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08 / 30

Differences that change a conversation

And suddenly no one has ideas

Protecting quality and making initiative safe

Anna wants to protect quality. The team learns that saying nothing is safer.

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Olek enthusiastically presents a risky idea to the team.
I have a bold idea. I haven’t calculated everything yet.
Anna rejects Olek’s idea harshly in front of everyone.
No. It’s underdeveloped and irresponsible. How could you bring us an idea like that?
At the next meeting the team stays silent and avoids Anna’s gaze. THE NEXT MEETING
Do you have any ideas?
Anna tells Samuel that the team lacks initiative.
Nobody proposes anything. No initiative at all.
What happens when someone brings up a weak idea in front of you?
Anna returns and separates criticism of risk from criticism of a person.
This idea has risks. Let’s examine them together. Bringing it up was useful.
Em, the Empatyzer coach
Anna wants to protect quality, so she rejects Olek’s idea harshly and in public. The team sees that an unfinished proposal can end in humiliation and chooses silence. What Anna reads as a lack of initiative is a response to the way she previously reacted to initiative. Ideas can be tested rigorously without judging the person who raised them.