Whether it is an organization or at home, ‘thinking’ is assumed to be the responsibility of the seniors or head of family. Encouraging thinking at all levels and ages will enable faster development & better engagement besides better decisions.
“What do you think?”
This is not about gender equality or anything in that realm.
This is a simple question, but the answer determines whether your workplace offers ‘Thinking Equality’ or not.
I was to be the executive coach of a Sales Director in a large organization. When I was collecting feedback on him, one of his direct reports told me the following story which set me thinking on this topic.
“We were meeting to discuss the ‘Sales Plan for 2020’. Our Sales Director had already thought through the entire plan and in the meeting, he rattled it off in detail and then at the end as he was collecting his papers to leave, he solicited our opinion by asking ‘What do you think?’
All he wanted to hear from us were affirmative comments like ‘Great thinking boss’ or ‘Seems good to go’.
He did not really want the answer to ‘What did we think?’ He did not want the 12 brains in the room to think.
Over a period of time, we stopped thinking, just did what he told us to do. We had no ownership of the ‘plans’ nor did we feel positive or negative about their success or failures.”
When the HR head gave feedback to the Sales Director about his style of ‘telling’ what to do, he replied point blank, ‘As a director it is my responsibility to think, come up with solutions and get them executed through the team! My team can’t think very well, they never come up with any of their perspectives and thinking! They wait for me to think and find the solutions.’
In another famous example, had Lt Gen Nathu Singh Rathore not expressed what every Indian soldier was thinking, Prime Minister Nehruji would have appointed a Britisher as the Chief of Army in accordance to his unilateral thinking. Because of Lt Gen Rathore’s thinking and courage, the country was fortunate to appoint Field Marshal K M Cariappa as the first Indian Chief of Army in 1949.
One of the Myths in the corporate world, is that, with seniority one becomes a better thinker and it is his or her sole responsibility to think.
The Impact of this myth is that the leaders do not harness the immense brain power which exists across the organization, and further stymie the development of mid and junior level employees.
World economic forum puts ‘analytical and critical thinking skills’ among the top three important skills required for future jobs. Hence, every organization should start with the question ‘What are we doing to utilize and harness the existing thinking capabilities and how do we enhance them?’
All of us have seen several managers who create an opinion, think up a solution and present it to the team. Just before announcing the decision, customarily asking the team about their views without giving much importance or credence to their viewpoints.
‘So, What do you think?’ is more of a statement, without any intent to actually hear them out.The expected answer from the team is generally ‘Yes , I think it is fine’, ‘You are correct’. Often, they are not even willing to listen to the critical appreciation of their own solution.
That is NOT Thinking Equality .
So what is Thinking Equality ?
When every person irrespective of the level; the job function; gender is considered capable of thinking on issues at hand in a systematic way and contributing to evolve solutions. It is about giving every team member, time and opportunity to think and express. It is about understanding & accepting that different employees will have different perspectives owing to their experience and background. It is about acknowledging the variety and richness of thoughts and perspectives which come up for consideration before taking a decision.
The process of getting everyone to ‘think’ and express may be time consuming, but the advantages enumerated below, will far outweigh the extra time taken:
- Employees develop their thinking capability rapidly.
- Employees change, they become solution focussed rather than problem focussed.
- Employees feel respected.
- Every employee thinks differently, some think logically, some creatively and some in terms of people. They build on each others’ thought processes. The richness of varied thinking leads to a holistic solution.
- The solutions would be well accepted, easily owned and enthusiastically implemented by the team.
- The manager is not under pressure of coming up with right solution. Moreover, the team and colleagues will refrain from judging the decision critically as they have contributed to it.
- The leader/ manager still has the responsibility to take the decision, leader’s position is not undermined.
What should be the process of instilling Thinking Equality?
- State the issue on which thinking and decision has to be made.
- Present the current status/ issue in an unbiased factual manner.
- Tell the employees that you don’t have a current solution.
- Ask everyone ‘What do you think?’
- Communicate that EVERYONE should express their thinking about the issue and possible solution.
- Tell them that once you listen to their thoughts, you will think through and decide. Not all opinions can be accommodated in the solution but all thoughts will be considered.
- Start with the junior-most person.
- Everyone should listen with open mind to others as it may build their own thoughts.
- Leaders should evaluate their own bias; did they give all thoughts an equal consideration?
- Arrive at the solution / decision and communicate to the team after dovetailing your thinking and reasoning.
Once it becomes clear that everyone’s thinking is required to be on board, it is heard and valued, executives will feel responsible to think intently and express freely. Thinking is not the realm of only the senior leaders but even the junior-most has to think.
The organization will become a Thinking organization where the power of every brain is harnessed.
That is when an organization achieves…
‘Thinking Equality’
** Inspired by Time to Think by Nancy Kline
