Walk the Week - Pushing at a Closed Door

There is a window over our stairs at home with a windowsill that used to be tiled in an orangey red, but when last decorated was changed to a white painted surface. This was perhaps a mistake as it was less attractive and is now getting very scruffy with the paint peeling off. Its poor state is also very obvious as we see it every time we walk up or down the stairs. My immediate thought was to get some terracotta tiles and revert to the old version. Not difficult you would have thought, but after numerous searches on Amazon and the internet generally, intermittently over several weeks, I just could not find the right size or type of tile. In particular I needed a 17-centimetre-deep bull nose tile with an overhanging lip at the end away from the window. Buying overlarge ones and cutting them down to shape would have stretched my DIY ability. I did acquire some which were about a centimetre too shallow on the basis I could maybe fill in the gap, but this did not work and the tiles now grace my garden. Then I had an epiphany – you don’t have to use tiles. I found you could buy online a “marble style white tile finish windowsill cover” to nearly the exact measurements. Delivery was around 3 weeks, but this was by no means an urgent job.

It struck me on reflection that I could not see the right solution because I was hell bent on following the wrong one. I recognise this pattern in professional work where it is all too easy to get fixated on one approach to a challenge, maybe because it has worked before or possibly has already involved considerable effort which a new approach would make redundant. Nevertheless, on reflection it is always worth maintaining an open mind and considering alternatives; in particular if something just is not working don’t keep pushing at a closed door. Have the humility and the sense to look at other workable solutions which incidentally may just be better that the original one – tiles on windowsills are maybe a bit passe now. My mistake on reflection was having too fixed a mindset – I had to find and use tiles. Instead, we should be open to alternative approaches in our daily work, especially on a significant new project or transaction. We should I suggest be willing to consider different ideas and perspectives – it is so easy to have a tendency to favour our initial viewpoint. See this article How to Be Open-Minded and Why It Matters which suggests from a psychological perspective that being “open-minded” “involves being receptive to a wide variety of ideas, arguments, and information. Being open-minded is generally considered a positive quality. It is necessary in order to think critically and rationally. Open-mindedness can also involve asking questions and actively searching for information that challenges your beliefs.”

In more of a work context see this article 10 Steps To Become More Open-Minded which proposes that “Open-minded people can fairly value experiences, beliefs, emotions, goals or arguments that may not align with their own.” It proposes ways to achieve this including.

·?????? Be aware of your biases - Biases affect how we interpret information and can cause judgment or stereotypes.

·?????? Consider the opposite viewpoint - Open-mindedness involves being able to question not just others, but also yourself.

·?????? Reframe negative thoughts - Open-minded people are typically more realistic or optimistic in their outlook.

While this Harvard Business Review article How to Become More Adaptable in Challenging Situations proposes that “In unfamiliar, high-stakes situations, it can be difficult to remain calm and open-minded. Our instinctive reaction is to stick with what has worked for us in the past. That’s normal, and it can work well in familiar situations. But defaulting to old habits in new situations that call for new solutions is usually a recipe for failure.” It advocates developing an approach of “Deliberate Calm” which requires three major elements:

·?????? Learning agility - learning from experience, experimenting with new tactics, approaching new situations with a growth mindset, seeking and learning from feedback, and applying these lessons in real time to new situations.

·?????? Emotional self-regulation - the ability to recognize, understand, and manage emotions, and to channel those emotions into productive ways of thinking and acting.

·?????? Dual awareness - the integration of internal circumstances (experiences, thoughts, emotions, and responses) and external ones (an objective reading of the situation and what it calls for).

And this open minded approach looking for alternatives is not just an individual trait to be encouraged; it is something that can be recognised and fostered in professional teams. See this article from the Marymount University in the US Five Ways To Boost Cognitive Diversity That Can Lead To Greater Innovation which discusses “the inclusion of people who have different ways of thinking, different viewpoints and different skill sets in a team or business group.” It proposes that “Diversity of thought, experience and perspective can lead to greater creativity and the ability to see problems from multiple angles.” It concludes “Great leaders bring everyone to the table to hear varied opinions in a nonjudgmental and supportive environment. Once everyone offers input, they can synthesize the ideas and feedback in ways not previously considered. In doing so, diversity and trust become mutually reinforcing elements within an organization’s culture.”

For a great example of open minded thinking, opening new doors in the process, I recommend the book? “Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance” by Louis V. Gerstner jr. which is his memoir about the extraordinary turnaround of IBM and his transformation of the company in the 1990’s. He had little experience of the computer industry but demonstrated that even very large IT organisations can reinvent themselves though only with the right leadership and a willingness to embrace new ideas. He commented "It isn't a question of whether elephants can prevail over ants. It's a question of whether a particular elephant can dance. If it can, the ants must leave the dance floor".

“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” Alexander Graham Bell, or possibly Fernando de Rojas, the author of the book La Celestina, around 1500.