So Where’s Your Pie?
No one likes to work with someone who is consistently critical of the ideas of others but never seems to put their own ideas on the table for consideration.
Think of sharing an idea in a collaborative situation as entering a pie into a pie contest.
We have all been on the receiving end of an exchange that went something like this:
You: “Okay, here’s the pie I made. What do you think?”
Colleague: “I think your pie kind of sucks.”
You: “No worries. Let me try your pie. I might even agree that yours is better!”
Colleague: “Oh, I didn’t make a pie. I just need you to know that I think your pie sucks.”
When we propose something new or try to make change happen in any collaborative situation, we immediately open ourselves up to criticism. This is to be expected.
The problem arises when people regularly dismiss the ideas of others without ever making themselves vulnerable through offering up their own ideas for potential criticism.
Building a healthy and sustainable culture in any collaborative situation is a three-step process:
Everyone contributes ideas
Everyone’s ideas are challenged
Everyone challenges the ideas of others
In my experience, nothing saps the energy out of a collaboration faster than someone who spends the vast majority of their time on number three without also consistently contributing to the first two.
So where’s your pie?
"Apple raspberry pie" by Caitlin Regan is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
