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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
How to implement effecitve, magnetic leadership by applying asset-based thinking and shifting your mindset from the negative to the positive Lead Positive takes the fundamentals of Asset-Based Thinking (ABT) and turns them into a playbook for successful leadership. ABT is a simple mindset management process that shows people how to make small shifts in perception and thinking to achieve great results. Cramer shows leaders how to apply ABT to shift their attention away from what is negative and learn to intentionally shine the spotlight on the positive, beneficial facts of a situation. As they make this mental shift from negative to positive aspects, they improve their optimism, empathy, and confidence. When their mindset zooms in on what is strong, valuable, and possible, what they say and do is far more likely to inspire others to action. In short, ABT helps leaders shift internally so they can excel externally. Lead Positive weaves neuroscience and positive psychology to create effective leadership strategies.
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Seitenzahl: 295
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014
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Table of Contents
Praise for Lead Positive
Title page
Copyright page
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Lead Positive
People Follow People, Not Ideas
The Asset-Based Thinking Advantage for Leaders
The Lead Positive Framework: See-Say-Do
The Lead Positive Advantage at Work
PART 1: What Highly Effective Leaders See
1: What You See Is What You Get
The Power of Perceptual Sets
Our Negativity Bias at Work
How Your Mind Sculpts Your Brain
The See-Think-Feel Awareness Tool
The ASA Shift
Resourcing Yourself as a Leader
The Five-to-One Principle
Equifax Workforce Solutions
The Third Way
What You See over Time
2: Focus on the Past
DuPont Company
A Focus on the Team
A Focus on the Situation
From Past to Present
3: Focus on the Present
Kairos Moments and Opportunities
Scan-Snap-Savor
Seizing the Kairos Opportunity
Seizing Opportunity from Negative Dynamics
From Present to Future
4: Focus on the Future
Envisioning a Positive Future
A Self-Oriented Start to a Positive Future
An Other-Oriented Start to a Positive Future
A Situation-Oriented Start to a New Future
Leadership by Lightning or Listening
PART 2: What Highly Effective Leaders Say
5: From See to Say
Saying It with Substance, Sizzle, and Soul
What You Say and How You Say It
The Substance-Sizzle-Soul Connection
6: Say It with Substance
Practice, Practice, Practice
Janice's Story
Substance as Your Credibility Card
Substance in Action
7: Say It with Sizzle
The Hero's Journey
An ABT Leader with Sizzle
Say It with Sizzle Self-Tests
How to Say It with Sizzle
Sizzle in Action
8: Say It with Soul
Show Your Skin in the Game
Leaders Who Say It with Soul
How Leading with Soul Can Inspire a New Sense of Pride: The Peabody Story
Small Shifts in Soulfulness, Big Difference in Satisfaction
Say It with Soul Self-Tests
How to Say It with Soul
Self-Others-Situation Framework for Saying It with Soul
Soul in Action
PART 3: What Highly Effective Leaders Do
9: From Say to Do: It's a Very Short Trip
The See-Say-Do Chain Reaction
A Virtuous Cycle
10: Reactive or Responsive: It's Up to You
The Wider the Lens, the Better the View
Reading Your Body in Real Time
Asset-Based Thinking Leadership Strategies for Responsiveness
11: Start Being Before You Start Doing
When I Am at My Best: A Self-Reflection Tool
The Three Cs
From Being to Doing
12: Driving Positive Change
Post-Katrina New Orleans: A Story of Transformational Change
The Seven Key Dos of Positive Change
13: The Asset-Based Leadership Advantage
Stage I: Envision
Stage II: Explore
Stage III: Invent
Stage IV: Transform
Scan-Snap-Savor
Conclusion: Your Lead Positive Hero's Journey
About the Author
More from Wiley
Index
Praise for Lead Positive
“I stood up to take on the Jeopardy Challenge and build Watson when the vast majority of technical leaders at IBM stated it was ‘impossible,’ ‘fantasy,’ and that ‘Ferrucci was a dreamer’—and when the executives backing the project insisted that Watson had to win to save the IBM brand. I look back at what made me successful in the face of such extreme doubt, high stakes, and extraordinary stress, and it was exactly what Kathy Cramer suggests in Lead Positive: my ability to honestly reflect and acknowledge challenges and limitations in myself, my team, and current technology, and then summon the courage to focus on what was possible—what could be done with the assets I had in hand and what greatness would be if we built the smartest machine in the world. In retrospect, the ideas in Lead Positive enabled me to stay focused, conquer seemingly impossible tasks, and keep the team motivated. I may have acquired them innately, but this book makes the attitudes, ideas, thought processes, and behaviors underlying leadership explicit and accessible to anyone. Had I just dwelled on everything we could not do and our weaknesses, rather than working with our assets, Watson—and its impact on science and business—would have never happened.”
