Amplify Hidden Voices
Loud noises
Are easy to hear
Just as the obvious
Is plain to see
The future
Is found in the whispers
Listen carefully
Before the volume becomes
Deafening…
The answer is obvious.
When the answer seems obvious to you, it can be a signal that you have indeed arrived at the best solution. It can also signal that you are simply blind to greater possibilities. New possibilities that exist beyond the boundaries of your personal perspective and lived experiences. Which you have no way of knowing, without exploring further.
This is an important dynamic in life. The tension between the status quo and innovation. Often the phrase status quo is used to imply an existing state of affairs that has stagnated, risking becoming irrelevant. Needing to be challenged and improved. However our lives depend on the majority of our decisions being made following predetermined patterns – following along with the status quo.
From putting the milk back in the fridge to stopping for red lights, we go along with the status quo for very sound reasons. However our ability to mindlessly follow along with the rules also diminishes our ability to mindfully question existing conventions.
This dynamic also exists in meetings and discussions, where groups fall into predictable patterns of behaviour. With the leaders and other dominant personalities doing most of the talking, while quieter more introverted members of the group do more of the listening. Overlooking the fact that given their ability to listen and reflect more deeply, often less vocal people have greater insight that other more extroverted personalities miss.
Which then becomes an important example of a status quo that should be challenged.
It is critical to also keep top-of-mind that more vocal contributors frequently are not reflective of the diversity of opinions across the group. So when facilitating meetings apply a range of techniques to amplify diverse ideas from across the group. Ask questions of the wider team to help shift the imbalance.
Remember that inevitably our personal experiences also create unconscious bias. Otherwise regardless of what people share with us, the risk is we might not hear it.
So listen carefully. To what you can not hear.
Then amplify.
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