#485 Why Thinking Together Boosts Team Performance

In this episode, Helen and Sarah explore how to help teams think better—together. They share simple but powerful tools you can use to encourage reflection, collaboration, and better decision-making in your team. Discover a practical matrix to help you choose the right thinking tool for your team—whether you need to improve performance or inspire new ideas. From “worry lists” to “borrowed brilliance,” you’ll learn how to create space for smarter, more intentional team thinking. ⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 Intro: Welcome to the Squiggly Careers Podcast 00:43 Why We Struggle to Think as Teams 01:56 Who Are Your Thinking Partners? 02:18 Team Thinking Drives Team Performance 03:02 Principles for Better Team Thinking 07:38 Signal Thinking Activities in Your Team 08:46 Turning Thinking into Action via Experiments 09:43 The Team Thinking Matrix Explained 11:48 Idea for Improvement: Worry Lists 17:20 Idea for Improvement: What's Not Working (The "Knots") 23:30 Everyday Idea for Inspiration: Borrowed Brilliance 🎯 What You’ll Learn: - Why teams need more time to think (and how to make that time work) - 3 powerful principles for better collective thinking - Tools like “worry lists,” “what’s not working,” and “borrowed brilliance” - How to run quick team exercises - Ways to turn thinking into action—without overcomplicating it For questions about Squiggly Careers or to share feedback, please email [email protected] More ways to learn about Squiggly Careers: 📩 Download our free careers tools https://www.amazingif.com/toolkit/ 🏃‍♂️ Sign-up for our Squiggly Careers Skills Sprint https://bit.ly/skillssprint2024 📮 Sign up for Squiggly Careers in Action, a weekly summary of the latest squiggly career tools: https://bit.ly/SquigglyCareersInAction 📚 Read our books ‘The Squiggly Career’ and ‘You Coach You’ www.amazingif.com/books/ http://www.amazingif.com/books/