Have you ever notice that you are actively creative when you are with some people and not so much with others? That certain groups of people seem to bring out your ability come up with more innovative ways to solve problems, while other groups seem to limit this ability.

This is largely due the feeling of being in a safe environment and root cause of “being understood”.

There are 5 key factors that will contribute to an “Unsafe” environment

1.      Subconscious but visible Judgment – have you ever explained something to someone clearly, and when you asked them if they understood, they said “Yes”, but then, they went and did something Completely Different! You then think to yourself… “Arrg, I am surrounded by Idiots” thus judgment is formed, and you treat these people differently… a difference related to Trust that is noticed.

2.      Blame – if you have been blamed, you know the reaction is not related to immediately solving the issue, the first reaction is self-preservation, defence! The more potential for being blamed, the less risk you will take… sometimes to the point of the “Just tell me what to do” syndrome.

3.      Communication barriers – when bureaucracy or management create barriers to expressing ideas, questions, or opinions we feel stuck and unable to fulfil our potential. This affects the sense of security within the environment.

4.      Low Confidence – when we feel we are not valuable, usually due to how we are managed or led, the belief in ourselves may dwindle, which results in following the status quo rather than expanding with new innovations.

5.      Skewed feedback – statistically, positive feedback comes from the achievement of a noticeable action or event that stands out. Negative feedback however can come from minor issues as well as big ones… which means, there is usually a lot more negative feedback than positive.

The common denominator in these 5 elements is the Perceptions of positive or negative ways of doing or approaching things. This is directly related to a genetic foundation of how the brain gets clarity, the brain’s Ambiguity Relief process.

Because it is a genetic process, it cannot change. Because it cannot be changed, it is easier to accept… just as it would be unreasonable to expect someone to change the color of their eyes, knowing that the person will not change is key to creating a synergistic environment that helps to manage expectations and more importantly, set people up for success instead of failure.

Understanding the brain’s Ambiguity Relief process provides insights to a person’s “How”, not why or what, but the specific approach that allows them to get clarity.

 Why is this important?

This is best answered with a question, “Have you ever had a situation where you explain something to someone, you are clear and give the full scope of what needs to be done? Then you clarify if they understand, and they say yes. You are feeling confident that the task will be done as predicted, but then they go and do something completely different?

…but this isn’t the end. Now we have a subconscious judgment about that person! A judgment that affects how we see them and the level of competence we have unconsciously assigned to them. They also feel the gap in trust which affects the working relationship from both sides.

Ambiguity Relief is NOT behavior, it is only Your “HOW”. Which means, that if your behavior is “analytical”, the manner of “how” you analyse to get clarity is your Ambiguity Relief process. And because your “how” has always worked for you, it just seems like common sense. So much so, that if others approach for the same behavior is different, it just seems wrong. For example, someone may analyse in a linier structured manner to get clarity, while others imagine scenarios and various outcomes based on specific trial and error actions as a part of their analysis.

Innovation is not a specific process, it is a behavior, even a mindset, but there is no one way to achieve it. In fact, the Ambiguity Relief process largely defines how we innovate… but no matter the process, we must begin with a safe environment. And an understanding of our Ambiguity Relief process supports trust, respect, and appreciation for each person ‘s How. This reduces judgment allowing teammates to move past who’s “how” is right and focus on solving the problem by leveraging with each other’s strengths!

 

There are four Ambiguity relief processes that affect clarity:

Chaotic Processing (Green Brain)

Must take some kind of action to get clarity and clarity is directly related to the revelations from their actions. They shape and reshape ideas, solutions in the process of acting on issues and get others involved and ask for feedback.

Linear Processing (Red Brain)

Needs Structure to achieve clarity, time to action is dependent on the available structure and the speed at which clarity is achieved. They connect tangible elements with logic, organize information into chunks and cross reference to understand.

Relational Processing (Purple Brain)

Gets clarity by evaluating options, and needs abundant information to get clear options , time to action is contingent upon the extraction of substantial details relating to the issue. All information and experience is related and is reinforced by the amounts of information for each reference.

Intuitive Processing (Blue Brain)

Achieves clarity through reflection and intuitive referencing of past experiences, time to action is swift but regulated by a consistent assimilation of the surroundings and their experience. All information and experience is connected on an emotional level (it must be clarified that there was no specific pattern that showed that subjects were “Emotional”) in relationship to them and their experiences.

Each of these processes have the potential to achieve great results, but in their own specific ways. Innovation stems from a sense of freedom to express yourself and be taken seriously. The issues come from the specific Ambiguity Relief processes expressing and understanding differently… creating frustration with others that can lead to the manifestation of an unsafe environment.

The sense of freedom to approach, express, and implement an idea reduces the emotional risk of being ridiculed or misunderstood and expands the potential to build and create from your brain’s own version of innovation. But more importantly, when you work and innovate together with others who have different processes, the potential for innovation becomes EXPONENTIAL! This is because each Ambiguity Relief process have both strengths and weaknesses, but together, they weave a powerful multi-perspective outcome… IF, they are able to cultivate the respect and understanding to accept each other’s very different approaches.

The easiest way to discover Ambiguity Relief is with the “Colored Brain” tool (www.coloredbrain.com). The online assessment not only identifies and measures the Ambiguity Relief process but connects everyone in the team in a gamified system so each can see how other team members work, who is in their “Danger Zone”. It gives specific tips customized for each person on how to lead, communicate, be productive together, and even build relationships with each other.

This tool is designed to maximize synergy and trust in groups. It supports safe environments where team members can have more fun and feel the freedom to innovate.

But tools will only be as good as the intention and the people who oversee implementation. Follow-up and applying this to real work is where the ROI comes is. While the tool may inform the team and gamify understanding, managers and team leaders still need to reference and guide innovation and use the colored brain “language”. Using the language will reinforce the original findings, feelings, and new found wisdom… leading the entire team to innovation and a new level of respect and communication.

Pre-defined language connects and shows respect while not discounting your own ideas, value, or process. The idea behind Pre-defined communication is that when you have a large set of knowledge related to working with others, an entire concept can be communicated with specific words or phrases that draw a much bigger meaning from that set of knowledge that all people in the conversation are familiar with.

An example of Pre-defined “Colored Brain” language would be: “You are so Green! Remember I am Purple”

This sounds and “feels” much better than: “I need more details and you are not providing them, can you just stop and focus for a moment!”

Because you both have the Colored Brain awareness, what you are saying in essence with Pre-defined communication is: “I understand and accept that you have a genetic Chaotic process of getting clarity which does not lend itself to being very detailed… and I would like to remind you that I have a relational process that requires lots of detail. So, let’s find a compromise to work on this together.”

Other examples of Colored Brain pre-defined communication may be:

“My Red Brain is working overtime… need to get clear on this first”

“Don’t mind me, I’m just doing the Green Brain thing”

“I need to get my Blue team members to help me with this one”

Ultimately, respect supports trust and trust supports innovation ++… and problems are solved