—David Ferrucci, artificial intelligence scientist and research lead responsible for Watson, IBM
“The concepts Kathy Cramer has introduced in Lead Positive will be as dynamic a tool in the workplace as her previous books about asset-based thinking (ABT). I found ABT to be such a powerful concept that I have distributed copies of her last book to all my employees. I look forward to sharing Kathy's new book with them.”
—Louisa Jaffe, CEO and president, TAPE
“Kathy Cramer's Lead Positive connects many previously unconnected aspects of the work of the leader. By showing readers how what they see, say, and do positively impacts themselves, others, and their current situations, she connects their intrapersonal potential with the interpersonal practice of leadership.”
—Peter J. Dean, founder and president, Leaders By Design; author, The Coachable Leader
“If we all lived by Kathy Cramer's five-to-one principle (five positive thoughts or actions for every one negative), our world would be a better place. Every leader and potential leader needs to read Lead Positive to learn all the ways they can increase their positive impact.”
—Barbara B. Grogan, founder and past CEO, Western Industrial Contractors
“Lead Positive confirms what I believe and have experienced as a community leader. Leaders who are geared toward potential and approach their work with abundance are far more likely to rise above the scarcity and barriers that prevent us from moving forward. Kathy Cramer provides us with a personal roadmap toward a very positive future!”
—Kelly Pollock, executive director, Center of Creative Arts (COCA)
“The strategies and practices that we have learned from Kathy Cramer over the last twelve years have transformed our work as educational consultants. Now, Lead Positive offers everyone the chance to understand effective ways to lead others, building on a foundation of strengths and assets. Kathy has written a compelling and positively practical book for our time.”
—Louise Cadwell and Ashley Cadwell, cofounders, Cadwell Collaborative LLC
“Lead Positive is one of those rare books that can change lives by combining simple, yet profound insights into human motivation with actionable tools. Kathy Cramer has made an immensely valuable contribution to the study and practice of leadership.”
—Bryan Mattimore, author, Idea Stormers
“Just when you thought you had heard the last word on leadership, this revolutionary new book reframes, renews, and reenergizes the act of leading. Lead Positive is more than a feel-good book—it equips leaders with a foundation and a compass for being more compelling, more courageous, and more compassionate.”
—Chip Bell, author, The 9½ Principles of Innovative Service
“Yes! There is much more to say about leadership, and Kathy Cramer says it! Lead Positive is a life-changing playbook for transforming yourself into an uplifting, engaging, optimistic, magnetic, courageous, and effective leader. Supported by compelling research, brilliant insights, and powerful stories, Kathy provides concrete tools for embracing the mindset and the actions that make you an inspirational, positive force in your organization and your life.”
—Wendy Leebov, president, Language of Caring
“The most powerful leadership tool is reflection, which leads to positive and deliberative action. Lead Positive is a deceptively simple yet high-impact methodology for achieving successful outcomes.”
—Susan Lucia Annunzio, president and COO, The Center for High Performance; author, eLeadership and Contagious Success
“Kathy Cramer's asset-based thinking approach to leadership is exactly what our overly cynical, negative, and critical world needs to mobilize our people to perform optimally. A refreshingly new and optimistic perspective on leadership at any level.”
