finally getting our hands dirty by creating the first draft of the first module. We have moved beyond the discussion and conceptualisation stage to a more practical application stage.
As usual, being ten different people with ten unique minds and thinking processes mean that we have spent endless hours discussing to find "unity in diversity" or common ground. I personally go through a downward spiral during some of these discussions because it feels like we get too stuck in the chaos stage to reach the convergence stage.
Here are some reflections I have to improve the way we discuss and run meetings:
- Respect time: I understand the importance of giving everyone time to present but we really need to set an expectation of how long the discussion is going to be and set a fixed time for the presentation/discussion, with a short break every hour.
- Establish common ground: Before starting a discussion, it is important to write down the main objectives or questions on the board so we all know where we are coming from.
- Be constructive: It's natural to disagree with team mates especially since we are so are so diverse. Criticism is great as it really helps to refine our outcome but we need to be more constructive. Just "bullshitting" each other's ideas without offering an alternative isn't very helpful. Also how you say something is just as important as what you say. Adopting a polite tone helps to keep a discussion positive.
- Time-off: Ever watched How I met your mother, where Marshall and Lily "pause" every time they get into that downward spiral of fighting. We could do something similar where we take a break when things start heating up. This will not only help to clear the tension but also give people time to process their thoughts and discuss ideas in a more professional manner. Also, some issues that we choose to agree to disagree on can be recorded in a document and we can go back to that at a later stage.
- Allocate roles: We should appoint a moderator or facilitator for each of the discussion, along with someone who harvests the information so we can have more effective discussions and adhere to all the ground rules.
Hope to have more positively engaging discussions in the coming weeks.
Rucha
As usual, being ten different people with ten unique minds and thinking processes mean that we have spent endless hours discussing to find "unity in diversity" or common ground. I personally go through a downward spiral during some of these discussions because it feels like we get too stuck in the chaos stage to reach the convergence stage.
Here are some reflections I have to improve the way we discuss and run meetings:
- Respect time: I understand the importance of giving everyone time to present but we really need to set an expectation of how long the discussion is going to be and set a fixed time for the presentation/discussion, with a short break every hour.
- Establish common ground: Before starting a discussion, it is important to write down the main objectives or questions on the board so we all know where we are coming from.
- Be constructive: It's natural to disagree with team mates especially since we are so are so diverse. Criticism is great as it really helps to refine our outcome but we need to be more constructive. Just "bullshitting" each other's ideas without offering an alternative isn't very helpful. Also how you say something is just as important as what you say. Adopting a polite tone helps to keep a discussion positive.
- Time-off: Ever watched How I met your mother, where Marshall and Lily "pause" every time they get into that downward spiral of fighting. We could do something similar where we take a break when things start heating up. This will not only help to clear the tension but also give people time to process their thoughts and discuss ideas in a more professional manner. Also, some issues that we choose to agree to disagree on can be recorded in a document and we can go back to that at a later stage.
- Allocate roles: We should appoint a moderator or facilitator for each of the discussion, along with someone who harvests the information so we can have more effective discussions and adhere to all the ground rules.
Hope to have more positively engaging discussions in the coming weeks.
Rucha
I absolutely agree, I miss a bit of the vibe that we are creating things, also it seems as if we are much more focused on getting things of our chest and fail to recognise our long term goals by doing so. Let's get back to being creative rather than destructive.
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