Objective learning and problem-solving.

In an ever-changing world of technology and hyperfocus on growth in business,? a lack of willingness to learn, unlearn, and relearn can have dire consequences for leaders and organizations. “Vision plays a key role in producing useful change by helping to direct, align, and inspire actions on the part of large numbers of people.” (Kotter, J 2012) The ability to capture data analytics from shareholders to stakeholders has accelerated our ability to make decisions in real time to make a durable change that maximizes organizational performance and creates value for larger groups of people; it also has put an increased emphasis on transparency.

Objectivity and lifelong learning are crucial characteristics shared by successful people and leaders of successful organizations. “What have we learned, and how do we continue to improve?” One way is to embrace the diversity of thought to reinforce our understanding of a subject and expand our knowledge base to help refine our critical thinking, reasoning, and problem-solving. To have a more positive impact and sustained relevance. With the acceleration of technology utilization, we have seen opportunities to increase our skill sets by learning to learn, unlearn, and relearn.

Many people are stuck in what they have previously learned or accomplished in ways that relegate their objectivity. I had a conversation recently with someone on the platform who had worked for a company and was questioned about their involvement with a failed business venture. The simple question is, “what are your thoughts on this?” This led to an interesting response about how “other people stated they made some mistakes.” Still, without considering that many people probably made many mistakes for a failure of such magnitude, there were several “institutional failure” levels in multiple organizations, including their former employer.??

?In this instance, how are they the only entity without any culpability? What responsibility did the organization take or, at the very least, learn from the experience? What would they do differently, or how could they avoid similar issues in the future? As we look to prevent catastrophic institutional failures in the future when leaders are willing to admit oversights, process lessons learned, and apply them to future problem-solving. It creates more credibility, builds trust, and creates a culture of accountability.?

In part, starting with first principle thinking, in questioning our assumptions, helps with this. When we challenge our assumptions first, then proactively seek outside objective viewpoints to test our understanding and beliefs. We create a competitive intelligence that can be leveraged as a competitive advantage. Echo chambers and silos create barriers to learning and leaders who actively question their assumptions, solicit feedback, and communicate transparently perform better. Increase their knowledge base, encourage and empower others to learn, unlearn, and relearn to improve their knowledge, skills, and abilities, a core principle of leadership.?

Kotter, J. (2012) Leading Change. Harvard Business Review Press. Retrieved from Kindle Edition, May 16th, 2023.