Empathetic Provocation: The Power of Diverse Perspectives

How do you design a team culture where people take risks and try new things out? How can leaders foster empathy for team members and, at the same time, encourage them to challenge each other’s ideas? How can you push the boundaries of what’s possible as a group??

I’ve previously written about the importance of psychological safety, or creating a team climate of mutual respect. It’s about providing your team with the space to speak their minds and explore new ideas without judgment.?

Without psychological safety, people check out. Imagination shuts down. As Howard Esbin, CEO of All-Star Teams, reminds us, “When we don’t speak up, it’s mainly due to fear of failure, ridicule, and embarrassment. This Is a great barrier to productivity, creativity and well-being.”

Psychological safety matters for a number of reasons:?

• Employee wellbeing: Imagination workers (people like you and me) need an atmosphere of psychological safety in order to feel good about themselves and their work.?
• Improved results: Teams reach their goals and deadlines better when there is an atmosphere of mutual respect.?
• Promotes imagination: Groups are able to play freely and push their collective imaginations to the limit when there is a safe environment.

Truth is, psychological safety is a prerequisite for innovation.?

Amy Edmonson, author of Teaming, has done some of the best work on psychological safety and on teamwork in general. She reminds us of the hard work involved in creating safe work environments: “Although it sounds simple, the ability to seek help and tolerate mistakes while colleagues watch can be unexpectedly difficult.”?

I also highly recommend Alla Weinberg’s book on the topic, A Culture of Safety, for more. She shows that psychological safety has physiological consequences: our brains and bodies literally shut down when fear is in the air.?

Once established, psychological safety remains fragile: it builds slowly, yet breaks down quickly. A single incident can undermine progress towards a healthy climate. Leaders and coworkers alike need to actively overcome a natural tendency to remain silent.?

Psychological safety can grow naturally but can also be cultivated. It’s a social construct you address openly, for example by discussing these questions together as a team:?

• What can we count on each other for?
• What is our team's purpose?
• What is the reputation we aspire to have?
• What do we need to do differently to achieve that reputation and fulfill our purpose?

Respectfully Disagreeing

But psychological safety isn’t just about consensus and harmony within the team. On the contrary, it’s psychological safety that enables team members to challenge each other. It’s the diversity of perspectives and opinions that fuels creative ideas, not consensus.

I call this empathetic provocation, or the ability of teammates to challenge each other in a respectful way.?

In other words, having empathy for your team isn’t just about harmony or having a warm, fuzzy feeling. Instead, high-performing teams are constantly questioning each other, not only saying “yes, and,” but also asking provokingly “what if?” and “why not?”

Teams can actively encourage people to raise objections and respectfully disagree. Here are a few questions for your team to reflect on:?

• How do we seek out diverse perspectives from the team?
• How do we make compromises that serve the best interest of the team and organization?
• What is our decision-making process??
• What rituals and habits can we use to balance competing viewpoints??

A social contract explicitly documents your team’s agreement on these and other questions. It’s literally a contract for empathic provocation and the rules of engagement. Innovation needs diverse perspectives, even when contrary.

Note that empathetic provocation resembles Kim Scotts notion of “radical candor.” Subtitled “Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity,” Scott’s book (Radical Candor) is more about leading teams than teamwork. Still, the core idea of “empathetic provocation” is reflected in her work as well: trust, connection, and psychological safety, while being honest at the same time--brutally honest, if needed.?

Like other factors in modern organizations, it’s about balance. Too much unquestioned consensus, and you’ll lack diversity of ideas; too much provocation and you’ll get a culture of fear. Ambidextrous leaders are able to keep both sides in check at the same time.?

Where do your teams fall on the spectrum?