“What are the kinds of things, as you said, Steve, that people tend to withhold? I have found it's the things that we most need to know and find out. So in the research for the book, there were several categories of things that emerged. One is really-really what do they actually think about an issue? It's amazing how often people actually don't tell you their full view or their headline view of what they're truly thinking.
A second category is what they're struggling with themselves, what they're up against. The number of times that I, as a leader, have discovered only too late that somebody that I'm managing was really dealing with something that I could have helped them with if I knew sooner has been way too often. So, their challenges and struggles.
A third is their observations about us and how we're operating and their most important feedback for us. And the last, which I think is really important for innovation, is people have the seeds of pretty wild and audacious and crazy ideas of things that could actually be different or better. I think that organizations and teams are filled with that kind of collective genius, and far too often people don't share that.”
Why do people withhold information from each other? Why are some of the smartest, successful people the worst at learning from each other?
Jeff Wetzler is on a quest to transform learning opportunities, both in business and in education. If we want to create a workforce for the future, with skills that cannot be replaced by AI, he explains, we have to do things differently not just within an organisation but at every stage of the education journey.
Jeff is the former chief learning officer at Teach for America and is currently CEO of innovation organisation, Transcend. In his new book, ‘Ask: Tap Into the Hidden Wisdom of People Around You’, he outlines the origins and steps of his Ask Approach™ framework, starting with Curiosity.
To find out more on how to improve the communication, collaboration, and critical thinking skills needed to tackle global challenges, from climate change to inequality to polarisation, listen to this Provocateurs podcast. Here, Jeff is chatting with Steve Goldbach, Principal and Sustainability, Climate & Equity Leader at Deloitte, and Stuart Crainer, co-founder of Thinkers50.
This episode will be available on 16 May 2024.
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Learn more about the Provocateurs podcast, the hosts, and access all episodes here: thinkers50.com/provocateurs/
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This podcast is part of an ongoing series of interviews with executives. The executives’ participation in these articles are solely for educational purposes based on their knowledge of the subject and the views expressed by them are solely their own. This podcast should not be deemed or construed to be for the purpose of soliciting business for any of the companies mentioned, nor does Deloitte advocate or endorse the services or products provided by these companies.