I had a dean back in college who used to gather us together periodically as resident assistants to problem solve issues arising in the dorms. Resident assistants were like dorm floor supervisors. Yes, I know it’s hard to believe that I was given the responsibility of the safety and success of my classmates on my floor of the dorm.
He began each meeting with the phrase which you’ve heard before, “None of us is as smart as all of us.” He would state the problem for us to figure out a solution together. Then he would say to us, “Now it’s your turn. What should we do?” Usually we were all silent. We all seemed to be waiting for him to come up with the answer. We thought if we were silent long enough, he’d cave and give us the solution.
Not the case.
He reminded us that we were being trained to become problem solvers of tomorrow. He told us that answers don’t come easy. He said they don’t usually come by you individually. I guess he was teaching us that we needed each other to find the best solution.
Usually our ideas started out slowly. Sometimes they were silly. What made our dean good at what he did was that he didn’t rush us. He didn’t criticize us. He didn’t value one idea over the other. He valued that we were collaborating, or working together to find a solution.
This was back in 1970. Collaboration, such as working in teams, wasn’t the typical management style back then. Rather, corporations and other entities were more typically run by “X” styles of management. “I’m the boss. I know best. You do what I say.” It wasn’t until the Japanese car makers were really coming on the scene in the early ‘80s that corporate America was asking “How do they get that quality? What makes them so good?”
The Japanese had a different style of management. It was labeled “Y” style of management. It was much more collaborative—meaning everyone had a voice in what they were doing.
In the Japanese car industry, workers on the line had more say. Their ideas were listened to. They were asked to come together periodically and work on solutions to production problems, because they were believed to be the experts. They directly collaborated with the automotive engineers. American corporations figured out “We got to do this to be competitive.”
“We believe in partnerships and collaboration” is a cornerstone of who we are, too. We don’t always get it right. But we keep trying to promote this style of operating. We’ve learned we get farther working with each other or outside stakeholders, rather than ordering, blaming or even ignoring the problem. It’s like the example of having to bail a boat. Yes, you can argue who’s at fault for the hole in the boat, but the rising water is going to bring you back to being part of the solution, not part of the problem, not ordering around or blaming everybody.
We all know that in our work, sometimes speed is necessary. Someone comes to you with a problem and we’re quick to give the answer. They need the answer right now. Yes, the person seeking your help appreciates your knowledge and direction. But have we really helped them to solve these problems themselves with their own teams in the future? Or just keep coming back to you for the answer next time? I’ve heard it before, “I ke