The most innovative teams are the ones whose members do not hesitate to bring up problems, suggest ideas that are not likely to meet universal support, and challenge one another. But how can such freedom of expression be encouraged?

Psychological safety is one essential condition. People need to be able to deviate from the prevalent way of thinking without being immediately criticized or ostracized, and be able to share their difficulties transparently.

Another condition is equally crucial: intellectual honesty. If the team members are not totally honest about their analysis of the problem and if they do not emulate each other to raise the relevant level of expectations, innovation can stagnate.

The challenge is thus to combine these high standards with a feeling of psychological safety. Jeff Wilke, the former head of Amazon’s retail division, retold his lengthy debates with CEO Jeff Bezos over the launch of the Kindle e-reader. Wilke feared disappointing his customers, as Amazon lacked any experience in producing consumer electronics. Bezos believed that Amazon needed to seek to expand its skillset. This divergence enabled them to revisit the project and to significantly improve it. The key to this success? Having managed to put egos behind adherence to a common goal.

Source: Why Innovation Depends on Intellectual Honesty, Jeff Dyer, Nathan Furr, Curtis Lefrandt, Taeya Howell, MIT Sloan Management Review, January 2023.