—Molly D. Shepard, founder and CEO, The Leader's Edge; cofounder and former president, Manchester Inc.; author, Breaking Into the Boys' Club
“Lead Positive really works to maximize leadership effectiveness. It helped us change our team's mindset from ‘negativity bias’ to a focus on the positive, and taught us to really listen to each other and to be able to collectively articulate our vision.”
—Mary Alice Ryan, president and CEO, St. Andrew's Resources for Seniors System
“Lead Positive is the owner's manual for ABT Leadership, filled with easy tools and step-by-step instructions to be used every day, in any situation.”
—Gifford Booth, cofounder and CEO, The TAI Group
“Lead Positive is one of those rare leadership books that I am recommending not only to my work colleagues but also to my friends and family. It is one thing to tell someone to lead from a positive approach, and another to give them the tools and methods to put it into action. Lead Positive does both and more. It is a must-read for anyone wanting to raise their leadership skills to the next level and have a positive influence on the people around them.”
—Mark Wagner, vice president, global sales, DuPont
“Kathy Cramer's Lead Positive shows you how to get the most out of yourself as a person so that you can be the best leader possible. Her insights and tools on how to leverage the positive dynamics of any situation are critical to making each moment count.”
—Jason W. Womack, founder, YourBestJustGotBetter.com
“Lead Positive is a terrific roadmap for the personal journey of leadership transformation. Kathy Cramer's insightful step-by-step process serves as a guide for putting your leadership intentions into action. As you transform, so will your organization. Mine did!”
—Joyce M. Dear, operations leader, Equifax Workforce Solutions
“I found Lead Positive to be easy to read, with great examples and guidance of how others have been successful applying asset-based thinking. I found the material on substance, sizzle, and soul to be particularly interesting and helpful.”
—Mark Engel, vice president, division marketing, Express Scripts
“Kathryn Cramer's Lead Positive is a refreshing break from much of today's psychobabble about leadership. Lead Positive is a treasure trove of guidance for the kind of authenticity that truly engages people's heads, hearts, and hopes.”
—Rodger Dean Duncan, author, Change-Friendly Leadership
“This book goes beyond the traditional case study regurgitation of best practices and gives us the gift of true insight and practical steps to become better leaders. True to asset-based thinking, it provides us with what we can do instead of what we are not doing.”
—John Sweeney, speaker, trainer, author, and owner, Brave New Workshop Comedy Theater
Copyright © 2014 by Kathryn D. Cramer. All rights reserved.
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Library of congress cataloging-in-publication data
Cramer, Kathryn D.
Lead positive : what highly effective leaders see, say, and do / Kathryn D. Cramer.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-118-65808-6 (cloth); ISBN 978-1-118-84131-0 (pdf); ISBN 978-1-118-83011-6 (epub)
1. Leadership. 2. Business communication. I. Title.
HD57.7.C6953 2014
658.4’092–dc23
2013040227
I dedicate this book to John Davis,my husband and business partner,the light and love of my life.
Acknowledgments
I am holding the space for a new conversation about leadership. Instead of strategy, market share, alignment, and execution, I want to shine the spotlight on what goes on in the minds, hearts, and spirits of leaders that makes people want to follow them. My question is, “How do leaders use themselves as an instrument to drive positive change?”
