Leading Thoughts for December 26, 2024

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with:

I.

Joe Davis on engaging the skeptics:

“Have you ever been in a room, presenting an idea for change, and someone says, ‘Oh, that will never work’? Or you’ve solicited feedback as you work through your options, and you hear the ‘No, we cannot do that’? Your instinct might be to be defensive or just ignore them, but their perspective and experience, if you can embrace it, will strengthen your position. Asking for more information about why they feel the way they do, and then listening carefully to what they say, can be the best course of action.”

Source: The Generous Leader: 7 Ways to Give of Yourself for Everyone’s Gain

II.

Behnam Tabrizi on the challenge to breaking organizational inertia:

“Besides the inertia of size and complexity, human nature is the main obstacle to change. People are conditioned to give away their own power. From being entirely dependent as infants, to partially dependent as we grow into adulthood, we are tempted to continue that pattern. We often abdicate our own thinking to the books we read and the lectures we hear; we leave the dictates of morality to religious leaders and our diet to doctors. Essentially, we’re too afraid to think for ourselves. In the workplace, we’re comfortable ceding our power to the bureaucratic hierarchy so we can settle into a predictable, stable set of routines and tasks.”

Source: Going on Offense: A Leader’s Playbook for Perpetual Innovation

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Look for these ideas every Thursday on the Leading Blog. Find more ideas on the LeadingThoughts index.

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Posted by Michael McKinney at 12:42 PM
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