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Forensic thinking
17 October 2021
I read an article in The Economist
(£) a few days ago about how the jury system offers clues to running better meetings. It listed 5 characteristics of jury service that we can draw on: purpose, size, agenda, membership and psychological safety. It chimed strongly with my own first experience of serving as a juror recently at one of the Nightingale (temporary) Crown Courts. I served on two trials, one involving a charge of causing serious injury through dangerous driving, the other a charge of intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Here’s my take on what we can learn from jury deliberations and 5 ways we can apply ‘forensic thinking’ at work.
1. Full body listening
Jury service was fascinating. At times, it was also draining, partly because of the effort we put into listening to all the evidence and the arguments. We had to listen with our full attention, entirely focused, with no mind wandering. In addition, we were instructed to observe attentively too, noticing body language and movements. This was so important that we had to notify the judge if anything obstructed our line of sight to the witnesses and the defendant. In one trial, this resulted in what felt like a game of musical chairs thanks to the obstructions posed by pillars, counsels’ lecterns and social distancing requirements. When you’re next in a meeting, why not try ‘full body listening’ for as long as possible before you speak? I guarantee it will enrich your thinking.
2. Open minds
Unlike teams at work, members of a jury are selected at random and work together only for the duration of their service (usually around 2 weeks), unlikely to ever meet again. We were a mix of office workers, business people, trades people, animal handlers/trainers, retirees and full-time carers, from different backgrounds and with different levels of educational attainment. I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of the quality of our deliberations, but I was blown away by the unanimous commitment to thinking deeply, questioning assumptions, exploring all points of view and repeatedly revisiting points we’d previously discussed. ‘Keeping a collectively open mind is a learned skill that takes conscious, repeated effort’, I write in my business book The Future of Time. It’s essential to understanding each another’s views better and resolving our differences.
3. Taking time
One of the luxuries of jury service that we rarely enjoy at work is the lack of time pressure. Juries can take as long as they need to deliberate and return a verdict. In both trials, we were instructed to reach a unanimous decision. It took us two hours in the first case, and over four hours in the second case. A friend was on a jury a few years ago where they took over 2 days to return their verdict. When you know you hold the fate of another individual in your hands - for the next few months or years at least - you feel a weight of responsibility to reach a just and fully-reasoned conclusion that is ‘beyond doubt’. In our work lives, we are usually rushing to make decisions, meet deadlines, and move onto the next task. It’s all too easy to adopt group think and forget our blindspots. Less time pressure would help us avoid these behavioural traps and make better quality decisions.
4. Looking into the unknowns
One thing I hadn’t anticipated as a juror is that you have to work with incomplete data. Only certain facts are presented as evidence while others are omitted - the latter are the ‘unknowns’. In The Future of Time, I quote former US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld’s famous speech about ‘known unknowns’ and ‘unknown unknowns’ (the YouTube clip is here). So as a juror, how do you fill in the gaps, particularly when you’re split over the verdict or wrestling with doubts? The judge explained we could draw inferences from evidence, but we could not speculate (reach conclusions that are unsubstantiated by any evidence). In work discussions, we have more freedom: we can explore the ‘unknowns’ by looking for the data that doesn’t fit the pattern; being attentive to the smallest or most unlikely-sounding ideas from unexpected sources; and asking ourselves ‘what don’t we know yet?’.
5. Accepting dissent.
As a jury, knowing we weren’t going to be colleagues beyond the fortnight removed all pressure to form alliances or prove ourselves to one another. This helped us to accept that between the 12 of us, we might hold different views for good reasons. People with opposing opinions listened respectfully to each other’s reasoning, because it helped them to explore questions from fresh angles. To reach a decision that is truly supported by all, we have to seek out the views of those who have not yet spoken; allow people to change their minds; and welcome the awkward questions because they’ll lead us to a better outcome.
I’m quite sad that jury service has ended. It stretched me intellectually, it brought me into contact with people I’d never met before, it opened up new conversations and a window into other people’s lives, reminding me of our diversity of experiences and situations. It has also left me with a renewed sense of faith in the jury system. Let’s apply some of its strengths to the way our organisations work too.
1. Full body listening
Jury service was fascinating. At times, it was also draining, partly because of the effort we put into listening to all the evidence and the arguments. We had to listen with our full attention, entirely focused, with no mind wandering. In addition, we were instructed to observe attentively too, noticing body language and movements. This was so important that we had to notify the judge if anything obstructed our line of sight to the witnesses and the defendant. In one trial, this resulted in what felt like a game of musical chairs thanks to the obstructions posed by pillars, counsels’ lecterns and social distancing requirements. When you’re next in a meeting, why not try ‘full body listening’ for as long as possible before you speak? I guarantee it will enrich your thinking.
2. Open minds
Unlike teams at work, members of a jury are selected at random and work together only for the duration of their service (usually around 2 weeks), unlikely to ever meet again. We were a mix of office workers, business people, trades people, animal handlers/trainers, retirees and full-time carers, from different backgrounds and with different levels of educational attainment. I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of the quality of our deliberations, but I was blown away by the unanimous commitment to thinking deeply, questioning assumptions, exploring all points of view and repeatedly revisiting points we’d previously discussed. ‘Keeping a collectively open mind is a learned skill that takes conscious, repeated effort’, I write in my business book The Future of Time. It’s essential to understanding each another’s views better and resolving our differences.
3. Taking time
One of the luxuries of jury service that we rarely enjoy at work is the lack of time pressure. Juries can take as long as they need to deliberate and return a verdict. In both trials, we were instructed to reach a unanimous decision. It took us two hours in the first case, and over four hours in the second case. A friend was on a jury a few years ago where they took over 2 days to return their verdict. When you know you hold the fate of another individual in your hands - for the next few months or years at least - you feel a weight of responsibility to reach a just and fully-reasoned conclusion that is ‘beyond doubt’. In our work lives, we are usually rushing to make decisions, meet deadlines, and move onto the next task. It’s all too easy to adopt group think and forget our blindspots. Less time pressure would help us avoid these behavioural traps and make better quality decisions.
4. Looking into the unknowns
One thing I hadn’t anticipated as a juror is that you have to work with incomplete data. Only certain facts are presented as evidence while others are omitted - the latter are the ‘unknowns’. In The Future of Time, I quote former US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld’s famous speech about ‘known unknowns’ and ‘unknown unknowns’ (the YouTube clip is here). So as a juror, how do you fill in the gaps, particularly when you’re split over the verdict or wrestling with doubts? The judge explained we could draw inferences from evidence, but we could not speculate (reach conclusions that are unsubstantiated by any evidence). In work discussions, we have more freedom: we can explore the ‘unknowns’ by looking for the data that doesn’t fit the pattern; being attentive to the smallest or most unlikely-sounding ideas from unexpected sources; and asking ourselves ‘what don’t we know yet?’.
5. Accepting dissent.
As a jury, knowing we weren’t going to be colleagues beyond the fortnight removed all pressure to form alliances or prove ourselves to one another. This helped us to accept that between the 12 of us, we might hold different views for good reasons. People with opposing opinions listened respectfully to each other’s reasoning, because it helped them to explore questions from fresh angles. To reach a decision that is truly supported by all, we have to seek out the views of those who have not yet spoken; allow people to change their minds; and welcome the awkward questions because they’ll lead us to a better outcome.
I’m quite sad that jury service has ended. It stretched me intellectually, it brought me into contact with people I’d never met before, it opened up new conversations and a window into other people’s lives, reminding me of our diversity of experiences and situations. It has also left me with a renewed sense of faith in the jury system. Let’s apply some of its strengths to the way our organisations work too.
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