There are a growing number of professionals who have joined me in this new conversation by putting this leader's talents, courage, optimism, resilience, and pursuit of a mighty cause center stage. I honor them here:
I acknowledge and celebrate my partners at The Cramer Institute—Judy Dubin, Peggy Guest, and John Davis—for their unrelenting quest to see what is deepest and best in every leader they coach. Their commitment to advancing the principles and practices of asset-based thinking (ABT) is unqualified. Because of their work, leaders are learning to see, say, and do what makes them highly effective.Colleen Moore, the director of operations at The Cramer Institute, was willing to see my first drafts, say what worked and what didn't, and do the incredible job of word processing the manuscript in each of its iterations. Thank you, Colleen, for your unwavering dedication and astute feedback.I recognize Lori Dixon, an educator who has built her consulting, coaching, and training company on creating ABT applications for administrators, teachers, and students in public and private schools, as well as for leaders and participants in nonprofit youth programs.I applaud Beth Chesterton for bringing ABT strategies to coaches around the world. Beth personifies ABT energy, enthusiasm, and commitment. She is dedicated to helping coaches build their businesses, their brand, and their client success stories.I am especially grateful for the strong guidance my Lead Positive book project has received from my amazing literary agents and savvy editorial team: Anne Marie O’Farrell and Denise Marcil of Marcil-O’Farrell Literary have been consummate collaborators. They embraced ABT and have shaped the Lead Positive book project from its inception through the many twists and turns of the publication process.Danielle Goodman has served as my hands-on developmental editor. Her organization, clear thinking, and exceptional ability to coach me in my writing has produced a book that is a good read, as well as a consummate leadership playbook.My Jossey-Bass editorial team has given of their time and talents generously and creatively. Clancy Drake got this project off to the right start by providing feedback on the arc and structure of the chapters, as well as a healthy dose of encouragement along the way. John Maas believed in this book from the acquisition phase, and he has devoted extra effort to bringing it to the marketplace on schedule and looking great. Former executive editor, Susan Williams, provided incredible insights that helped me articulate the true value proposition of Lead Positive. Finally, Genoveva Llosa, my first editor at Jossey-Bass, was my muse. She helped me find the subtitle of the book. More important, as a leader she embodies the qualities of substance, sizzle, and soul.Introduction: Lead Positive
What if the leaders in our midst learned to:
How much more effective would they be? How many more would they inspire? How much better off would our institutions, businesses, schools, and communities be today and in the long run?
When you Lead Positive, you offer a compelling vision of the future by reframing problems into possibilities and appealing to a higher sense of purpose—a noble and mighty cause.1 When you think, speak, and act out of the positive side of the ledger, others feel more hopeful and confident about the future. And when you articulate why your vision is so important to those you serve, they trust and respect who you are, not just your ideas. Then when you take a stand that requires courage and sacrifice, you can rely on their support and determination as you walk together toward a new positive direction.
Turning those “what-ifs” into leadership realities is what this book is all about. My promise to all leaders is that when they shift what they see, say, and do toward what is possible and positive, they will get further, and do so faster. This is true in any situation—even the thorny, difficult ones.
People Follow People, Not Ideas
It's no wonder that public confidence in leadership has been declining; the leaders who know how to lead positive are in short supply. But if you look a little deeper, you will find that it is an overreliance on conventional leadership practices, not the leaders themselves, that are failing us. Conventional leadership emphasizes planning, organizing, setting a direction, developing strategies, and then executing. These approaches are necessary, but they do not inspire. Relying on these practices alone leaves out the most powerful act of leadership: inspiring followers to action. And in order to inspire, leaders must be self-confident and optimistic in all they see, say, and do.
I have found that highly effective leaders approach themselves, others, and the situations they find themselves in from a base of positivity. They take the time to see the good in each moment and share positive learnings with others, creating energizing pauses along the path to goal achievement. They collaborate with others to synthesize disparate points of view into a vision that leverages each person's strengths and speaks to his or her personal motivation. It is easy for leaders to forget that leading is as much about inspiring the imagination and actions of their followers as it is about getting the direction and strategy right. But research tells us that when people at every level feel they are part of creating the vision, their ownership and commitment to execution grow exponentially.2
The Asset-Based Thinking Advantage for Leaders
Asset-based thinking (ABT) means to look at yourself and the world through the eyes of what is working, what strengths are present, and what the potentials are. Conversely, deficit-based thinking means to look at yourself and the world in terms of what is not working, what is lacking, and the gaps between where you are and where you want to be.
