In my last blog, I mentioned future of work skills that humans need to adapt and respond to technological disruption and a transforming employment landscape.
One of the those skills is collaboration. Collaboration may seem self-evident as valuable in the workplace and essential to fostering creativity, ideation and innovation. Yet, many organizational structures and processes, coupled with the complexities and nuances of employee engagement and turnover, may be discouraging or inhibiting collaboration. Still, others, in a climate of anxiety and distrust, or due to negative past encounters, may not feel like they can contribute or what will happen with any of the ideas that they may share.
A cursory glance at business articles on collaboration often link it to feelings of burnout, ineffectiveness, and "the wrong kind of collaboration that hurts our performance, health, and well-being." Who would want that?
So, when I was asked to lead a brainstorming activity among a committee of my peers who I volunteer with in the museum and arts sector, I wanted to ensure that the brainstorming could be structured to spark effective collaboration, one that could summon different points of view, but could also be guided and driven by purpose.
So, I organized a brainstorming challenge (as we meet virtually) using a digital discussion board. However, I gave it some structure by doing the following:
I mined the museum's strategic plan and vision statements that the committee chair emailed me. I looked for elements that would most align with the work we had been doing around community outreach and engagement, social media promotion and supporting artists. In this way, I would be giving the brainstorm some structure and the collaboration some purpose.
In addition, I included some elements of the museum's mission and strategic goals to ensure the brainstorming would align.
Lastly, I compiled a list of activities and events that museum curatorial and programming staff had already planned for the next four months. Again, my point was to give the brainstorm some structure and connection to what was already in the works.
During the actual brainstorm, some of my peers preferred voicing their ideas while others actively and extensively used the discussion boards. Moreover, by leaving the discussion board open for some time, people who couldn't attend the meeting or for those whom an idea came to them after the meeting, could participate. This, coupled with the meeting transcript, gives us a detailed collation of our brainstorm that we are reviewing and actioning at our next meeting.
So, to summarize:
Best Practices for Effective Brainstorming Sessions
Review Strategic Documents
Analyze your organization's or client's mission, goals, and strategies.
Distill Key Elements
Identify components that align with current or planned work.
Align with Existing Efforts
Highlight connections to ongoing or future projects to emphasize relevance.
Encourage Anonymous Input
Facilitate non-synchronous participation to boost flexibility and buy-in.

Comments