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i2 Insights: Relationship Skills

 Mini Activity / Insight

Test your innovation skills

Get a random reflection prompt, a quick action to try today, or a "this or that" dilemma to see how you compare to others. Each one takes 30 seconds and is based on the i2 skills framework.

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When someone challenges your idea, do you…

You’ve just shared a proposal and a colleague pushes back hard. What is your first instinct?

Defending shows conviction. Asking shows curiosity. Research shows the best innovators do both — they hold their ideas firmly enough to articulate them, but loosely enough to let them evolve.

6 people have answered

In a team conflict, do you tend to…

Two team members have opposing views on a key decision. What is your natural response?

Premature compromise often means both sides lose a little. Productive tension — held with respect — often leads to a third option nobody saw coming. The discomfort is where the breakthrough hides.

6 people have answered

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Build Forward Together

In a group conversation, choose to be the person who connects other people’s ideas. Say things like: “That builds on what Sarah said earlier — what if we combined them?”

Relationship Skills
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Make Space, Not Noise

In your next meeting, try speaking 30% less than usual. Use that space to actively listen. After the meeting, ask yourself: did the conversation go better or worse?

Relationship Skills
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Seek Out the Different Voice

Identify someone on your team whose background or thinking style is very different from yours. Ask for their honest opinion on something you’re working on. Don’t filter — just absorb.

Relationship Skills
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Design the Conversation

Before your next group meeting, spend 5 minutes thinking about the structure. Who speaks first? What question opens the discussion? How will you make sure quieter voices are heard?

Relationship Skills
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Listen Like a Journalist

In your next one-on-one, pretend you’re interviewing the other person for a story. Focus only on understanding their experience. Don’t offer advice. Just ask follow-up questions.

Relationship Skills
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Listen to Learn, Not to Win

In your next conversation, count how many times you start formulating your response while the other person is still talking. Each time you catch yourself, reset and refocus on their words.

Relationship Skills
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Disagree With Curiosity

The next time someone says something you disagree with, replace “I don’t think so” with “Help me understand how you see it.” Treat their view as data, not a debate point.

Relationship Skills
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Agree on the Problem First

Before jumping into solutions in your next meeting, ask the group: “Can someone describe the problem we’re solving in one sentence?” Don’t move on until everyone nods.

Relationship Skills
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