Our research, corroborated by others, tells us that people have a bias toward deficit-based thinking that follows the old 80/20 rule: 80 percent of the time, we are on the alert for what is not working, what the mistakes are, and what course corrections are needed.3 Maybe if we're lucky, 20 percent of the time, we are focused on the upside of a given situation and how we can leverage those possibilities.
This tendency to be more sensitive to the negative has an evolutionary basis that psychologists and neuroscientists refer to as the negativity bias, which we explore in chapter 1.4 For millennia, negative information has weighed more heavily on the brain to ensure survival. For most of our everyday problems and setbacks, this built-in negativity bias aimed at survival is overkill. In fact, when we focus primarily on the deficits, we hold ourselves back. By focusing your attention on what is wrong, you may be able to correct the mistake, but you also risk losing out on unforeseen opportunities, particularly in today's rapidly changing business landscape.
Asset-based thinking is a choice, an intentional way for you to navigate through your day. If you want to be an asset-based thinker, first get to know your strengths and capabilities. Most of us know our gaps and our shortcomings a lot better than we know our strengths and capabilities. Solicit feedback from others to take an inventory of your talents. I call it “reducing the blind spot.”
At The Cramer Institute, we encourage leaders to become asset-based thinkers by spending five times more effort and energy on learning what their strengths are and what they have to leverage than they do on their shortcomings. It is a complete reversal of the way we were all trained in school, when we were graded on how many items we got wrong. Teachers, coaches, and parents all thought they were doing us a big favor by focusing on how we could improve, but the research shows that if you want to help someone learn something—particularly anything that is complex or involves dealing with other human beings—you must find a way to move the learner into positive emotional territory (i.e., curiosity, a sense of progress, hope, and confidence). Focusing on what has already been done well is the ticket to accelerating a sense of progress and engendering the thought, “I can do this myself.”5
While conventional leadership approaches focus on acquiring industry expertise, strategic capability, and operational savvy, ABT is an internal development process that zeros in on transforming what the leader sees, says, and does. When the leader's mind-set zooms in on what is strong, valuable, and possible, what he or she says and does will inspire. In short, this approach helps leaders to shift internally so they can excel externally.
Lead Positive takes the fundamentals of ABT, revealed in my first book, Change the Way You See Everything, and turns them into a practical playbook specifically designed for leaders.6 In this book, I offer tools to leaders for shifting away from a negative bias and intentionally shining the spotlight on the positive, beneficial assets within themselves, others, and whatever situations they may find themselves in.
The Lead Positive Framework: See-Say-Do
The three-step Lead Positive framework helps you shift what you see, say, and do toward driving positive change. The book is divided into three parts that follow this framework. Each provides you with insights and step-by-step practices that build on each other to cultivate your optimism and help you become a magnetic and confident leader. It is best to read these parts in sequence your first time around so you can experience how what you see drives what you say and, in turn, what you say drives what you do. You can think of See-Say-Do as a self-reinforcing system.
I have seen time and time again that when leaders shift their perspective from the negative side of the ledger to the positive side, it creates a positive chain reaction. In part 1, you will learn concrete strategies for focusing positive mental attention on:
What worked and what you can learn from the past in order to be more effective in the present and more creative in shaping the futureThe positive dynamics in the present in order to take swift, decisive, and effective action toward achieving your goalsA rewarding vision of the future in order to be prepared for the emerging opportunities that get you thereConnecting what you say to the positive evidence you see is the basis for inspiring and high-impact communication. In part 2, you will learn how to use the Lead Positive communication road map to say it with:
Substance, by using the assets of logic and conviction to frame a positive vision (the intelligence quotient)Sizzle, by using your voice and your stories to engage people's emotions (the emotion quotient)Soul, by revealing who you are and why your message is important (the meaning quotient)Leaders build self-confidence and inspire allegiance by acting intentionally in key, defining moments. By identifying and assessing the behaviors that have helped you create success in the past, you become familiar with your own personal dos for highly effective leadership. The more aware you are of what you do best, the more you can leverage those behaviors. In part 3, you will learn how to use the positive trajectory of what you see and say in order to:
Respond positively and intentionally to high-stress, high-alert situationsFind and leverage your signature leadership presence—those qualities of being that make you uniquely effective as a leaderDrive positive change over the long haulAs you read, you may notice a recurring theme throughout the book: you already know what to do. As a leader, you are already equipped with a unique and effective set of skills to inspire others to achieve a vision. Lead Positive is about first turning your eye inward to see those personal assets—to know beyond a shadow of a doubt who you are and what you are capable of. Making this mental shift will allow you to fully engage your optimism, empathy, and confidence; strengthen your goal orientation; and expand your capacity for learning. Once you can be that solid and authentically positive base, you are primed to see the positive assets of the others around you and of the situation at hand—and to leverage them.
