The power of the New Guy
Comparing data schemas of various work groups (silos) can be a snoozefest. Surprisingly, though, team members were energized as they dug into the details. They began to tackle intractable, entrenched issues long considered unsolvable. The silos that separated them melted. Their thinking changed; their language changed. They were out of the box. As our goal came into reach, they exhibited the arrogance to consider new, bolder solutions and leap over remaining obstacles.
It was exciting!
Their ability to make this shift was due to a lucky coincidence: the New Guy.
A new hire assigned to our team had a lot of questions. Because he was new, the rest of the team was patient and treated him without defensiveness as he climbed a steep learning curve to catch up.
New Guy had the advantage of not being in the box and consequently helped everyone else get out of the box. In teaching New Guy, each person had to explain, in detail, how data flowed within his or her silo.
As each group explained and diagrammed, the members began to see the shortcomings of their processes and then offered suggestions for streamlining. Team members listened intently, often for the first time, to the processes of other silos. New Guy asked the dumb questions that needed to be asked because he was legitimately ignorant, but the information that surfaced enlightened and connected us all.
While energizing, our meetings weren’t always harmonious. Discussion and disagreement spawned new insights and ideas. People were awake, alert, and aware. Their attention shifted from personality or silo to the entire data system. This caused huge leaps in thinking. The team was no longer improving how data was processed within each silo. They were considering how data flowed from silo to silo and from field to field; from surveyors into the GIS, from the resident engineer to the Engineering Record Center archive.
Each team member was invested in developing a deep understanding of the entire work flow. It was geeky.
This is when I usually start to worry about scope creep (or hope creep, as in “I hope you’ll fix my problems, too”). But team members had a firm grasp on their goals.
This was, again, due to New Guy. He had an unerring ability to intuitively name dead-end discussions and segue the group back to the main topic so we didn’t get bogged down and lose momentum. Inexplicably, the group let him do this. (I think they were enjoying the momentum, too.) Here are some terms New Guy used to keep us on track:
- 80/20 Rule. Losing the “only what you need” Zen focus by trying to solve everything.
- Black Swan. A possible, but highly improbable, event.
- Borrowing Trouble. Trying to solve problems without enough information or authority.
- Catch 22 or Mobius Strip. Proposed direction presents an endless loop of indecision.
- Might and Maybe. Group considers endless scenarios and can’t make a decision.
- One-Off. Problem is rare; it will be handled interactively if and when it occurs.
- Outside Expert. Problem requires an outside expert, so group needs to move on. The expert must attend or be consulted for the next meeting.
Next page: Managing defensiveness, Gather supporting data
