Situational Mindsets Archives - Enterprise Management Ltd

Would You Choose the Red or Blue Pill if you were in the Matrix?

In the film,The Matrix,the main character, Neo,is offered a choice. He could take a red pill representing a desire to live in the real world as a free person or take a blue pill and remain secure in an illusionary world where he could hold on to his established beliefs, practices, and expectations. His choice was change or stability. It was an either-or choice to be made immediately.

In the movie Neo takes the red pill, rejecting a fabricated world to gain increased awareness and discomfort and the risks that follow. He elected reality and change over staying in a fictitious world offering predictability and safety. With only two choices and pressure from Morpheus, encouragement from Trinity, and pursuit by agents he had little time to make this momentous decision.

Organizations today often cast major decisions as either-or options, when, in reality, there are few binary choices. For example, what if Neo asked if he could take both pills? What if he asked Morpheus for additional time? What if he asked if there was a purple pill? With only two polarizing possibilities, he elected not to stay shackled to an impersonal manipulative system and change the matrix.

Leaders today must reject dualistic thinking and apply critical thinking to assess multiple options. This does not require an advanced degree, membership in Mensa or a lofty title. The practice merely requires an open mind and a willingness to shift mindsets to address current conditions. Adopting the practice of probing six situational mindsets enables leaders to discover alternatives and weigh options. It also engages others, surfaces new information, and creates common ground. The six mindsets questions cover every organizational aspect.

The Inventing Mindset probes options for new products/services, creative designs, and new synergies.
The Catalyzing Mindsetfocuses on serving the customer and building the organization’s brand.
The Developing Mindset creates seamless infrastructure, integrated systems, and effective polices.
The Performing Mindset targets process improvement, quality, workflow efficiencies, and ROI.
The Protecting Mindset centers on developing talent, collaboration, agility, and bench strength.
The Challenging Mindsetevaluates challenges, trends, risks, and opportunities for sustained success.

These six mindsets combat our natural tendency to rely on past practice, accept only confirming information,jump quickly into action, and tolerate limited alternatives. We can do better asking questions covering all six mindsets. A simple mindset checklist will prevent hasty action.

Now some resist the idea of a checklist viewing it as a personal shortcoming. However, lawyers, doctors, and pilots use them. The world is too complex and there are too many variables to juggle and weigh complex issues. If we have to-do lists, grocery lists and digital schedules, we already recognize ourinability to balance all of the information.

If we adopt an inclusive understanding of our circumstances and choices, we will find more alternatives. May be there was a purple pill option for Neo if he had asked. What questions should you be asking right now?

About Author:

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/

4 Ways to Smash the Barriers to Critical Thinking

Many leaders exhibit a tendency to jump intoaction. When a problem is identified there must be an immediate response. There appears to be an ingrained “just do it” mentality on the assumption it will produce results as well as admiration. What is overlooked is the option for a pause between learning about a situation and responding to it. The pause enables information gathering and analysis. It also acknowledges recognizes that no one, no matter how talented, can master the complex issues facing us today.

The practice of gaining input can be called brainstorming, consulting, buzz groups, task teams, or crowdsourcing. But these work only when they are employed, when everyone believes they can contribute, and when everyone feels that it is safe to offer an opinion.

The lack of critical thinking cited in many CEO surveys encouraged me to poll 100 people about the barriers they experience in practicing critical thinking. The results are:

42% Identified time pressure or the lack of time to consider options
20% Expressed fear of rejection, ridicule or retribution
20% Replied nothing will happen as a result; They were resigned to accept that status quo
9% Doubted their ability to add anything important
5% Feared that it will mean just mean more work for them
4% Stated that no one required them to think critically

Organizations are wasting valuable human resources if insights and concerns never surface. And reversing the top concerns require only minor adjustments. Consider implementing one or more the following:

Concerns over time constraints can be overcomeby setting aside 5 to 10 minutes of a staff meeting to explore an idea or ask for an issue that needs attention. It can also be encouraged by reminding staff that preventing problems saves time and effort rather than having to resolve setbacks later.And, the cost of blind spots continues to grow.
Creating a “safe” environment by encouraging and respecting different points of view. Why not start your next staff meeting by asking “what have we learned since our last meeting?” Another option would be to appoint a rotating “devil’s advocate” who will critically examine proposals and raise issues. This is particularly important whenpotential benefits crowd out a comprehensive examination. The devil advocate can spotlight the need for deeper dive. In business and physics for every action there is a reaction, and it is important to recognize ramifications before leaping into action.
Every suggestion or proposal deserves a response. Clarification on what was done or why no action was taken must be shared. It showsrespects for the person who offered the suggestion and ensures further engagement. Additionally, the contributor can learn about factors that can turn an apparent slam dunk into a pitfall.
Build critical thinking confidence through coaching, usingan established checklist, and providingtime to reflect and confer with others. Recognize that not all critical thinking happens instantaneously. It can require “soak time,” whether it is in the shower or in the car. Confidence is also boosted when critical thinking is recognized, whether it was implemented or not. Whatever the outcome, the practice deserves encouragement

Leaders and decision makers must recognize those that think out of the box as well as those that think inside it, and under it. To paraphrase,Einstein, today’s problems cannot be solved at the same level of thinking that was used to create them. We must expand our thinking practices.

About Author:

Six Situational Mindsets To Putting First Things First

No one would argue that as leaders, we want to immediately tackle the most important issue or opportunity. As Stephen Covey advises, “put first things first.” However, deciding what is most important, and that awareness, cannot be made based on past practice, outdated assumptions, or preconceived options. Circumstances change too quickly to rely on what was valid. We must continually reassess our situation and alternatives. Interestingly, a study of leaders found that 80% of them never consider alternatives or situational mindsets before making a decision, despite changing conditions.

When we drive our cars, we cannot rely exclusively on what we see through our windshield. We also check the side and rear view mirrors. But we also have to check our dashboard for speed and any warning lights. This expanded context ensures our safety. Likewise, leaders banking on a single viewpoint miss opportunities and invite risk. Utilizing multiple sources of current information delivers optimal choices.

Leaders inherently know this, however, many leaders will utilize default decision-making, blindly sticking to tradition; skim over or ignore data that contradicts beliefs; or readily jump on any goal bandwagon, and implement current fads. In a dynamic environment, adopting a “ready, fire” approach is dangerous. “Aiming” or situational awareness must precede the decision to launch as it is the only way to discover the best path forward. Instead of believing we have all the answers, we must commit to asking all the right questions to analyze our circumstances.

So, what is the alternative when deciding what goal to pursue? Leaders must become situationally aware by studying six situational realities.

To collect the information for aiming, questions addressing six situational factors must be investigated. These mindsets depict what has happened, what is happening, and what is likely to happen. The situational mindsets are:

Inventing or measuring how innovative your products, designs, and services compared with what is possible.
Catalyzing or assessing the level of your customer service, market position, and sales effectiveness compared to the competition.
Developing or evaluating system effectiveness, information flow, unit alignment, goal and policy alignment, decision making and autonomy
Performing or studying the quality of deliverables, cycle time, productivity, workflow, safety, and ROI
Protecting or questioning staffing levels, retention of key talent, succession planning, engagement, and cultural agility
Challenging or examining trends, business plan options, validating assumptions, identifying niches and searching for alliances

Inquiring about these situational mindsets provide leaders with the ability to see what is on the wall, around the corner, and within reach. And it is an easy practice to implement. The six mindsets become a checklist to ascertain complex, challenging, ambiguous, or precedent setting circumstances.

In addition to developing a mindset question checklist, we should also:

Allocate time for reflection, analysis, and imagination. The KISS principle (Keep It Simple Stupid) only works when things are stable. Dynamic factors and new realities are rarely simple. H. L. Mencken captured this truth by saying, “There is always an easy solution to every human problem” neat, plausible and wrong.” We must stretch our thinking to secure our future.
Identify our biases and rationalizations. Smart choices mean we must generate new ideas to address the waves of change. As Einstein stated, “We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking we used when we created them.”
Recognize the power of asking open-ended questions. As Dr. E. Edwards Deming remarked, “If you do not know how to ask the right question, you discover nothing.” Expand the scope of your questions to detect trends, examine implications, and craft new opportunities.
Accept the fact that the greatest obstacle to our future is not ignorance, but the illusion that we already know all that we need to know. We must dig deeper and wider in a search for new knowledge and insights. It is important to ask: what have we learned what should we start doing, and what should we stop doing. Mark Twain observed, “What gets us into trouble is not what we don’t know. It is what we know for sure that just ain’t so.
Resist peer pressure and the temptation to follow the crowd. Enthusiasm for a new initiative regularly conceals flaws and squashes critical thinking. Ask for what could go wrong, what other options are there, and what potential issues might surface. As journalist Walter Lippman observed, “Where all think alike, no one thinks very much.” We need people to think and speak up.

