Explore the depths

I'm posting on thinking and sensemaking skills - so far, we've

✅Clarified the context

✅Traversed the breadth and now...

⬇️ Explore the depths.

With big picture knowledge of 'why' a topic, and an idea of the breadth of the topic, you can go on in and dive dive dive!

Where would you dive in? If you're on a train from say, London to Paris, would you get off at one of the stations along the track, or continue to the end of the line?

We can dilute our sensemaking efforts by time-wasting non-sense making! It's when we dart from here to there, back to that, up to there and then back again! It's hard work when we don't know the context and haven't seen the breadth of a topic. It overwhelms us because it takes brain-processing energy to keep making sense of where we are again and again. It's like how a GPS freaks out when you don't follow the suggested route. It displays the 'recalculating route' message.

We repeatedly have to do this when things don't make sense.

Context. Then breadth. Now depth.

Q: Do you like diving into the details?

Traverse the Breadth

Once you’ve got context (see previous post), go wide on a topic before going deep.

Map out the scope of what this thing could be. It may not be where you are right now, or where you’re going, but identifying how broad this thing is helps see where our thinking could go. Once you’ve labelled or identified the breadth of a topic, you can draw people in to focus on different parts. When tangents are taken by people trying to make sense, you can see where they are on the breadth.

It's like taking a trip from say, London to Paris. The breadth is London… all the way over there to Paris. Draw a line: at one end London, the other Paris. We can get there in many different ways (and that is something for us to discuss, decide and agree on). Say we take a train. Along the breadth is that part out of London when it's all luscious countryside; then going into the tunnel, in the tunnel, coming out the other side, countryside, towns, outer city, Paris, station! That's breadth.

So… which bit are you going to focus on?

Thinking Tools for Sensemaking

Sensemaking is our ability to understand the deeper meaning of what’s going on.

In a crazy cray-cray world, with pressure to process vast amounts of information in lengthy meetings, we need to make sense as quickly as possible. But how? Do we sit around a meeting table, talking and listening as best we can?

Sadly, this is the default and gives us too much talk and not enough sense. You know, non-sense.

So do this instead: CLARIFY THE CONTEXT

Why are we doing this work? Set a big picture reason why and give people context. 'Context' is the setting, circumstances, the environment or situation. How many meetings start without time to focus on why the heck we are all there? Great mediators and conflict negotiators know if they can get high-level agreement at context, they’re part of the way to success. So ask and know: 'Why are we here? What are we trying to do?’ Big picture. Google Maps, Google Earth view, big big picture. Detail drillers? Not required right now.

Are you a big picture person or do you love details?

Could you yield … rather than resist

Of all the skills we can learn and develop, what if we just focused on how we could become more adaptable… more willing to change?

Imagine how this one capability - a willingness to change - could impact our world and our lives.

Imagine how it might help a team learn new things and deliver better services.

The progress we would make, the ideas we would put out into the world, the conversations we’d have, what we’d find out and what could be possible.

The problems we’d solve instead of the additional ones we tend to create.

Imagine how less frustration there might be in the world if we were all a little more flexible, adaptable, changeable.

And imagine how we’d grow, individually and collectively, if we became more tolerable of change, looked for it, sought it out, welcomed it and 'went' with it. Adaptability is the capability.

What if we chose to yield… instead of resist? Look for opportunities to change and adapt; it gets easier.

Adaptability - one of the biggest capabilities of our time

I’m posting on ADAPTABILITY; one of the biggest capabilities of our time.

It's our capacity, willingness and ability to adjust to new conditions.

Here are 4 of 12 BIG ideas about adaptability:

1️⃣ Sensemaking We need to gather, sort, filter and process information rapidly. Without making sense we’re in the dark. It gives us insight so we can decide what to do next.

2️⃣ Listening We fail to listen; Hugh Mackay says we fear we will be changed if we listen. But by entertaining ideas, information and insights, we can become willing to adapt. Oscar Trimboli says deep listening is what's required... beyond words.

3️⃣ Learning Understanding and knowledge opens us to possibility. We mature. Try, trip, fail, learn. It’s the portal to even more skills and capabilities, yet so many of us think we already know it all.

4️⃣ Collaborating We can’t go it alone. Our future requires us to work with others, engage, listen, communicate, tolerate, include, invite, welcome. It takes work and doesn’t happen naturally for some. We need to collaborate to adapt, and adapt to be able to collaborate.