The Lead Positive Advantage at Work
In today's uncertain and chaotic business climate, the need to work together toward a compelling vision looms large. Leaders need to be optimistic and authentic to inspire confidence in their followers and drive positive change. At The Cramer Institute, my team and I have worked with countless CEOs, entrepreneurs, managers, educators, and administrators who have created positive change by embracing the Lead Positive framework. Throughout this book, I offer examples of business professionals we have coached on what it takes for leaders to be effective in challenging circumstances. In addition, I offer examples of public leaders who have ignited passion by—whether they know it or not—embracing Lead Positive principles. I also draw from the latest scholarly research in neuroscience, leadership development, and positive psychology to underscore how optimism and personal magnetism are intrinsic to highly effective leadership.
Notes
1.Burns, J. M. Leadership. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2010.
2.Bass, B. M., and Avolio, B. J. “Transformational and Organizational Culture.” Public Administration Quarterly, 1993, 17(1), 112–121.
3.Paulson, T. L. The Optimism Advantage: 50 Simple Truths to Transform Your Attitudes and Actions into Results. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2010.
4.Baumeister, R. F., Bratslavsky, E., and Finkenauer, C. “Bad Is Stronger Than Good.” Review of General Psychology, 2001, 5(4), 323–370.
5.Zull, J. E. The Art of Changing the Brain: Enriching the Practice of Teaching by Exploring the Biology of Learning. Sterling, VA: Stylus, 2002.
6.Cramer, K. D., and Wasiak, H. Change the Way You See Everything. Philadelphia, PA: Running Press, 2006.
PART 1
What Highly Effective Leaders See
Zero in on what is working, strong, and possible
1
What You See Is What You Get
This may come as a surprise to you, but we see with our brains, not our eyes. Almost instantaneously, your brain transforms sensory input into thoughts about what you see. Within a few milliseconds of perceiving something, you make meaning out of it.1 There will always be more than one way of making meaning out of what you see, even if you are convinced you have a clear perspective on what is happening.
The value of searching for the multiple, and sometimes contradictory, facets of what is happening was driven home by New York mayor Rudy Giuliani in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. On the afternoon of the attacks on the World Trade Center, Mayor Giuliani and Governor George Pataki held a joint news conference at the New York City Police Academy. Asked about the number of people who had been killed, Giuliani said, “I don't think we want to speculate on the number of casualties. The effort now has to be to save as many people as possible.”2 By ten o′clock that evening, so many had shown up to help with the rescue operations at Ground Zero that no more volunteers were needed at that time.
In the days to come, Mayor Giuliani used his press conferences to emphasize the courage of the first responders, the generosity and resilience of the citizens of New York City, and the unilateral support of people from around the globe. His focus on what was admirable and heartening was far greater than his focus on what was terrifying.
Note how Giuliani saw and focused on amazing acts of heroism amid the horrific aftermath of the attacks. More important, he communicated the importance and value of that heroism to the world. By biasing his attention toward the positive and possible, Mayor Giuliani led the effort to “turn the worst attack on American soil into the most successful rescue operation in American history,” and helped to save an estimated twenty thousand civilian lives.3 Giuliani instilled hope for the future in millions of people, accelerating the rate at which New York recovered.
