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This Simple Technique Helps Onboard New Employees and Contributes to Company Culture and Classroom Culture

Paige J.
2 min readAug 1, 2021

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Photo by M. Monk on Unsplash

There is something that occasionally occurs in the startup world which was often done in elementary school.

I never expected to make this connection until I heard Adam Grant talking about this being applied in his own classroom as well as how it applies to onboarding new employees and contributing it to company culture.

Do you know what it is?

Adam Grant discussed how his graduate students talked for one minute about themselves which completely changed and contributed to his classroom culture.

Similarly, IDEO’s onboarding process is to have new employees talk about something they want to share and thus contribute to the company culture.

Do you now know what this technique is that is used in elementary school?

It’s show and tell.

It’s simple, but powerful.

Allowing both students and employees freely express themselves is liberating, increases connectivity, and is a great icebreaker. It also allows everyone who hears what they say feel more connected to them and to each other.

If you’re in education, try it in your classroom even if you’re teaching at the university or graduate school level.

If you’re running your own startup, try it with your employees.

Like Adam Grant and IDEO, you may be pleasantly surprised by the results.

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Paige J.
Paige J.

Written by Paige J.

Posts for the post-pandemic (and during the pandemic).

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