TL;DR
In a fast pace world full of change, complexity and uncertainty, it isn’t always about what you know, or what you think you know. Much of the time it’s how fast you can change what you “know” today that just isn’t so. Labeled as rethinking, the ability to quickly unlearn and relearn is a valuable skill.
This book will teach you to rethink your opinions and positions and to teach others to trigger their own rethinking cycles. Finding common ground and discovering truth will become your methods and you’ll leave behind proving others wrong. Humility will be your new best friend and you’ll put your ego aside to discover truth. Being “right” at any cost will not be your goal.
If you read just one Leadership book this year, this one should be at the top of your list.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
KEY LEARNINGS:
- People often take a stance of Preacher, Prosecutor or Politician on their opinions and positions. They know they are right and use these methods to convince others that they are wrong.
- Preacher – We’re on a soapbox pontificating far and wide. We are not open to other ideas or opinions.
- Prosecutor – We are trying to prove, in any way possible, that the other person is wrong.
- Politician – We’re trying to win popularity and approval of others. I’m telling you what you want to hear rather than what I really believe.
What we should be doing instead is adopting the thinking model of a Scientist. Favor learning over being right. Adopt an approach of humility over pride. Form hypothesis’ and then perform experiments to discover truth.
- People often seek out others with like-minded opinions. It makes us feel good, it isn’t a threat to our egos. Developing a “challenge network” is one way to be exposed to different perspectives and hear alternate information to enable you to more easily rethink your current understanding and opinion on topics.
These are people you trust but have different beliefs or opinions than yours. They will challenge your thinking respectfully.
- Understanding that issues are not black or white, there is a huge range of middle ground. “Complexifying” the issue, exploring and discovering the grey area between the two extreme positions/opinions, is a technique to find common ground between more extreme opinions and positions.
- Motivational Interviewing is a powerful technique of asking questions, rather than telling, to promote a rethinking cycle in others. Use open-ended questions, be genuinely curious, probe for situations in which a person might be willing to consider a different perspective.
You need to be genuine and authentic in your curiosity of their position as people easily see through attempts at manipulation or coercion.
ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS:
I rarely say “this changed my life” but this book did. I became much more effective as an Agile Coach when approaching situations as opportunities to discover truth rather than attempting to convince others they were wrong or preaching Agile “truths”.
