On our ‘Engaging People Powering Companies’ podcast this week, Amrit explores the topic of leadership open-mindedness

and how this can be a real asset in the twists and turns of life in business. We think of great leaders as having such a clear vision and path, who know exactly what they want and how they are going to get there, carrying people along with them through this infectious commitment to the goal. This maybe a tad misleading, when the people we often think of when we think of leaders, is generally those individuals usually famous for the delivery of their missions (the Steve Jobs of the world), and maybe it is that which makes them stand out as great leaders. But it isn’t just in the delivery though, in what they have produced in the world. A true leader is much more than that.

We are talking here about the subtleties of great leadership. Open-mindedness is a skill in leaders that is a great predictor of workplace success, increased engagement, satisfaction, and innovation. So then, a skill worth considering and assessing, whether as a leader, it is one you possess! Of course, we need a balance between the clarity and grit of getting where we are headed to, and that of being able to have cognitive flexibility enough to see what more is going on. Without this skill, we might be missing out on critical information, other options and paths that could actually be more engaging, profitable, holistic, inclusive and the like!

Nothing is ever guaranteed. The world we live in is uncertain and complex and everything - literally everything, starts as an idea, an opinion, a belief, a value that someone holds. Who is to say which of these is right or wrong, better, or worse? When you feel so certain and clear about something, how easy is it to challenge your own assumptions? How willing are those around you to tell you their ideas and thoughts about the subject, or do you just hear ‘yeah that sounds great’ from your ‘yes’ people?! Do you even seek or want to hear different points of view? Be curious about different points of view? We would all love an easy life where it would feel wonderful to think that everyone around you is in awe and fully supportive of your triumphant plan…but is that really what’s best for us?

I came across an article (HBR 2018, What Self-Awareness Really Is and How to Cultivate It), which shared a study of nearly five thousand participants showing that only ten to fifteen percent of people are self-aware, and how experience and power can hinder self-awareness. It stated that experience can lead to a false sense of confidence about performance, and over confidence for how self-aware someone thinks they are. It also states that the more power a leader holds, the more likely they are to overestimate their skills and abilities. The reasons given for this were having fewer people who are willing to give candid feedback, and that as power grows, our willingness to listen shrinks. So, I ask again, how open are you to other people’s views and opinions?!

Of course, there is a balance here between what Amrit calls ‘flip-flopping’ where someone can be seen as indecisive because their views/plans change depending on what they hear, and being so rigid that they are unable to flex at all. In fact, in his podcast, he chose to see flip-flopping as a compliment rather than a weakness, as it shows cognitive flexibility and the willingness to listen to others. As long as when a decision needs to be made, it can be made, using as much information as possible to make said decision! Surely, this can only be a good thing?!

The way to assess how open-minded we are is to practice reflection often. How willing are we to ask for people’s views, or to listen to really hear what someone is saying? Knowing that no one has authority on what is wrong or right, everything is so subjective. What we might believe today could easily change tomorrow. We can sometimes get so caught up in what we think to be the case. We attach meaning to things and think that it is the only way to see something, when in fact there are a multiverse of other meanings that we are just not aware of at the time. In our workshops, we often ask people to consider ‘what am I making it mean?’ and ‘what else could it mean?’. When we start to allow the brain to think of other possibilities, we start to see that there are so many other options available to us. In fact, we rarely know what is really going on! What is going on for us is a unique blend of our biographies, our values, our beliefs, our defence mechanisms, you name it, it’s in there. And therefore what makes that superior to anyone else’s?

Taking time to think and reflect can allow us to consider other pieces of information that may be present, but that we missed, helping us to make better decisions. Research has shown that we simply do not have access to many of the unconscious thoughts, feelings, and motives we’re searching for to prove how right we are, and maybe more worrying, is how confident we are that we are so right! We are not free from unconscious bias, we are only human! So much is trapped outside of our conscious awareness, we tend to invent answers that might feel true but are often wrong.

As a leader, making space for broader thinking, this cognitive flexibility, and being genuinely curious about what other information is out there, really matters. It matters to your people and to your offering in the world. In positions of power, let’s use the opportunity to stretch and flex our thinking so that open-mindedness is part of who we are as leaders, and let’s see all the possibilities that could present themselves! Who knows what we might uncover?