Civility … and the Marketplace of Ideas

I’ve worked for institutions with different kinds of cultures. In my experience, those companies that foster a civil working environment are obvious winners. Obviously, (duh!) because working in a pleasant and cordial environment is – all by itself – preferable to working in an environment of egos and email wars. But, there’s another and potentially bigger benefit to civility in the workplace: it fosters dialog. And dialog fosters creative thinking.

In the recent book Sway by Ori and Rom Brafman, there is an illuminating section on decision making in the U.S. Supreme Court. Despite the fact that there are strong political views among the Justices, there is a decorum that fosters dialog. Perhaps more importantly, dialog is fostered by the formal development of dissenting opinions. Knowing that a well-reasoned dissent will be published, the majority strengthens its arguments and addresses weaknesses and concerns that the dissenters identify. In the end, when the system works right, the prevailing opinion is better reasoned … and the dissenters have had their voices heard. The healthy discussion in an environment like this avoids the pitfalls of “group think” that can lead to disaster.

My first job out of graduate school was with Leo Burnett Advertising in Chicago. An advertising agency can be a collection of huge egos. But, that wasn’t the case with Burnett (at least when I was there). Collegiality was encouraged and bullying wasn’t tolerated. Burnett institutionalized this collegiality. When ideas were presented to a team, it was always the case that the most junior staffer in the room was asked to comment first. This insured that the junior staffers would get their moment in the sun – but would also not be swayed by the “bosses.” The “bosses” in turn, would address the issues that were raised. And, do you know what? Every so often, “out of the mouths of babes” would come brilliance.