Leadership is a sensemaking game

The crises that we now experience are challenging the way we have been doing business for decades. The people and the technology are radically different than half a century ago; than 2 decades ago. Our new business environment is more uncertain and faster than ever. We need to widen our understanding if we are to survive these challenges. “Business as usual” solutions are no longer applicable. Continuing to ask the same questions will not improve our understanding.

We need to stop focusing on the desired answer. We need to start asking new questions. We need to make sense of what is happening. We need to structure our knowledge. We need to give new meaning to the innumerable surprises we now experience. This meaning has to be shared in order to conduct to actual concerted action. This is the core duty of the upcoming leaders. Our main duty is to build the context that would generate enough shared meaning and understanding that will inspire everyone with the same vision of the future.

The greatest challenge in this season is to open our (and that of our corporations, clients, associates in general) imagination to elements beyond our beliefs. Our vision is hijacked by what Westrum calls “the fallacy of centrality”. This is “because I don’t know about this event, it should not be going on”. We have to open our minds!

How do you take decisions? What do you notice?

We are so concerned about "that number" in "that report", that we don’t ask questions like, "why is our caterer working for us for the past 20 years?" We don’t think about asking such a question because that is irrelevant. Is it really?

The stories that the caterer knows are the collective memory of the corporation, of the customer base, of the suppliers… When we listen to the caterer, when we listen to the collective memory of the corporation our perception and our interpretation of the environment will change. When our perception increases in accuracy, our options grow dramatically. Previously ignored possibilities will emerge!

Get out of the reports and senseless meetings! Go and listen to the “irrelevance” of your customers, your peers, even of your disregarded thoughts. Listen. Receive the story with open heart and mind. Think possibilities. You will find them!

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The information in this article may be freely re-used in any online or offline publication, provided it is accompanied by the following credit line - "This information was written by Blanca Vergara, and originally appeared www.blancavergara.com"
 

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