Looking through the lens of improvement

I wrote this blog in conjunction with Aimee Robson and Amy Mary Rose Herring following a call about improvement and how people see things.

An article published in the Harvard Business Review (HBR) in 2019 [1] entitled “To change the way you think, change the way you see” gives a good background into the importance of seeing things differently. There are many ways in which we view implementation, transformation and the building of teams. The HBR article highlights neurological /psychological reasons behind why we stop seeing the detail, particularly habituation. This can be described as "growing accustomed to a situation or stimulus,”, in the working environment this can lead to incomplete solutions or implementation as you stop seeing issues. When developing policy or improvement solutions this is something that might potentially occur. However, it may be obvious to the audience who have not been accustomed to a situation or stimulus, which is why it is important for people who aspire to lead and create improvements to consider a number of active perspectives side by side. In this thought piece we hope to give a perspective to people who seek to improve and create solutions in society on how you can consider multiple perspectives avoiding habituation

?Edward De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats is a good way to help categorise people and skills, those individuals also need to have a selection of glasses through which they must look. We all have different views of the world and often speak of the lenses or optics by which we approach or communicate a problem.

We are going to give our view of the set of glasses, like the six thinking hats, that people need to have on their desks (and alternate between) when they are approaching improvement to reduce the possibility of habituation within either context.

Everyday glasses

Can be considered as our most frequently used lenses – the type of lenses we use for most business-as-usual activity. Sometimes they contain an anti-glare lens, keeping us focused and not being distracted. They aid in getting the job done but they do have not any specific strength or weakness. Everyday glasses are therefore good at enabling us to achieve business as usual. However business as usual is different from improvement, and this is where different lenses play a pivotal role in avoiding habituation.

Further to our business as usual - everyday glasses are the specialist glasses supporting us to adapt our perspective to certain situations. These glasses may not be right for every situation, but they will aid in determing the focus required.

?The watchmaker’s glasses

Watchmaker’s glasses can clip onto the everyday glasses. The assistance these provide is the additional depth of detail, which is handy when needing to identify where a problem or solution lays. The prominent fact about watchmaker’s glasses is that they are used sparingly to the wearer as prolonged use can be uncomfortable from being too focused in depth. Detail about glasses with various depths will follow; the reason for alluding to the watchmaker’s glasses first is because we may unconsciously be driven to finding a solution to a problem that we can accidentally forget to remove these glasses. The further into detail we go, the more we become habituated and start to gradually adapt to the detailed focus, the less we instinctively think to broaden our vision of what else is happening around us.

The glacier glasses

Are much more focused than our everyday glasses. These have shades on the sides and very dark lenses which can be described as filtering or removing distractions to ensure a person’s perspective is focused on what is front of them. They restrict the vision which can be useful, but they are only useful in short bursts otherwise the person quickly becomes accustomed to what is in front of them and loses sight of what is around them leading to habituation. For each one of us we will use this lens differently, the similarity lies within recognition of removing this lens after a short period of time when the intense focus is no longer needed.

?Long sighted glasses

Are less focussed on what is in front of us and aim to give us vision into the distance. They are not binoculars but will enable someone to see into the distance and what is approaching from afar. An important aspect to improvement is being able to scan the horizon of potential changes that could have either a minor or major impact in trajectory that form part of our risk assessment. These glasses are crucial to bringing balance between what is in front of us and what is in the distance to remain in control of direction.

?VR Headset

While not glasses per se, VR headsets are a vital piece of equipment that offer us an alternative vision. We rarely use VR headsets in daily lives, and they restrict our vision, but they allow us to see a different reality, an alternative path, based on someone else’s view of things. When we look through a VR headset it may seem like a similar reality with slight differences. The headset gives us a representation of things that other glasses cannot produce. As an individual, it’s important to keep an open mind to the art of possibility through perspectives we cannot conjure ourselves. At the same time, we also need to remain grounded within reality of what we can aim to achieve in the present and what may require further developments to be possible in the far future.

Some may relate to this above view, but this may not work for everyone; there are many people out there with different glasses and tools already available to overcome struggles with the focus required for the task. In summary, using various “glasses” or perspectives will enhance focus allowing transformation and improvement.

?Conclusion

?Hopefully in reading this short blog it will help to reaffirm that there are many tools already out there that can help when struggling with focus, transformation or team building. We have just offered a perspective that some may relate to. We are not saying that the above will work for everyone, and some people may only be able to wear one or two sets of glasses, but hopefully will help you to find people that can wear the ones that you don’t have access to. In summary, Using various “glasses” or perspectives will enhance focus allowing transformation, and effective team building.

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[1] https://hbr.org/2019/04/to-change-the-way-you-think-change-the-way-you-see