Harnessing Dynergy: Turning Diverse Views into a Year-End Strength for High-Performing Teams
There is a new word in town being used to describe the energy that can be harnessed by leaders when they fully leverage the unique, diverse, contradictory experiences and ideas of their teams to create solutions that are able to push boundaries and drive innovation; ‘Dynergy’. The rapidly changing world we are living in demands that we challenge conventional thinking in order to spark fresh ideas and approach problems from multiple angles. As in nature, If we can’t, or won’t adapt to our changing environment, we risk being left behind by those organisations who can or will!
So how exactly can leaders create more ‘Dynergy’ within their teams or organisations? We have put together this check list, but would love to hear your thoughts too!
1. Purposefully promote diversity – intentionally bring a deliberately diverse team or group together to work on a challenge or opportunity; involve different levels and types of expertise, skill, age, background, personality types – consider bringing people in from other parts of the organisation if needed
2. Create TRUE psychological safety – in order to really leverage dynergy, leaders need to go the extra mile to create an environment where everyone is encouraged to share their ideas without fear of judgement, especially if you have a mix of ages and seniorities in a room together. Have a ‘no wrong zone’ to stimulate creativity and encourage unique viewpoints’
3. Role model awareness of unconscious bias by openly using a check list to see if any of the usual suspects is playing a part during a discussion or brainstorm. Remind yourself of the key biases: Affinity Bias, Confirmation Bias, Attribution Bias, Halo/Horns Bias, Anchoring Bias, Gender/Age/Race/Name/Appearance Bias
4. Rotate leadership roles – different members taking the leadership role can helpfully influence the dynamic of the team or group and foster a shared sense of ownership and accountability
5. Use structured problem-solving techniques such as ‘six thinking hats’ or ‘design thinking’ to encourage teams to view challenges though different lenses
Many of us have got to where we have in life by being an expert, and by being able to solve problems and find solutions on our own, or with limited involvement from others. So, for some of us, this will require a degree of ‘un-learning’ and ‘un-wiring’, which might feel a bit uncomfortable at first. Be assured though, that on the other side of this discomfort, there exists a more liberating, empowered, exciting alternative, an alternative that results in high performance leaders and teams who are better equipped to handle uncertainty and complexity, and ultimately drive sustainable growth.
To start building more Dynergy within your team, try implementing these strategies and watch how diverse perspectives can transform your approach to problem-solving and innovation.
Contact us to learn more about creating high-performing, adaptable teams or share your own experiences with harnessing Dynergy – we’d love to hear from you!
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