In spite of what we may think, the group of people we turn to when we have need to bounce an idea off, get advice or have a conversation, is usually surprisingly small. In other words, under scrutiny, our ‘inner circle’ is often far less diverse than we believe it to be. This can create blind spots and linear thinking within a business setting.
The Solution:
Frame an important question for your business / team. This could be a question concerning strategy, the future, something to do with your organisational culture, a perspective…anything really, but identify a good question to be asking. It could even be, ‘what is the question that we as a business should be asking but aren’t?’
Identify 3 to 4 people within your business that fall outside of the circle of those people you usually connect with / chat to in the course of your day to day activities.
Go and ask them that question and have a conversation.
Tips:
This sounds disarmingly ‘simple’ so check yourself as to how ‘easy’ you find it. What made you choose the people you did?
Be intentional in how you tee-up the conversations. If it is somewhat awkward for you, it might be more so for those you target for the conversation. Be aware of this and look to mitigate this possibility. Make sure you get your timing (for the conversation) right.
Having had the conversations, reflect a while on what it was like; what insights you gained; what common themes emerged; how can you repeat this and perhaps make a habit of it.
What might happen if more people within your business did this?
The world needs a new leadership response to a global context of change, complexity and uncertainty. Leadership expert (and author of today’s Tuesday Tip), Keith Coats is passionate about helping audiences around the world to understand what this response looks like and to equip leaders with the tools needed to respond to this changing context.
Keith’s research and global experience of over 20 years has helped him identify the key-defining factors of a successful leader in the 21st century as the ability to learn, grow and be adaptable. It is his great privilege to help leaders access new frameworks and thinking in order to successfully lead into the future. Chat with us if you’de like to explore how he could help your team prepare for the future.