‘Setting the Stage’ – Practice 1 to avoid the ‘Authority Trap’.
In the last blog, I spoke of 4 practices that would assist with avoiding the ‘authority trap’. ‘Setting the Stage’ (or create a ‘holding space’) will be the focus of this post. This is in essence about establishing the conditions so your team can purposefully and expansively problem-solve and ideate when faced with a complex challenge, thereby matching the mood with the challenge being faced.
Professor Amy Edmondson (the authority on psychological safety) uses the term ‘Setting the Stage’ to describe an important first step in establishing psychological safety – it is a step that we frequently under-play or even forget and without which we can fall straight into the ‘authority trap’. Our diaries are typically back-to-back with meetings with little time to reflect in between. We rush from meeting to meeting, carrying our mind-set with us and we assume that everyone will be up to speed and know intuitively how they can best contribute?
What if we stepped back before important meetings to reflect on the conditions we want to create to get the best out of the conversation?
This is called ‘setting the stage’. The dynamics of a successful meeting will vary hugely depending on whether we are for example dealing with a technical issue with clear actions requiring immediate attention or a complex one, potentially also urgent, but which requires expansive thinking. If we are not intentional about ‘setting the stage’, there is a risk that we bring an authoritative mind-set into a meeting which would be better served by creating the conditions for exploration and perspective-taking.
If we were to intentionally ‘set the stage’, we would reflect on:
- Purpose: what we are here for?
- Context: what is important to bring people up to speed on?
- Uncertainty and Interdependencies: What are the unknowns and dependencies we need to watch out for?
- Expectations: what expectations have I of those attending the meeting in relation to this topic? Clarity is important so we are not asking people to read between the lines.
- Clarification of roles: how can we best engage with each other in order to achieve our purpose? It is key to remember here that in navigating complexity hearing different perspectives is really important. For those who think their views may not be welcome, how do we best invite them in (more on that next time)?
‘Setting the Stage’ is not rocket-science, but it does take some time. Being willing to listen to unusual voices is a key part of leading through complexity so watch out for the ‘authority trap’ as this will shut these voices down!
When you think about the next important, complex meeting you have coming up, is it possible to carve out some time beforehand to reflect on the questions above?
Also, can you take a moment in the meeting a notice the mood – yours and others? Does the mood match the nature of the challenge?
Treat this as an experiment, it’s not about success or failure, but learning. What did you notice that worked or didn’t?
The next practice I will explore is one of my favourite ones – curiosity. Is there anything you are curious about as you read this? Feel free to email me.
With best wishes, Eadine
Amplifying leadership and team impact through psychological safety and adaptive leadership.
Eadine is the founder of Resonate Leadership. She is certified in the Fearless Organisation Scan, the LEGO® Serious Play® method and she is a certified Leadership Agility® Coach . We create spaces for navigating change and complexity resulting in growth, learning, innovation and problem-solving.
If your organisation is navigating complexity do reach out for a complimentary conversation – if you don’t know where to start, that’s ok, we can start with curiosity.
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