Boardroom discussions going around in circles? Dominant personalities talking over others? Time consuming meetings with insufficient output?
The Thinking Environment approach to chairing and participating in meetings addresses many of the destructive boardroom behaviours that have contributed to our corporate failures. It is a simple and effective approach which enables all participants to access and share their high-quality thinking. After years of observation, Nancy Kline has brought together ten behaviours which seem to help the most. They are called The Ten Components of a Thinking Environment ®.
When Incisive Questions™ are combined with the other nine components of the Thinking Environment the quality of the thinking is remarkable and it produces excellent practical results from people’s time together. There is art and skill in the ability to construct an Incisive Question, which brings untrue limiting assumptions to the surface. The idea that a good question is a superpower for a leader is not a new one. Incisive Questions enable a breakthrough to independent thinking that efficiently and effectively address the issue.
Our ability to craft and think through questions, which incise limiting assumptions is profoundly impacted by how we relate to one another, and the quality of our listening is paramount. This is the first part of a four-part series and I will outline three of the components of the Thinking Environment in each part over the next three weeks. Next week the focus will be on Attention, Equality and Appreciation.