According to an IoD article in the Directors magazine, a recent study by a Swedish university on brain
plasticity found that the brains of the overworked are aging more quickly. In addition it reports, the busier CEOs become,
the slower their thinking. Clarity and creativity
decreases and they might make bad decisions.
The warnings of professionals for many years of the pressures
on all top tier levels of management, and indeed of their teams, is now made
real. As stress levels rise, absence
levels follow and the quality of decision making is arguably declining. What impact is this having on organisational
growth? How do we address the threat of
declining quality decision making in our leading companies and organisations? It requires a fundamental shift in not what
we do, but how we do it.
‘“What do you think?”
are the four most powerful words to use in any transformation.’
So says Rene Carayol, globally renowned Executive coach
and broadcaster. The problem in most
organisations is that even when (or if) they ask the question, not only is the
questioner not listening with full
attention, but the person asked is never given the time and space to truly
think. As a result, opportunities are
lost.
In Nancy Klein’s ground breaking work on the Thinking
Environment, she found that we think least well when faced with ridicule, competition,
cynicism, criticism, and self-doubt. We
think best when we know we are respected, are seeking the best idea, not trying
to win; our questions are welcomed, when we are encouraged to think beyond the
usual. And practical application of the tools
associated with the Thinking Environment have borne exceptional results with
participants universally praising the reduction of time spent in meetings, the
quality outputs arising from conversations and the enhanced level of decision
making at all levels of the business. Excellence
in leadership is developed at speed.
In my own work with the UK Division of a global company allowing
people to think in the presence of full attention, equality and ease has
generated a major shift in focus. Senior
executives are more confident about the decisions they are taking and how the
actions arising from high quality thinking will occur. Running meetings using
this approach and then focussing on one or two incisive questions has also enabled
people to speak out with confidence. Creative solutions have been found that
they readily admit would not have occurred otherwise and there is a greater
clarity on what makes the difference to their bottom line.
Partnership working is frequently a battleground with
different private and public sector organisations following varying agendas and
miscommunication can be rife. It can
also be a challenge to gain agreement using a vocabulary that is understood and
owned by all sides. Asking that
question, “What do you think?” and
then waiting, curious to know the answer and then curious to know what’s coming
next is revolutionary. No longer do
people listen purely to interrupt, or add, or counter and there is no space for
conflict to feed itself. The result is better
quality thinking and decision making.
The impact is just as powerful on smaller organisations
and some would argue more so. It is
their nimble flexibility which makes them a challenge to the corporates, the
disruptors of their industry. Yet SMEs
have their own stressors which can threaten their ability to be nimble and with
fewer resources at their disposal to help them cope. A few simple changes to how they interact
within their own staff, customers and suppliers can cut through this. Faced with a problem, the SME senior group encapsulated it
within a question and then following the principles above, enabled staff
members who, the Director confided never spoke up, to bring their ideas to the
table. They cut through to the core of
the problem and proposed a solution that would have remained unsaid.
“We did this in
half the time it would have taken to come up with a solution, and I think had
the workshop been run differently, the solution would not have been as
effective.” Business development manager
Many of us work in environments that do not encourage
real thought and if this is your reality, your organisation is ignoring a sea-change
in how excellent leaders operate. A
survey by Southampton University on 15 organisations that do operate in this
manner quoted this:
“I can positively
say that as a result of our Thinking Environment culture, our business has
improved by at least 20%. And that’s
measurable in financial terms.” Provincial director, financial services
Ask yourself this incisive question.
“If I knew that by generating a thinking environment I
would improve work practices and take quality decisions, what would I do next?”
Get in touch and tell me.