The Power of Perceptual Sets
In any situation, from ordinary to extraordinary, leaders can exercise the option to see more of the assets—what is good, useful, and beneficial—than they do the deficits—the bad, useless, and even harmful. That both ends of the spectrum are always present is the truth. What is also true is that each of us (whether we are leading or not) hardly ever sees the whole picture. Instead, we pay attention selectively, zeroing in on only certain aspects.
If I ask you to see the color green right now, you might scan your surroundings and begin to notice green leaves, green hats, green pillows, green accents, and the like. Before I asked the question, the color green was present, but it probably did not stand out in your mind. After I made the suggestion, you likely saw green almost immediately in multiple manifestations. My question altered your perceptual set.
You can think of your perceptual set as your mental predisposition to perceive one thing over another—in this example, the color green over, say, the color red. You can also think of perceptual set in the psychological sense: the expectation that a person will see or perceive something based on prior experiences.
Your perceptual set is one of the most powerful sources of influence when it comes to shaping your selective attention. Many factors can trigger a perceptual set, such as feelings, needs, prior experiences, assumptions, beliefs, and expectations.
Test your own ability to overcome your perceptual set with the following exercise, which I came across in one of my favorite leadership textbooks and have adapted for our purposes here:4
FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTIFIC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF MANY YEARS
How many Fs did you count? Three? Four? Six? Most people do not get the correct answer (six) the first time. The most frequent answer is three. If you did not count six, go back and try again until you find the six Fs.
Why is this counting error so common? The answer is perceptual sets. People most often overlook the three Fs in the word “OF.” This happens for several reasons. One is that the letter F in the word “OF” makes a “V” sound in English, not the soft “F” sound as in the words “FINISHED,” “FILES,” and “SCIENTIFIC.” This is an example of an auditory perceptual set: many people hear the words as they read and listen for the sound of a soft F rather than searching for the shape of the letter. People also overlook the word “OF” because it is a “little” word that does not stand out. We ignore the word because of our perceptual set about which words are most important for understanding what we read.
There are strong parallels between this perceptual set activity and the perceptual sets that come into play when you lead. The first lesson in leading positive is to remember that you are always operating out of a perceptual set. The second is that your perceptual set necessarily biases your attention and causes you to perceive only select aspects of a situation.
The clearest example I encountered of the power of operating out of a specific perceptual set occurred several years ago when I was consulting for a division of a large technology company. My assignment was to help prepare engineers with new ideas for products or services to present to an internal panel of executives from the company's Innovation Hub. The Innovation Hub was established to evaluate the merits of new ideas and allocate funding for the development of promising innovations.
So far, so good, I thought to myself as I listened to the general manager explain the evaluation process to me. But what she said next caused me some real concern. She explained that the panel engaged in a process of evaluation that they called “rude Q&A.” In this context, being rude meant to “ask as many tough questions as possible to surface any problems or shortcomings associated with the innovation being presented.” In addition, it was required that they ask their questions in a tone of voice that was simultaneously “belittling and condescending.” This negative tone was designed to test the innovator's internal resolve and ability to withstand harsh scrutiny from a demanding group of high-level executives.
I could hardly believe my ears as I listened to the negative nuances baked into the rude Q&A process. The internal logic of this process and the perceptual sets that were in use went something like this:
Assume there will be significant problems and flaws that must be surfaced to prevent failures and risky investments (i.e., adopt the perceptual set “interrogate to find the flaws”).Be sure your tone is rude enough to throw the presenter off guard as a test of his or her gumption and commitment to the innovation (i.e., adopt the perceptual set “intimidate to evaluate”).The rude Q&A process exists in stark contrast to design thinking, a more asset-based innovation process developed by the global design consultancy IDEO. Tim Brown, president and CEO of IDEO, defines design thinking as a “human approach to innovation that draws from the designer's toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success.”5 It relies heavily on the initial step of prototyping to develop and test the potential merit of new ideas.
