In episode 16 of Work Mom Says, we interviewed Angela Ficorelli, a brand strategist and owner of Subtle Design Co, about ways to bring play into the workplace. During the conversation, we chatted about Mary Parker Follett’s four outcomes of team meetings and the power of co-creation. 

According to Angela, Mary Parker Follett was like the Brene Brown or the Simon Sineck of the 1920s. “She’s the OG of thought leadership with it come to leadership in business,” said Angela. Follett’s theory of co-creation is a powerful way to bring play into team meetings and the work environment in general. 

The Four Outcomes

Angela shares that Follett details four different outcomes of meetings: Acquiescence, Victory, Compromise, and Co-Creation. 

Outcome 1: Acquiescence 

The first outcome is acquiescence. This is when the loudest person gets their way. In this meeting scenario, everyone else gives in and lets the pushiest, most abrasive, highest-ranking person win. Everyone abandons their own ideas and simply allows someone else to take control of the entire team meeting.

This is clearly not an effective meeting outcome because no one but the winner contributed. Everyone else is unconnected, disinterested, and has no stake in the idea. 

Outcome 2: Victory

In the victory outcome, your idea gets picked, and everyone goes with your idea. For the person who ‘wins’, this can seem like the best outcome. However, everyone else leaves the team meeting unconnected and disinvested in the idea. No one else was able to contribute and invest in the idea. 

Outcome 3: Compromise

In the compromise outcome, you are bringing your individual ideas together with everyone else in the meeting. The final idea will likely hold a few parts of your original plans, but it will ultimately be a combination of everyone’s thoughts and opinions.

This may seem like a good outcome on the surface because you are much more invested and included in the idea than the previous two outcomes. However if you’re compromising, you’re still losing part of your idea to do something else. 

Outcome 4: Co-Creation

The final outcome is co-creation. According to Angela, this is the best outcome because everyone enters the meeting empty with no hard and fast opinions. They create together from the ground up. 

Within co-creation, there are three rules for every meeting: expect to be needed, expect to need others, and expect to be changed. By expecting to be needed, you’re more likely to contribute your own ideas because you know that the others will value you. By expecting to need others, you’ll be more willing to work collaboratively and lean on the ideas and expertise of others. By expecting to be changed, you’ll be more willing to learn from others and grow rather than hold onto your hard, unwavering opinions. 

If you can go into a team meeting with just these rules, you can have a much more playful, creative experience. You will leave with an idea that everyone equally contributed to and will be proud of. 

The Bottom Line

Co-creation is a powerful way to bring playfulness into the workplace. For more ideas on playful work, check out episode 16 of Work Mom Says.