Global DE&I and culture strategist and founder of UNSILOED. I help leading-edge organizations Work Better Together.
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Most creatives know innovation is not its best as a solo endeavor; we can go further when we receive feedback, collaborate, problem-solve and get diverse perspectives.
There may be a natural inclination to capitalize on creativity by organizing a group brainstorm. However, when leaders put together the brightest and best, they often underestimate the work it takes to bring about the synergy for ideas to emerge and be nurtured into innovation.
A famed example of successful and consistent innovation is Disney’s Pixar Braintrust—a working group of creatives who implement a unique, feedback-focused system developed to analyze and improve Pixar’s films during the creation process.
While this meeting is now celebrated as a birthplace of magical innovation resulting in timeless classics like Finding Nemo to blockbusters like Brave, the real lesson is in the journey there.
Gather motivated leadership.
Before a team can engage in transformation, the leader must not only be motivated to change but own that commitment and intentionally engage in the process.
The interesting thing about the Braintrust is that it was an organic product of innovation. They happened upon it because of their commitment to working effectively together as a creative team. From its inception until today, CEO Ed Catmull has named and relentlessly stuck to his primary role: ensuring the principles of candor that fuel the Braintrust are protected by leadership. Leadership is the “part of our job that is never done.”
Create the conditions.
The Braintrust didn’t develop out of thin air—and it wasn’t without challenges.
The only criterion for joining this meeting was “a knack for storytelling.” The first Braintrust was small, featuring normal, candid feedback; and yet it was able to help Pixar realize significant market success. However, contrary to the common practice of replicating "best practices" success in one place, attempts to bring the Braintrust to other departments did not easily transfer to other meetings.
From this pain point, Catmull realized that what made the Braintrust unique was not the simple gathering of creatives; it was the nature of an environment built intentionally over time on foundations of candor and grounded in what is known as psychological safety.
Fostering psychological safety (an “environment of rewarded vulnerability,” as defined by Dr. Tim Clark) on creative teams means the following:
1. Addressing and expunging any behaviors that signal exclusion, marginalization, incivilities based on identity and subtle acts of unkindness.
2. Normalizing the expectation that everyone should be respected and their human rights honored.
3. Recognizing that learning and discovery together will require vulnerable actions like asking questions and making and owning past mistakes.
4. Welcoming contributions, regardless of level of seniority.
5. Expecting and accepting that new ideas may challenge the existing status quo, and rewarding those who are brave enough to do so.
Be candid about the existing dynamics.
Before creating your own braintrust, the most senior person must be willing to pause and examine the dynamics in the room. This pause is the difference between sometimes making magic and at other times having conversations collapse.
Because braintrust-type meetings depend on candid, open and honest discussion that first addresses what might be driving fear and hesitation, leadership commitment is necessary pre-work.
Once there is candor about the current state, this will strengthen a collective commitment to maintaining a fear-free space so that even the wackiest ideas can be received with respect and kindness, reducing the natural inclination to hold back.
The process of acknowledging existing dynamics should not be a behind-the-curtain experience. Being silent about the dynamics or sanitizing the reality of a situation reinforces the perception that challenging conversations cannot happen openly. When I work with teams I encourage them to:
1. Demystify the current state by amplifying the bright spots.
2. Define what can be done to address the barriers—and invite feedback from the team on this.
3. Design and co-create behavioral norms and specific accountability checkpoints that will ensure a commitment to healthy group relational dynamics.
Model and create space for rewarded vulnerability.
Some human truths? People want to look good. No one wants to be embarrassed. Further, as creatives, our ideas matter to us. Sometimes, we can get attached.
The Pixar Braintrust realized that maintaining their standard of candor meant running on principles of rewarded vulnerability. Catmull implemented an ethos that encourages creative risk-taking and acknowledges failure as a key to success. The Braintrust critiques the film, not the filmmaker. Solutions are additive, not competitive. And participants are ready to hear the truth (even if it’s hard).
Think about the roadblocks to people sharing authentically and vulnerably. Based on current dynamics or past experiences, individuals have a generalized sense of whether their voices will be received with respect or silenced and dismissed. Leaders asking for individuals to vulnerably share ideas must carefully curate an environment where the rules of engagement are in alignment with principles of psychological safety. This includes granular norms like:
1. Providing context ahead of and during the meetings so that participants understand when and how to contribute.
2. Sharing candid feedback kindly. Honesty does not have to be brutal.
3. Giving appropriate credit for ideas when being reshared.
4. Asking questions with authentic inquiry and not as an exercise of "what-about-isms."
5. Expressing gratitude for effort, even if imperfect.
6. Amplifying the voice and contributions of lower-powered or marginalized people.
7. Committing to and practicing power transparency by sharing how power is held and shared—specifically, what decisions are open for feedback, influenceable or closed due to regulatory or other requirements.
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