The New Corner Office: Believing and doubting

How teams can refine their ideas

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the New Corner Office,
the podcast where we share strategies for thriving in the
new world of work or location, and ours are more
flexible than in the past. Today's tip is about one
way to identify and refine your team's best ideas, play

(00:26):
Believing and Doubting. Believing and doubting keeps us open to
a range of ideas and enables us to identify shortcomings
we should address. The Believing and doubting game comes from
Peter Elbow's book Writing Without Teachers. The book aims to
help people strengthen their writing, and as with so many
writing strategies, these strategies can help our thinking too. Here's

(00:49):
how it works. The doubting part is probably familiar. It's
just critical thinking. The doubting game, Elbow explains, seeks truth
by indirection seeking error. When we play the doubting game,
we identify shortcomings or blind spots in an argument or plan.
This is valuable for appointing us toward ways to improve it.

(01:10):
In the believing game, on the other hand, we choose
not to hunt for problems. Instead, according to Elbow, we
are trying to find not errors, but truths. He suggests,
thinking of the believing game is trying to get inside
the head of someone who saw things this way. Why
does the person really like and believe in this proposition?
By playing the believing game, we deepen our understanding of

(01:32):
other people's ideas. By doing this with multiple ideas, we
identify what's most attractive and useful, so you can stick
with the ideas we love the most. So when your
team is trying to find the best way forward, whether
that's how to approach a marketing campaign, how to pitch
work to a client, or how to solve a problem
with the service you offer, try playing believing and doubting. First.

(01:55):
Capture all the ideas people have shared, and work as
a group to really believe in each of them. What
works about them? How do other things fall into place
or make more sense in light of this idea. Take
your time with each idea, really getting inside it. Notice
which ones you find compelling. Your focus is not on
eliminating ideas, but on finding the ones you love the most.

(02:17):
And once you have an idea you're excited about, then
try playing the doubting game looking for errors. Notice any
limitations or weaknesses in the idea. Any blind spots. If
this idea didn't work out in the way you hope,
what would be the reason? Can you find ways to
address these issues? You can play believing and Doubting with
a single idea too. It's a great way to consider

(02:38):
whether or not to go with a proposal and how
to strengthen it. First, believe the idea, recognize its insights
and benefits. How could this go really well? Then doubt
how could this go badly? After believing and doubting? Does
the proposal seem attractive? If so, how can you improve it?

(02:59):
One reason I like us approach is that the believing
and doubting game helps create an open culture where people
are willing to share their ideas because they know that
their colleagues will try to love their suggestions rather than
just shooting them down. The believing game helps us be
receptive to a wider range of ideas, to including ones
that are bold or unexpected. Then the doubting helps us

(03:20):
refine ideas no matter who proposed them. The more you
play this game, the more you normalize feedback. People become
more comfortable with pointing out possible issues. Because doubting isn't
being critical, it's just part of the process, and it
lets us make good ideas better. Likewise, treating doubting as
a game depersonalized as critiques so people are less likely

(03:42):
to feel hurt. The whole process is not about an
idea winning or losing, but rather about deeply appreciating ideas
and honestly critiquing them all in the interest of making
them better. And who doesn't want better ideas? In the meantime,
this is low us. Thanks for listening, and here's the
succeeding in the New Corner Office. The New Corner Office

(04:10):
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