The holiday period makes us reflect on what we want to change, whether personally or professionally. Professionally, it’s a moment for taking up new plans or doing things differently or better than before. This is a healthy reflex, since most failures are closely connected to sticking to old patterns of behaviour, survival and success for too long. However, what we do and how we get things done is very hard to change. Unless we consciously make an effort to recognise and break out of our biases.
As humans, we are inherently biased. It is part of our neurological programming and helped us survive and evolve over centuries. Buster Benson wrote a great overview about the reasons why we’re biased and why that’s helpful. For instance, it helps us overcome information overload, construct meaning out of that information, act quickly and helps us choose what to remember.
The downside of our biases is that they actually blind us. Because some of the information we filter out is important. And we imagine details that do not exist, because we have filled in the blanks. Next to that, our quick decisions can make us jump to incorrect solutions and our memory continues to reinforce the same models, even if they have led us down the wrong path in the past. So how to overcome these biases? Seven practices to help you build a mindset that allows you to reframe in a changing world.
1. DO NOT JUMP TO SOLUTIONS TOO QUICKLY
The way our brain works and the pressure to get results fast can trigger us to jump into solutions too quickly. Instead, we should consciously add time between action and reaction, between facing a problem and jumping to a solution. Problems can have multiple root causes and jumping into solutions too quickly often addresses only the symptoms. A simple exercise such as asking why five times to understand the problem leads to better solutions which address the causes and not only the symptoms.
2. ADOPT A BEGINNER’S MIND
Have you ever taken a walk with a child and let them lead the way? In the same walk, they will notice and observe things that you simply did not see. Because they are beginners, nearly everything they see around them is relevant and therefore little is unseen. Asking open questions, checking for a second or third opinion from a non-expert colleague, challenging your solutions before acting are all ways to adopt a beginner’s mind.
3. LOOK AT THE PROBLEM FROM MULTIPLE ANGLES
Take the time to look at the problem you are trying to solve from different lenses. You can do this by looking at the problem through the eyes of different persons that are affected by the issues, looking at the different organisational levels or functions, etc.
4. LOOK FOR INSPIRATION FROM NON-TYPICAL SOURCES
We often design experiences to challenge the thinking of our clients and expand their creative thinking by getting them to engage with non-typical sources of inspiration. This can be meeting with the teams of a company in a different industry, running a physical simulation or applying techniques from the world of arts. Non-typical sources of inspiration help us to be more conscious and break out of our own patterns because they look at and interact with the world in a very different way.
5. DO SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
Our brain gets tired when it focuses too intensely for too long. Instead, do something completely different. This will let the brain recover while unconsciously working on a solution. That is why we sometimes get our best ideas when jogging or in the shower!
6. HARVEST YOUR INSIGHTS
Do not go from insights into action with a single leap. Thinking through how they are relevant and how to put them into action will result in more tailored and impactful solutions.
7. DO EXPERIMENTS THAT ARE SAFE-TO-FAIL
We often look for fail-safe solutions, the imaginary silver bullets that will solve everything in one shot. But some problems are more. Identifying safe-to-fail experiments, agreeing on how to track their success or failure and how to amplify or recover is a more dynamic and agile way of working towards your goals.