Invite Curiosity

This image is one of Roger Price’s “Droodles." Any guesses on what he was drawing in the one below?

I pepper these fun little drawings into some of my workshops on attaining organizational goals through improved workplace culture. Shouting out a guess is a pretty low stakes way to get folks participating, and they come up with a lot of clever (often humorous!) ideas. The point I make in sharing the Droodles is that there can be as many interpretations to a situation as there are people involved. In this case, one person sees a sun, another a tree, etc.(neither of which is what Price drew, btw -- see comments for his description), and often we can understand where another is coming from, even if it wasn’t our initial perspective.

That same dynamic plays out at work all the time. The variety of experiences and perspectives among colleagues is an incredible resource IF we make space for it. Cultures that discourage dissent or difference tend to stagnate; those that invite respectful curiosity and idea-sharing tend to innovate.

Lead in a way that lets people see (and share!) their version of the picture.