I think all of us have tried-and-true ways of doing things and are often hesitant to change them. When someone new to the organization suggests a different approach, the response is often, “That’s the way we’ve always done it.”

I am not condemning having processes in place or specific ways of doing things, but I think during these challenging times with high fuel prices, personnel shortages, and economic pressures, it makes sense for all of us to step out of our comfort zones and try something new. It does not necessarily have to be some sweeping change; it can be something on a smaller scale.

I tried an experiment a month ago during a leadership workshop. For some of the sessions, I assigned discussion catalysts, people who were tasked with getting a discussion started following a presentation. Speakers spent a lot of time, energy, and effort on their presentation, and it is disheartening when, at the end of the presentation, no one asks any questions.

I selected people who I knew had something to say or who, by default, should have a question on a particular topic. I coached them to act like it was their first day in a new role or at a new company and assume they knew next to nothing about the topic that was just presented. I told them to spend time thinking about what questions they might have if they, in fact, were new to the job and then to select two of those questions to ask following the presentation. I wanted them to bring a beginner’s mind to the situation. If you are not familiar with the concept of the beginner’s mind, I talked about that concept in an earlier blog.

Things worked out better than I anticipated. After one of my discussion catalysts asked a question, someone else in the audience asked a question or made a comment, and a lively conversation ensued.

No one likes to be the first person to ask a question, and yet it is very likely that someone in the audience did not understand something a speaker said or has something that can be added to the topic being discussed. By assigning people to get the conversation started, we surfaced new ways of doing things and also ensured that people fully understood the concepts and ideas that had been in the presentations.

This is just one instance of how moving away from business as usual can pay big dividends. I suggest you try this technique at your next meeting because you have nothing to lose and a lot to gain.