Team Building in a Parallel Universe

Dr Edward de Bono invented lateral thinking. I know this because the Oxford English Dictionary says so and because he told me. Quite a few years ago now I had the good fortune to be trained by him as I became an accredited trainer in his Six Thinking Hats technique. I found him to be a convivial man with an aura of genius. The training sessions were delivered in his own, unique style and completely riveting, littered with examples of how his work has been used across the world. His understanding of how the human brain works is second to none and his techniques - even the crazy sounding ones - just work.

"Six Hats", as it is affectionately called by those in the know, is a great technique for organising individual and, more usefully, team thinking processes. I do not plan to go into any detail on the technique itself in this article, though I may well get around to another that does in the near future. But there is one aspect of the technique that I will dwell on here. Six Hats is an example of an important concept that the good doctor calls "Parallel Thinking". In a nutshell, parallel thinking for teams is about giving a structured focus to the different aspects of an issue under discussion.

Without such a technique, most team meetings pay more than passing respect to the law of the jungle. He or she who speaks loudest carries the day. People go into meetings with their own fixed agendae (ah, the benefits of a classical education). Person A wants to tackle the issue this way; person B has a totally different option in mind. Ne'er the twain shall meet, arguments ensue and the meeting goes round in circles. Sound familiar?

Parallel thinking is about aligning the thinking processes of everyone in the meeting. Instead of person A being positive about his or her idea at the same time as person B is being negative about it, everyone is asked to tackle the issue from the same direction at the same time. In the simplest terms, both persons A and B are asked to think positively about each idea in turn and then think negatively about each idea in turn. In this way, we get each person to find the good in each idea and the bad in each idea. The process isn't guaranteed to make one of them change their mind, but it is guaranteed to get more out of each idea and to restrict any disagreement until both ideas are fully explored.

My company uses the technique both internally and, where appropriate, within team building sessions with our clients. An important ingredient in any team building activity is its ability to offer insights into team processes, hopefully enabling teams to take back improvements that make them more effective in the workplace. Even our belly laughter generating ones offer such insights, but we have more than a few that really focus on this as a key ingredient of the session. Observing teams tackling such exercises often shows up a lack of structure in the way that they go about dealing with challenging situations. Their processes are exposed to be somewhat flawed and, from time to time, even detrimental to team spirit. At such times we can be asked for ideas on how to improve. And guess what we offer up by way of a suggestion?

Parallel thinking is a great way of harnessing all that is good within a team and it helps keeps conflict to the constructive kind. Six Hats isn't the only option for taking team building into a parallel universe, but it is a tried and tested one with an impressive following and a fantastic pedigree. It's a universe worth exploring.

The author's company, Sandstone Limited, are team building specialists with a range of unique activities. Their activities are so different that they have attracted partners around the world who deliver them to Sandstone's exacting standards. They even have one that is delivered completely over the web.

Their client list is impressive and their references impeccable. You can call Sandstone on 01158 715690 for an informal chat that will help you choose the best activity for your team building requirement.