Combining Techniques to Drive Results

Combining Techniques to Drive Results

We all have our approaches to problem-solving. Some of us are more inclined to take a big picture view, while others are more comfortable when focused on the nitty-gritty.

I mean, the answer lies in the detail, right?

More and more these days, our world has shown that problems are rarely black and white. And as I reason in The Power of Professional Closeness, that’s exactly why the answer’s usually a shade of gray, too.

Balancing Schools of Thought

I’ve long been a proponent of balance.

Take research, for example. Academics tend toward one of two schools of thought – deductive or inductive reasoning.

  • The first, deductive, begins with a hypothesis: “Based on our past performance, our revenue will grow 30% if we hire more salespeople.” From here, they test by doing just that on some scale or another.
  • Inductive reasoning starts with observations, drawing conclusions or generalizations from them: “3 out of 4 companies that hire more sales staff increase revenues by 30%. Therefore, if we do the same...”

If you could fund both studies, which would you pick?

And if you could fund both, would you?

In Your Organization

As we’ve seen, both lead to the same conclusion – hiring more sales staff. Both researchers, however, went about it differently. The same applies to our work as people, and as leaders.

Analytical vs. Intuitive Thinking

In business, however, we tend toward either Analytical or Intuitive Thinking to solve an organizational conundrum. Both in our daily work as individuals – and thanks to social dynamics – on a collective or team level.

  • Analytical thinking describes our tendencies to focus on details: processes, workflows, past performance, and the like. We learn by understanding where we went wrong – in real life or experiments – then use that to move forward. In a nutshell, we’re often learning from the past, or what’s ‘measurable’.
  • Intuitive Thinking is far more unfamiliar to most. Often, we don’t apply it much at all unless we’re consciously trying. With Intuitive Thinking, we look at possibilities rather than facts or data – what could be, what we could make, create, build: essentially, it asks “What if?

For instance, let’s consider two teams.

Adam’s Aardvarks are baseball legends. Each week, they get together and go over their team’s movements from the last match: Jonno’s strong right arm helped him pitch a home run, Lucy’s slow jog let the team down. They take those learnings and come up with a better strategy for the next game.

Ida’s Iguanas – Adam’s rivals – like to think about other stuff. What Adam’s team might be planning for next Saturday, for example, or new surprise moves to catch the Aardvarks off guard. Ida’s Iguanas don’t really look at how they did last game or even last season, because the future’s about possibilities, right?

What’s “Best?”

Yes – you’ve probably guessed it, the Aardvarks are mostly Analytical thinkers; the Iguanas are Intuitive Thinking-oriented. Can you see how both have different strengths? And face different potential shortcomings?

In business, we tend toward either Analytical or Intuitive Thinking to solve an organizational conundrum. Both in our daily work as individuals – and thanks to social dynamics – on a collective or team level.

Now imagine you had both capabilities. And with practice, the flexibility to switch between them. If all this seems a little familiar, it’s because it is. Elsewhere in our TTGG blog, I’ve described Exploration and Explorationand how organizations need both to survive, compete, and thrive.

Here, I’ve simply taken those higher-level concepts and tried making them more tactical so that you can try them on for size, yourself. With both in the bag, my experience is that most leaders make more informed decisions, by thinking both exploratively and in terms of what’s worked.

Which do you tend toward?

Over To You

Whenever I’m working closely with a management team, I like to help them reimagine how they solve problems. More specifically, I like to get them tackling a current company challenge by combining the two seemingly counter approaches – Analytical and Intuitive Thinking.

If you’re not yet ready to take on a full-blown organizational challenge just yet, then let me pose a thought experiment, instead. When a small conundrum arises in your daily work, I’d like you to hit pause.

Stop, take a moment. Instead of trying to rush straight for a solution, why not mentally distance yourself. Reflect on your cognitive processes – are you taking an analytical approach? Or is your tendency more holistic? How can you add a little more of the other to give yourself even more of an edge?

Joe DiBianca

Pursue inner excellence and stop self-sabotage and playing small by training the body-mind-spirit #TrainedNotTamed

4 年

Great article. Thanks for sharing.

Matteo Ruberto ??

I help companies grow by creatively using digital marketing without spending tons??on ads ??? DM me to learn more! ? lead generation

4 年

Great article Govert van Sandwijk. Makes me very curious about The Power of Professional Closeness. Where could I order this book? I often feel more attracted to analytical thinking, especially when I’m in action. When stressed my intuitive thinking is completely blocked. Mindfulness, yoga, meditation and other forms of relaxation seem to restore the balance between analytical and intuitive thinking. Does that make sense?

Louise Edwards

Is it time for a fresh perspective to build a human centred approach to inspire, energise and challenge your teams and leaders? Then we are for you.

4 年

Both depending on the circumstance. Its a myth that you cant do both, your brain just needs regular access to the unfamiliar part. Practice, practice and more practice. Take away the fear of the unfamiliar and support.

Chad Spencer

Managing Partner of Hazeltine Executive Search

4 年

INTUITIVE thinker right here ????But I do try to incorporate the analytical too. Thanks for the insight Govert!

Rob Llewellyn

I Help Leaders Drive Enterprise Transformation and AI Strategy — with Actionable Learning

4 年

I think it's best to have a balance of both. Thanks for the thought-provoking post Govert!

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