Stepping into Design Thinking: It's more then just a series of steps

I have facilitated many workshops over the years, and at the heart of every one was human-centred design. So recently, when a client requested a session using Design Thinking, I thought it was a good time to refresh myself with the steps and processes involved. Part of my refresher course included taking an actual course through Coursera called “Design Thinking for Innovation” a MOOC certification program offered by the University of Virginia.

Both the course and the book are highly recommended.

While learning about the methodology of, tools for, and actual steps involved with Design Thinking is important, what is often overlooked, and yet equally as important, is the “mindset(s)” of the participants. Our mindset shapes how we interpret and respond to daily experiences in the world, particularly challenges and experiences of adversity. What decides whether we succeed or fail is indeed whether or not our mind or “mindset” is prepared. A prepared “mindset” is one ready to face adversity and challenges not because something is familiar, but because we are confident in our abilities and ready for the unknown. It can be said that we have a “learning mindset”. Therefore, in order to participate successfully in the exercise of Design Thinking, we must prepare our mind by embracing a “mindset” for the unexpected, the new, to be ready for innovation, to be in a learning mode.

Conversely, an unprepared mindset is one of rigid expectation which can result in participants focussing on the wrong things. At the heart of an unprepared mindset is fear – the fear of failure. Here is what an unprepared mindset can look like:

To bring conscious awareness of the mindsets we typically hold, and to get participants primed for innovation, our design team developed the following “Five Mindsets for Innovation” for our Design Thinking workshop:

Our “Five Mindsets” were developed by borrowing from Carol Dweck’s work on Fixed and Growth Mindsets and from the world of Improvisation.

The workshop was a resounding success most notably because of the innovative solutions that resulted, but also because I heard participants quoting some of the mindset tag-lines such as “Yes and..” and “Progress over perfection” as they worked together. I had not expected that this would have the impact it did. The prepared mindsets collectively created a unified team which enabled the participants to be both highly productive and innovative at the same time. Without prepared mindsets, I think the workshop would not have resulted in such innovation, nor would it have been as efficient, effective, and enjoyable for participants.

Einstein was right...

Design thinking tools like Mind Mapping, Journey Mapping, Brainstorming or Rapid Prototyping along with the right mindsets, create fertile ground for innovation that is both data-driven and human-centred. For more ideas about design thinking mindsets, check out these from IDEO, Stanford d.school, and PDMA here.

If you'd like to learn more about how Design Thinking or other human-centred design techniques like World Café or Open Space Technology can benefit your organization, please reach out. I love this stuff and am happy to share!

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I am passionate about all things that put humans in the centre of what it is we are trying to create.

If you'd like to learn more, I invite you to visit our website.