Working out what we think

As we cycle around something, a situation, an idea, a problem, a possible solution, we're usually trying to work out our relationship with it, to it. We're working out what we think, what we know and what we should or could do ... if anything. We exchange information with others. We try to advance the conversation.

Our opinions may not be fully formed. Our ideas may initially be hunches or hopes.

When we're in dull meetings, that perhaps should be exploring our relationship and connection to information, rather end up being status plays and waffle-fests with little if any structure to guide us through this exploration and sensemaking.

'Busy' leaders with time pressures don’t engage in or lead sensemaking activities often enough. But they pay the price later when team members are disengaged, disconnected, disinterested.

Spending some time deliberately making sense of ideas and information is engaging, exploring, discovering. It’s not time wasting but insight gathering for more swift and impactful decisions later.

Sensemaking is a super skill for today and most definitely a skill that lends itself to the uncertain future. 

The person with the most spontaneity wins

As leadership evolves from command and control to consultative/coaching and beyond to facilitative, those who can handle what happens are well placed.

We can’t predict what people will say, what will happen at a meeting, how a client will respond or what the board might ask for, so we may need to respond in the moment.

Spontaneity is a strength that's incredibly powerful in times of uncertainty. We can spend so much time though, rehearsing scenarios trying to cover all of the possibilities, to try to prepare for the future.

Do we fear we wont be able to handle things, that we will lose control?

Maybe we don’t trust ourselves to handle what happens.

But improvisers have known it for decades: we have incredible resources in us and we need to trust that we can handle so many situations. Could you be more spontaneous, you know, go with the flow? Responding to what happens rather than trying to control what happens?

🔆To build spontaneity, notice your response when things DON'T go as you hoped, expected or planned. What you do next is spontaneity. And it's a SUPER SKILL for the uncertain future. 

The value is in the summary

You know how we zone out in meetings, get overloaded, lose focus and do other things? (We check our devices for email, social media, anything to relieve the pressure of information overload.)

What do you do to counter this situation? Most people I work with initially blame the phone or device and say things like ‘put them away’ or ‘don’t use them’.

But it’s less about the phone, more about what’s going on in our heads.

Information overload is a daily, even an hourly challenge. And most of us don’t know how to cope.

It’s called 'cognitive load coping' and we haven’t learned how to do it. So we reach for our dopamine device as relief.

Rather than punishing the person reaching for their device, make the processing of all of this information easier.

There’s are more than 32 techniques I teach in cognitive load coping.

Here’s one to use often : SUMMARY. As you go through a meeting, summarise where things are up to, what’s been done, what’s yet to do. Summarise the facts, the evidence, the opinions, the key points, the proposed solutions and the discussions so far. A summary takes little more than a minute. Less. And we don’t use them nearly enough.

Do you know their expectations

At the most recent meeting you were in, or you led or facilitated, did you find out what people's expectations of the meeting were?

I know we're often under time pressure - and senior leadership pressure - to 'just get started' with the meeting, but asking about people's expectations is still one of the best things you can do in the early parts of a meeting.

Rather than worrying about hidden agendas popping up during the meeting, or struggling throughout the meeting to keep things on track, finding out about expectations up front is a brilliant pre-emptive move.

Don't downplay or devalue it; it really does help get a lot of information 'out on the table' and helps get clear about why we're all here.

We have expectations at restaurants, of holidays, at weddings and of training, books, customer service and relationships. Why not expectations of where our time is being requested - the workplace meeting?

Spend a little time early on in your next meeting hearing people's expectations, and you'll soon find out if it's going to be a big job to get everyone on the same page, or if you're nearly, almost, already there.

Willing to learn

Plenty of people spruik 'fail fast' and 'failure is sexy' messages, trying to make us learn to love, like or just tolerate failure. But I don't think we want to. We resist failure. It's natural.

We don't want to be associated with stuff that didn't work or things that could ruin our current or future career or reputation.

So how about learning? OK, now we have something to work with. Not as scary as failing; still insightful and full of lessons. And possibly, some tough lessons.

Could we be more willing to learn?

Willing; it means prepared, ready, eager. If we are, we'll be more able to adapt, change, respond and try new things ... demonstrating more ease and less resistance.

Organisations in a constant state of change need more people who are willing to learn. When you take on a new role, start a new project, work in a new team or move to a new neighbourhood, there's plenty of learning up for grabs.

Learning doesn't make us bad, weak, unskilled or irrelevant. In fact, our ability and willingness TO learn is an advantage.

Be willing to learn, more than you are - be prepared, ready, eager. Show more ease and less resistance to learning.