Secret Sauce for Mastering Skills - Systems Thinking 101

Have you ever wondered if there was one guaranteed way to master professional skills?

Learning and doing are the two established ways to sharpen skills. Learning about different use cases from the experiences of others helps us refine our skills. Applying your skill to deliver results in different contexts helps you broaden your range. In this article, I introduce a third systematic way to master skills, systems thinking.

In a startup, you tend to throw people at problems in the early stage. As the startup scales and ascends the s-curve, a period of exponential growth, you realize that it is impossible to add people at the same pace. It is imperative at this stage to codify the decision frameworks used by the management to create systems that help scale the business without adding people at the same pace. A system is a set of principles or procedures according to which something is done.

Just as a startup builds systems to scale its business, you can build systems to scale your ability to apply your skills repeatedly with consistency. This in turn leads to mastery over the skill.

Scott Adams argues that systems trump goals in his book, “How fo fail at almost everything and still win big”. I found this argument fascinating and reflected on the systems that I have developed for the management skills that are key to success in my work.

#1. Problem Solving

A leader with a lot of experience in a specific domain would be able to discern patterns and diagnose the problem with minimal inputs. The pitfall of having a lot of experience is that it could blind you to facts and make you complacent about your understanding of the problem. In the context of this article, I am referring to a new, unknown complex problem for which the pattern is not easily discernible from experience.

Defining the problem right is the most critical step in solving any problem. Defining the problem right involves two steps - an in-depth analysis of the context to get the facts right and shameless curiosity to ask multiple whys until you get to the root of the problem. This sounds simple though this can be deceptively complex if the problem is in an area unfamiliar to you.

Solutions can be generated by either our creative right-brain or analytical left-brain. Logical reasoning would follow a deductive or inductive method of observing how others have solved the problem. The creative process involves imagining “what if” scenarios and doing user testing for different scenarios. The options you generate need to be evaluated against criteria. While the criteria would depend on the problem statement, the effectiveness of a solution can usually be measured in terms of the effort (cost) of implementation and the impact of the solution. A solution with high impact and low effort would be the preferred option.

There may be situations where multiple options fulfill the criteria. In this case, it is important to reflect on the nature of the decision you are making. If this is a reversible decision, you should go ahead with the solution that your gut says and if things do not work out, you can reverse it and implement the next solution. If the decision is non-reversible and involves loss of either significant time or cost, you should invest time in collecting more inputs, specifically consumer feedback on the solutions. Last but not the least, a decision is actionable only when it is translated to an action plan that lays down the steps in implementing the solution along with the timelines and owners for execution.

My system for problem-solving can be summarized as follows:

#2. People Management

This is as much an art as it is a science. I start by earning the respect of my team by adding value to each team member. I win their trust by being transparent, exposing my vulnerabilities, and having my team’s back. I identify the team member’s strengths and align their roles to leverage their strengths. I set stretched goals for my team while nurturing their confidence. I encourage my team to take risks and cast a psychological safety net by letting them know that success is theirs and failure is mine. Last but not the least, I share a larger purpose behind the work we do to inspire the team.

Please refer to this link for a detailed article on people management.

My system for people management can be summarised as follows:

#3. Influencing without authority

A brand persuades its customers by building an association in the consumer’s minds with a need. A contextual example is a 7X jump in Dabur’s Chyawanprash sales in Q1 2020-21 as demand for immunity-boosting products spiked during the coronavirus pandemic. Coaching institutes market themselves by publishing the photos of students who achieved success as this associates the institute with student success. In a corporate context, building an association would require surfacing examples of the outcome achieved by others who took a similar path to the one you are advising.

A lawyer persuades a judge to decide in her favor by presenting evidence and reasoning logically as well as by drawing reference to previous judgments that support her argument.

A crowdsourcing campaign intended to raise funds for a critically ill patient appeals to our compassion and a campaign that raises funds for educating a poor student appeals to our aspiration to give back. Emotional appeal is a strong motivator to influence behavior.

In a corporate context, logical reasoning is the default influence tool though a persuasive pitch should be a combination of all 3 of the above tools - logic | association | emotion.

To illustrate this with an example, let me take the example of influencing your manager and peers to align the performance rating for your team. Start by presenting evidence of their performance through KPIs and strengthen this with supporting feedback from stakeholders. Next, you should paint a picture of how this team member can add value to the organization in the future. It is here that you need to bring an association with another senior team member to show how you see this person progressing in her career. Having shared a logical argument and built an association, you should close with a statement about the value that this person exemplifies to evoke an emotional response.

My system for influencing without authority can be summarised as follows:

#4. Negotiation

The side that needs the deal least is the one that has the most leverage in any negotiation. The best way to win a negotiation is by being willing to walk away from the deal. However, if you badly need the deal, you can improve the odds of winning the negotiation.

Negotiation is a subject that each of us is involved with on various occasions:

Set context - Luxury brands immerse you in a luxury experience that sets the context for you to dissociate reason and associate emotions like aspiration and prestige while making the purchase.

Create need - Real estate agents create need by weaving a narrative around the lifestyle you can enjoy while walking through a house.

Anchor expectations - Street vendors give you the satisfaction of having negotiated a good price by anchoring the price high, to begin with. Real estate leasing agents anchor expectations by showing a few poor accommodations before taking you to the real deal that they want to close so that you are convinced that this accommodation deserves a higher price tag.

Let them make the first offer - Headhunters would always get you to share your current salary and expectations before disclosing the budget they have for the role.

Close with a win-win - Auto sales agents throw in a little extra to sweeten the deal for you and close with a smile in the form of a service cover or merchandise voucher.

In a commercial negotiation, you should start by creating a narrative of where your relationship is and where it needs to be. Create a need for your product or service by highlighting how it addresses your counterpart’s requirements and weave in a clear call to action why your counterpart needs to act now. When it is evident that this deal is the need of the hour, take the lead in anchoring the value of the deal to a benchmark that is relatable yet sufficiently loaded in your favor. Having done this, let your counterpart make the first offer. It is very likely that this offer would be in the range between your anchor value and industry standard. Make it a point to concede that there is a delta between your expectation and their offer, yet you would take the deal because you believe it is the beginning of something wonderful.

Many experts tell you not to leave anything on the table and this approach may work for a one-time deal. In a corporate context, most deals are made with partners with whom you seek a long-term relationship. I prefer to close on a win-win note giving a sense of fulfillment to the counterpart that both sides made concessions and are committed to the deal. A deal is only valuable if it is followed through by action that yields benefits to both sides.

My system for negotiation can be summarised as follows:

The beauty of systems thinking lies in the fact that while the use case for applying your skills vary, the system behind the skill would remain the same. You may refine your system as you gain exposure to a wide range of use cases. Conscious application of your system to different use cases will help you master the skill. This is the reason why a CEO tends to be a good problem solver, people manager, influencer, and negotiator even if she has moved in from a different industry with little or no domain knowledge.

Bruce Lee famously said that “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times”. The same concept applies to skills. It takes the deliberate practice of an underlying system multiple times to master the skill.

Have you codified systems for the skills that you practice? Please share your experience in the comments.