Take the time to ask the mindset questions to discover what to put first. Let’s make our future truly promising.

Published first at Value Walk: https://www.valuewalk.com/2019/08/six-situational-mindsets-first-things-first/

About Author:

Breaking the Vacuum Around Leadership

Has leadership kept pace with the unfathomable challenges we face? We have excelled at helping leaders from the inside out by focusing on leadership style, characteristics, and skillsets. However, we have avoided advancing leadership mastery in terms of systems and situational awareness. We must fill the external attention vacuum.

Peter Drucker’s stated that leadership“has little to do with ‘leadership quality’ and even less to do with ‘charisma.’ Its essence is performance,”and I agree with his focus on results. Flexibility, agility, timing, and situational awareness enable leaders to leverage new opportunities and prevent blind spots.

Organizations are more integrated, customer expectations have increased, and resources have become more constrained. And to make it even more challenging, this greater complexitymeans that no one person can have all the answers. Instead of becoming the solution provider, leaders need to ask the right questions and evaluate alternatives. Luckily, this is not rocket science or a matter of IQ. It requires committing to conducting an environmental scan,which can be done using six situational mindsetsto uncover information before jumping to a decision.

Asking questions covering six different spheresproduces a comprehensive understanding of present challenges and opportunities. Questions include:

What new approaches or creative options can we investigate?
How can we improve customer service and retention?
How can we become a truly seamless and effective organization?
What can improve our quality and efficiency?
How can we foster collaboration, engagement,and learning?
What can we do now to ensure a prosperous future?

Vacuums collapse when we find a way to fill them. Leadership today needs to include systems thinking, organizational insights, and environmental scanning for organizations to thrive.

“Breaking the Vacuum Around Leadership” was originally published on 10 July 2019 at BizCatalyst360.

About Author:

Expanding Perceptions and Consensus for Change

Today, one of the most valuable talents is the ability to grasp fluid circumstances and gain agreement for a change initiative. While there is an imperative to change, change creates stress, defensiveness, and resistance.

It is rarely greeted with unabashed enthusiasm (unless it is a pay increase). So there is a temptation to demand that everyone gets on board, but this provides short-term acquiescence, not active support.

Instead of pushing change by fiat, we can take another approach and commit to expanding our perceptions and situational understanding. It means accepting that we operate from a limited perception. For example, what we see as an uncompromising opportunity can also be seen by others as an ominous threat. To reach consensus we must expand our perceptions by asking questions and listening without judgment. We must be willing to see what others see.

For example, when you look at the following illustration, how many squares do you see?

The common answer is 16 or 17. And they are correct since it is clear that every single box and the whole illustration are squares. Yet, if we change our perception, it becomes apparent that groupings of four single squares also form a square. We just did not see all 30 squares with our first look. And if we did follow this typical pattern, we fall into the over 90% of the responders that answer 16 or 17. (See PUZZLERSWORLD). This exercise points to the reality that when we find an answer we stop searching. Now, this exercise was simple so it is easy to jump to a conclusion. However, when we try to gain agreement, we need to expand our willingness to investigate and understand the issue from all perspectives. We must agree that instead of thinking we know everything, we accept the need to learn more. A comprehensive exploration leads to the new insights, solutions and aha moments.

Searching beyond initial reactions, considering other interpretations, understanding constraints and factoring in trends reveal perspectives. These insights highlight ways to build a consensus. In my experience, sticking points and loggerheads usually focus on different aspects. What is essential to one is not critical to another. Probing reveals new insight and it paves the way for win-win resolutions. Open-ended questions reveal perspectives that can be discussed, modified or sequenced into a plan that gains active support. Consensus takes time and effort but it is delivering results.

Are you willing to look beyond your initial conclusions? If so, you must ask questions covering every facet. Not only will this build rapport, it will surface new facts that can form the foundation for true consensus.

A version of “Expanding Perceptions and Consensus for Change” was first published on 4 May 2018 at BizCatalyst360.

About Author:

INTRODUCING: Brilliant or Blunder Action Guide

INTRODUCING … Brilliant or Blunder Action Guide (2017) the learning manual for putting Success Mindsets to work for your organization. This recently published companion to the original text, Brilliant or Blunder: Navigating Uncertainty, Opportunity, (2014) brings detail and clarity for implementation of the methodology and processes unique to developing Success Mindsets. Read More