Vol. 2 #5
The dangers of an echo chamber in team dynamics—innovation thrives on diverse perspectives, not unanimous agreement.
Innovation is crucial in today’s high-speed banking sector. It does not really fare well in an echo chamber. It’s probably a case of shuffling ideas when a team contains people thinking similarly, recombining ideas—resshelving ideas. Particularly in core banking, where customer needs and technological landscapes are churning fast, diversity is very critical.
Anecdote: This was witnessed in a project where the lack of diversity in thoughts among the team members yielded an answer to the problem that, in the best-case scenario, was jaded. Despite the most brilliant of members, a homogeneous pool of members from a similar background and experience simply had everyone approach the problem from the same angle, which actually minimized their ability to innovate.
Antidote: Encouraging Diversity of Thought
This begins with proactively pursuing team members with varied racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. The goal should not merely be the fulfilment of quotas but correct team outfitting that will challenge status quo positions and move them to think differently.
With a diverse team, the important thing becomes creating a culture in which somebody can actually question and debate the idea, but it won’t feel combative. You’d better be encouraging them to challenge each other’s ideas, attacking from all around the problems to innovate that much more.
It is only those techniques in brainstorming that allow exceptional contributions—such as silent brainstorming or mind mapping really powerful. In all these techniques, each one in the group could give an idea without getting influenced by those loud-mouths in the room.
Identify and reward innovation. When man comes to know that his exceptional ideas are being rewarded and recognized, he would always be willing to think out of the box.
Probably the most creative solutions within core banking are given by those teams who are ready to embrace pluralistic thinking and challenge each other. People from different backgrounds come together, challenge one another, and establish an atmosphere conducive to creativity and innovation. This set of thinking diversity becomes so important in the ever-changing world of core banking, not only to outdo competitors but also to meet the shifting expectations of customers who now seek tailored and sophisticated solutions for banking.
Found this article interesting? Check out these three related reads for more.
- Corporate candor: Overcoming silence in meetings to address underlying disagreements (A new series)
- Corporate candor: Risks of optimistic timelines in project execution (A new series)
- Corporate Candor: Risk management in core banking projects (A New Series)
#CoreBankingTransformation #InnovationChallenges
