, host of the WorkLife TED podcast, wants us to replace best practices and group brainstorming with mind-opening networks of people unafraid to challenge ideas so we can collaborate inclusively to do our best work. Oh, and we all have to work less.
Grant, who is also a bestselling author and organizational psychologist at the Wharton School of Business, had plenty of insights to share in a lively conversation with Jill Popelka, president of , during a broadcast of this year鈥檚 virtual .
Value Learning Cultures Over Performance Cultures
According to Grant, workplaces that value a traditional performance-based culture are ideal for short-term goal execution but fall short when it comes to innovation. Instead of best practices, he suggested calling them 鈥渂etter practices,鈥� signaling that there is always room for improvement.
鈥淚f you don’t have a learning culture, you end up freezing yourself in time and basically crystallizing the best practices of the past that are no longer relevant to the present or unlikely to help you innovate in the future,鈥� said Grant. 鈥淎 learning culture is one where you’re not so committed to the tried-and-true ways that you’ve always done things that you close your mind to testing, learning, and experimenting with new ways of doing things鈥ne way to get there is to abandon the idea of best practices altogether.鈥�
Build a Network of People Who Challenge You
Expert group support in a learning culture, said Grant, consists of a 鈥渃hallenge network鈥� of people who have the psychological safety to speak up 鈥� even if they don鈥檛 know how to fix a problem. Turn the age-old 鈥渟uggestion box鈥� into a 鈥減roblem box鈥� where people figure out what needs solving and rethink productive directions moving forward.
鈥淵our challenge network is the group of thoughtful critics who you trust to hold up a mirror so you can see your own blind spots more clearly,鈥� he said. 鈥淚’ve gone to some of the most disagreeable givers in my work life鈥nd I’ve told them, 鈥業 know I haven’t always taken your criticism. Sometimes I’ve gotten defensive and other times I have been dismissive, and I regret that because I know I need you to challenge me to think again. So if you ever hesitate because you’re worried about hurting my feelings or hurting our relationship, don’t. The only way you can hurt me is by not telling me the truth.鈥欌��
Working Towards Inclusivity
Anyone who has ever been marginalized at a meeting knows that group brainstorming doesn鈥檛 work. Grant鈥檚 simple workaround is called 鈥渂rainwriting,鈥� which heads off group think and cultivates diversity of thought. While leaders still frame the problem and type of decision that needs to be made, they end up including every voice in the room before making their own opinion known.
鈥淧rompt people in advance to let them generate their own ideas independently,鈥� he said. 鈥淥nce you鈥檝e collected all the ideas, you begin to take advantage of the wisdom of crowds to evaluate and refine鈥eople are more honest with you. They get more engaged and empowered. You also learn more and might have a better opinion at the end of the discussion.鈥�
Take Care of People鈥檚 Emotional and Physical Well-Being
No expert session on work life these days would be complete without addressing employee burnout. Grant had tips to reduce demands on workers, give people more choices, and let them know help is available.
鈥淭ry to lighten the load on people, especially figuring out what their most stressful tasks are and trying to make sure they鈥檙e not overburdened with those,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 always eliminate the demands of their job altogether, but we can give more choices and discretion about how to manage them鈥upport is the biggest part right now鈥e need compassionate leadership that takes action to alleviate other people鈥檚 pain.鈥�
Worker Importance in Hybrid Workplace
When Popelka pointed out that organizations need to balance employee autonomy, cultural cohesion, and workforce productivity, Grant discussed the rising importance of people called 鈥渃ulture carriers.鈥�
鈥淐ulture carriers [are] the people who disproportionately exemplify the values and norms of a team or an organization鈥hey’ve become especially critical in a hybrid world where we can’t all be in the same room at the same time,鈥� he said. 鈥淢ake sure they’re visible in these critical moments where culture is shaped during recruiting and onboarding [and] in all-hands meetings. I want people to see them so that they can watch them in action鈥ear their stories, [and] learn the values and norms by osmosis.鈥�
Fewer Work Hours Boosts Productivity
If Grant could do just one thing to change work for good, it would be to upend the quantity over quality workplace ethic.
鈥淚 would have people work less鈥 know of no evidence that people are more productive in eight unfocused, distracted hours a day than they could be in six highly concentrated hours a day,鈥� he said. 鈥淓xperiments show that if people know they can earn that fifth day off and turn it into a four-day week, they find lots of ways to be more efficient and effective, [and] to work smarter, as well as more creatively.鈥�
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