FireFly Facilitation

How many species of fireflies would you guess there are in the world? 10? 50? 100?
Would you believe that in the United States alone there are 170 species of fireflies? More than 2,000 species inhabit the globe! Who knew a seemingly simple insect could display so much variety? And yet, how much more complex and unique are each one of us? How much greater is our capacity to shine brilliantly as one-of-a-kind human beings?

I do not imagine biologists could have discovered 2,000 species of fireflies without careful observation and close study of their differences. Likewise, one glance won’t clue you into the unique gifts inside of those around you. It will take time to learn what makes them tick and where they fit best on the team. However, if you’re observant, I guarantee you will be amazed by, and tremendously thankful for, the richness of diversity you’ll find.

Each November, do retailers decorate for Christmas earlier than they did the previous year? I almost feel like the malls and storefronts have forgotten all about Thanksgiving! Sadly, our treatment of the holidays seems to symbolize our approach to life—we rush toward the future without pausing to be grateful for today.

This Thanksgiving, slow down and show appreciation for the diverse talent on your team. Celebrate the unique contribution each person makes to the group. The more you discover, affirm, and combine individual strengths then the stronger your team will grow. After all, can you imagine how hopelessly unproductive your organization would be if every person had identical skill sets?

As you cast shared vision and build a common culture, be careful not to force everyone into the same mold. Your goal is to bring people together, not to make them the same. However, to fully encourage the uniqueness of your teammates, you must be able to see each person’s individual giftedness.

When an organization harnesses the power of common purpose, a wealth of positive energy is unleashed. Synergies develop, excitement grows, and momentum builds. Tensions also tend to melt away in light of mutually held goals.

Sadly, an alarming number of companies miss out on the benefits of a shared vision. Instead, they flounder because their leaders fail to join together in a common purpose. Suffering from misalignment, these organizations waste precious energy and are held back from realizing their full potential.

To enlist others in a common purpose, leaders must emphasize two essentials: 1) unity, and 2) clarity. If either is missing, the consequences can be disastrous. To illustrate, let’s look at three childhood pastimes.

1. Tug-of-War

Due to the silos within many businesses, leaders develop separate visions. Although each vision may be clear, there’s no unity or singleness of purpose. Like a game of tug-of-war, competing visions pull the organization in opposite directions. Divided from within, the organization squanders its energy on internal squabbles rather than focusing its attention on customers.

2. Twister

When an organization has unity but lacks clarity, the result looks like a game of Twister. Everyone works at cross-purposes and the organization ends up as a tangled and jumbled mess. Without a clear purpose, chaos and confusion reign supreme. Lacking direction, people get in each other’s way and wind up frustrated.

3. Catching Fireflies

When a group of kids decide to hunt fireflies, they have no trouble unifying around a clear vision. The goal? Catch as many as you can. The children don’t have lengthy arguments over the best-sized jar to use, nor do they agonize over which net has the greatest firefly-trapping potential. They’re so excited and energized to capture fireflies that they will make the best of whichever supplies are available.

Summary

When an organization enjoys a common purpose, tremendous energy is present to propel it forward. However, absent of clarity or unity, companies squander their energy by infighting or running down uncertain paths. The responsibility rests with leaders to paint a clear picture of success and to make sure all parties agree with the organization’s vision for the future.

If you’re at all familiar with the world of Winnie the Pooh, then you recognize Eeyore. He’s the dull, gray donkey who drains the life out of everyone around him with his negativity. He shuffles along slowly and lethargically, usually with his head down. Eeyore is such a stubborn pessimist that nothing seems to excite him or to make him smile. Quite literally, he’s a jackass.

Unfortunately, Eeyore-like behavior isn’t uncommon in the office. Joseph Folkman and Jack Zenger list “lack energy and enthusiasm” at the top of their list of Ten Fatal Flaws That Derail Leaders¹. Their list doesn’t come from speculation, either. Folkman and Zenger reached their conclusions after methodically researching the 360° feedback of thousands of underperforming leaders.

Bringing Back the Fun

Other than sleeping more and upping caffeine intake, what can be done to enliven a listless leader? I’d like to suggest that, done well, the strategic planning process has potential to infuse life into a wearied leader or team. By forcing everyone to consider what is and is not important, strategic planning focuses energy and enthusiasm on those aspects of business that make the greatest difference and drive the business results.

We move from stress to distress when we can’t connect our activity to meaning. We’re easily overwhelmed by the tasks in front of us when there’s not clear strategy to help us prioritize our work or identify success. Strategic planning cuts through the clutter, and attunes us to the reason we go to work every day. By giving us a sense of purpose, strategic planning helps us to find fulfillment (and even fun!) in the workplace.

¹Folkman, Joseph and Zenger, Jack. “Ten Fatal Flaws That Derail Leaders.” Harvard Business Review. June 2009.

When facilitating a problem-solving session, I enjoy a lively debate in which everybody is participating and ideas are flowing spontaneously from everyone in attendance. However, sometimes meetings don’t start out with a bang. When you’re trying to open up dialog, a wall of silence isn’t exactly an encouraging welcome. What happens if no one ventures forth input? How do you spark conversation when those in the room seem fearful to speak?

One tool I use is brainwriting. This process taps into the unique perspective of each person and encourages them to build upon the ideas of others. The anonymity of the exercise along with its emphasis on stretching ideas further and further increases the odds of coming up with . . . well, odd and potentially novel solutions.

Let me walk you through how this exercise works, and you will see what I mean:

1. Give each member of the problem-solving team—ideally, four to six people—a blank sheet of paper.
2. On the top of the page, have them write an agreed upon problem statement. Then, ask them to draw vertical lines to separate the sheet of paper into three columns.
3. Set a timer for two minutes. Each participant should brainstorm three solutions, writing one in each column.
4. After the buzzer sounds, ask each person to draw a horizontal line under their solutions across the entire page. Then have them pass the sheet of paper to their left.
5. Now, set the timer for three minutes. Have the participants add to or build upon the existing suggestions by writing their own ideas underneath the original solutions.
6. At the end of three minutes, the papers should again be passed to the left. The process should be repeated as many times as there are people around the table. During each round, allow slightly more time since the addition of ideas makes it harder to think up new solutions.
7. When you’ve finished going around the table, post the sheets of paper on the wall so that each person can read the ideas. Ask them to write their initials beside the ones they think are most likely to solve the original problem. Better yet, see if they can combine ideas from one or more pages to generate an exponentially better idea.

I’ve found brainwriting to be ideal when people are afraid to voice their ideas or when one person is dominating the discussion. Brainwriting jumpstarts the flow of ideas and invites everyone into the problem-solving process. The resulting ideas are collaborative and creative—often leading directly to successful solutions.