funny bones, neural growth and decision making

Hi there!

Welcome to Teams, Talent & Productivity, brought you by Midnight Labs, the remote and hybrid teams specialists.

Previous Newsletters:

📰 why human relationships are kind of a big deal...
📰 delegation, development, and autonomy vs collaboration
📰 paradigm shifts in education and optimising your ways of working

In this week’s newsletter: 

• Teams: Humour at work.

• Talent: Principle of Development breakdown - Emergent Holism

• Productivity: RACI vs DACI decision making frameworks.

Teams

Humour at work has been proven to significantly enhance team performance, individual happiness, and create a psychologically safe environment. Research highlighted in the LSE Business Review illustrates how humour reduces stress, fosters better communication, and encourages a creative collective approach. Teams that laugh together often exhibit higher levels of engagement and productivity. The social lubricant properties of humour make it a powerful ally in building strong, cohesive, and resilient teams.

However, the benefits of humour are not universally experienced across genders. A study by Evans et al. (2019) reveals a stark contrast in how humorous behaviour is perceived based on the gender of the person delivering it. In professional settings, humour from men is frequently seen as enhancing their status, showing confidence and competence. Conversely, when women use humour, it is often perceived as less functional and potentially disruptive, inadvertently lowering their professional standing among peers and supervisors. This gender bias not only undermines the positive effects of humour but also perpetuates existing workplace inequalities.

To effectively integrate humour into team dynamics while combating gender bias, consider these three practical tips: First, actively encourage and celebrate humour from all team members, regardless of gender, ensuring that contributions are acknowledged and appreciated equally. Second, provide training and awareness sessions that highlight the benefits of humour and the importance of inclusive reception. Use role-playing and scenarios to illustrate how different responses to humour can impact team morale and individual status. Third, create opportunities for informal social interactions among team members, such as team-building activities or casual get-togethers, where humour can naturally occur and be enjoyed by everyone. This not only helps in normalising humour across the board but also in monitoring and adjusting the team dynamics to be more inclusive and supportive.

Talent

We continue our deep-dive series on the five interrelated developmental principles outlined in Immordino-Yang et al.’s recent paper, this week it is: Emergent Holism

Emergent holism is a developmental principle that views human growth and learning as the outcome of complex interactions between various biological, psychological, and environmental factors. This perspective challenges the traditional view of development as a linear process, advocating instead for a model that recognises the dynamic, intertwined nature of our growth as influenced by our surroundings, interpersonal relationships, and internal predispositions. In the context of learning, emergent holism emphasises the importance of considering the whole person, acknowledging how their social, emotional, and cognitive abilities are interlinked and co-evolving.

The paper highlights a case of low-SES students who demonstrated significant brain development and cognitive change over time, linked to their engagement with deep, existential questions about justice, morality, and human welfare. These students, often perceived through the narrow lens of standardised academic achievement, were actually processing complex societal issues at a level that predicted substantial neural growth. This finding illustrates the impact that grappling with meaningful, real-world issues can have on cognitive development, challenging the conventional educational assessments that might otherwise overlook such deep and transformative learning experiences.

In corporate learning settings, applying the principle of emergent holism by incorporating substantive, meaningful content can similarly catalyse profound development among employees. For instance, programs that encourage employees to engage with big-picture questions relevant to their work and life, such as sustainability, ethics, and corporate social responsibility, can build not just a deeper understanding but a genuine transformation in how they see their role and impact.

Productivity 

RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) and DACI (Driver, Approver, Contributor, Informed) are both frameworks designed to clarify roles and responsibilities within teams, particularly in projects that require decision-making and task execution. These frameworks can be instrumental in improving team dynamics and productivity by streamlining how decisions are made and who is involved at each step of the process.

The RACI model emphasises clear delineation of roles. Each task or decision identifies who is Responsible for completing it, who is Accountable for its success, who should be Consulted before a decision or action is taken, and who needs to be Informed after the action is completed. This model can significantly enhance clarity and efficiency in team interactions by ensuring that all members understand their specific roles and the extent of their participation in every project phase. This clarity reduces overlap and prevents tasks from being overlooked, which can be particularly valuable in larger teams where responsibilities might otherwise blur.

On the other hand, the DACI framework assigns the role of Driver to one team member who drives the project forward, ensuring that deadlines are met and goals are achieved. The Approver is the ultimate decision-maker, while Contributors provide input and carry out tasks. Those who need to be kept in the loop are simply Informed. DACI can be particularly effective in streamlining decision-making processes by designating a single driver and approver, which can lead to quicker consensus and clearer authority in projects.

Both frameworks can enhance productivity by reducing the time spent on decision-making and increasing the clarity of roles within project management. However, the choice between RACI and DACI often depends on the organisational culture and the specific needs of the project. RACI's detailed role definitions may work better in environments where accountability and role clarity are needed across many layers of a project, whereas DACI might be preferable in dynamic environments that require quick decisions and have clear leadership structures.

I hope some of this was useful to you, if it was, please feel free to subscribe if you haven’t already so you don’t miss the next one 🙂 

Thanks for reading!

Midnight Labs