'Sources of Stupidity'

Ever think to yourself- "Why did I do that? It was such a silly error!" or "If I had just paused and thought about what to do, I could have easily avoided that mistake". I know I have... and I see it often in the workplace.

As a coach and learning and development adviser, I frequently get asked by managers and team leads- "why do people keep making the same errors? I tell them what is needed and the next draft/version still contains very simple and common-sense mistakes. They are smart people- I don't get it!"

There are, of course, many reasons this can happen (lack of clarity, experience, ability, etc.), but one of the reasons I often see is a lack of quality thinking. Employees at all levels are bombarded with information and being pulled in many directions, becoming quickly overwhelmed or energy drained. Our lovely technological advances mean we can do more in less time, so the expectations keep rising. Risks and the impact of errors are also increasing as our world gets more complex, fueling our fears of doing something wrong or making a bad call. Team work and collaboration is also on the rise, meaning we have less time to really sit down and think because we are always in meetings. And today- dealing with a global pandemic....ya, it makes sense we can't always apply the level of thinking needed.

Another reason we don't take the time to think is what Shane Parrish referred to as the 'sources of stupidity' (Shane is a former Intelligence agent turned guru in the area of self-improvement and effective decision making). In his article on making effective decisions, Shane talks about some of the common traps we fall into in our thinking and decision making. You can read the full article here, but I will share a summary of his 'sources of stupidity':

1. Cognitive biases- We rely on short-cuts to come to conclusions (also known as heuristics) that are advantageous in a way, helping us avoid being paralyzed by all the info being hurled at us, and they can often result in poor decisions.
2. Lack of information- In a pinch for time and energy we act without all the facts, often leading to mistakes and sometimes disaster.
3. Using the wrong mental model- We often have expertise in one or two areas of our field and that informs the mental models we use, however as things change and we are faced with new challenges, using the same old mental models will often lead to error. More well rounded professionals have more mental models to lean on or can more quickly see when their chosen mental model will be less effective or lead them astray.
4. We fail to learn- As experts in certain areas, we sometimes forget how to learn when faced with a new challenge or situation. Learning also takes energy and time, which we don't always have, so we rely on old behaviours that can create repetitive mistakes. This makes me think of living in a loop, without learning we keep using similar ways to solve our problems whether they work or not, often taking us back to the start again, and press 'repeat'.
5. The need to 'look good'- Humans have thrived on signalling the norms and values that get us where we need to go, signalling a value is easier then actually enacting that value, for example, signalling that you have integrity and operating using integrity are very different things. We want to belong and be liked so we choose ways of being that help us look good, which can come at the cost of great results.

So what we do?

Back to the question at the beginning, why do smart people make repetitive or simple mistakes, and as a manger or leader, how do you help? If you think the behaviour is a result of poor quality thinking, here are some ways to help people course correct.

Test thinking

One way is to test people's thinking as they present their work, ask curious questions to see if they have really thought about it. Ask if the current problem is like something they have seen or done before? Why did they choose to make their conclusion? Where did they look for their information? By testing the thinking or being a 'thinking coach' people can start to see their own errors and know what they need to do next, and hopefully learn from the experience. There are some other great ideas on the Headscratchers website.

Create safety

Another factor is safety. Make sure people feel safe sharing their ideas even if it might be out of the norm, or unconventional. If people are worried they will be dismissed for thinking outside the box, or their ideas are never considered, quality thinking will be discouraged.

Cultivate a culture of learning and growth

Finally, creating a culture of learning and growth mindedness will ensure people are encouraged to always improve and find new strategies. Show vulnerability and admit you too make similar mistakes, and how you learned to correct it, or brainstorm what you could both do to improve. Share your learning style and be curious about others, we all learn differently and people may need a reminder that learning comes in many shapes and forms. As a leader it will be important for you to role model an openness to learning and growth.

Final thoughts:

In our current situation, when many things feel like a crisis, or urgent, it is even more important to be reminded to take a pause and really think. When we are stressed and dealing with a lot of change and complexity, it is easy to make rash decisions or find excuses for being rushed, and I am guilty of it all. I wanted to write this today to share some insight into why we don't always think, to say 'hey it's OK' and also 'we can help each other do better'. One of the things that has inspired me is in a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic, is how people are still being creative and achieving excellence with little information about what tomorrow will bring. It reminds me I can do that to, even if there is no clear map on what that might look like. I will leave you with a funny anecdote from Sean's article, reminding us just how helpful a little thinking can be and how not thinking can prevent us from achieving our goals:

"While we all rely on maps, which are reductions of complexity, to make decisions, they are not always accurate. General George S. Patton Jr. understood that the map is not the territory. When he visited the troops near Coutances, he found them sitting on the side of the road, studying a map. Responding to Patton’s inquiry as to why they had not crossed the Seine, the troops informed him that they were studying the map and could not find a safe place to wade across. Patton informed them that he had just waded across it and it was not more than two feet deep."

Be kind to yourself, take a breath, and think about your next move :)