Many of us know the story about six blind men who were asked to describe an elephant. After one man describes a rope as he was touching the elephant’s tail, the man touching the trunk disagreed and said it was like a snake. The man touching the ear explained they were both wrong since it was flat like a fan, and the man touching the side announced it resembled a solid wall. Disagreement mounted as the man touching the tusk pronounced the elephant similar to a spear while the man touching a leg insisted it was a pillar. An argument ensued.

In some versions, the men stop talking to each other; while in other ending, they start listening to each other and recognized their perceptions were incomplete. They recognized that personal experience had led them astray.

There is also a third ending. It refers to a sighted person walking by and providing a full depiction, including on the animal’s height. Each of the blind men had a partial truth and missed the larger picture. It is a lesson that today’s leaders need to contemplate. One point of view cannot capture reality, which distorts our thinking and our ability to see value in another’s perspective.

The following lines are attributed to the Buddha:

For, quarreling, each to his view they cling. Such folk see only one side of a thing.

To deal with myopia, we frequently rely on teams in the hope that a group offers a diversity of thinking, which is often true. However, not always. Some groups exhibit groupthink, silencing new ideas and squelching new perspectives.

To ensure a complete and accurate grasp of current reality, questions from six mindsets need to be asked and data collected before jumping to a conclusion, decision, or action.

Consider these essential questions from each of the mindsets:

Inventing Mindset:

• How can we take our existing products/services to a new level?
• How can we leverage technology?
• What will keep us unique?

Catalyzing Mindset:

• What is the competition doing?
• What will grow our share of the market?
• Are we learning from and retaining our key customers?

Developing Mindset:

• What will ensure smooth execution?
• What will improve our monitoring effectiveness?
• What will improve teamwork?

Performing Mindset:

• What is the cost/benefit analysis?
• How can we reduce costs or improve cycle time?
• How can we boost quality and safety?

Protecting Mindset:

• Do we have the skills/staff we need?
• Are rewards/recognition aligned and used effectively?
• Are we developing our talent/bench strength to match our strategy?

Challenging Mindset:

• What emerging customer trends need to be addressed?
• Are our assumptions valid?
• How can alliances or partnerships help us?

When faced with complexity, ambiguity, and change, we must explore the total picture. Otherwise, we will end up arguing from our limited perspective, wasting time, energy, and opportunity.

Dr. Mary Lippitt, an award-winning author, consultant, and speaker, founded Enterprise Management Ltd. to help leaders with critical analysis. Her new book, Situational Mindsets: Targeting What Matters When It Matters was published last year with a Foreword from Daivd Covey. She can be reached at mlippitt@enterprisemgt.com or https://www.linkedin.com/in/marylippitt/