In addition to social distancing we should also practice ‘role distancing’
Ways to bring a new perspective to your thinking
It’s common practice in the time of COVID-19 to practice social distancing; maintain at least 6 feet away from others. While spending a lot of time social distancing myself this past week, I thought about my company and role and how I could do things differently. That’s hard, though…it’s not easy to just “think different”. Thinking like an outsider, like someone new to your field, is often enough of a perspective shift to start the innovation gears in your head cranking. How exactly to do that? I’m calling this “role distancing”. There is no playbook, though here are ideas that work for me:
Spend time with customers and vendors. Spending time with customers and vendors is an obvious way to see the world with new eyes, but so often it’s hard to make this a priority. If you want to know what customers think of your work, ask them. That will take having a conversation as well as spending time getting to know them and their needs. In person is always better, but you can easily pick up the phone and get much of the same benefit.
Invite outsiders in. For your next team meeting, think about ways you can introduce your folks to outside thinking. Having industry experts speak about trends in your industry is a good first step. But think further afield and seek out an expert from another industry that might seem disconnected at first, but has parallels at the core…that’s where the outside perspective brings the greatest benefit.
Read new things. A great way to expose yourself to new perspectives is to read new things. Expand your network and perspective by eliminating the distortion caused by the echo chamber of always getting information from the same places. Remove your information filters and consider views contrary to your own. Normally a Wall Street Journal reader…try the New York Times instead for a week. Never read The Economist before? Now is a great time to pick it up and give it a try.
Talk about your business with a kid. With the current shelter in place guidelines, I find myself spending more time with my two children. Kids inevitably ask “why” a lot and in answering their questions about why I do what I do they will tend to ask “why” again. The five whys is a great way to get to the essence of an issue and think about it in a new way. Get to that fifth why and I suspect you have come upon an insight you likely haven’t had before. A kid can help you get there.
Ask naive questions. Announce your ignorance. Ask the basic questions that simplify and clarify. Similarly, naive questions are different than stupid questions. Naive questions are natural, innocent, and unaffected. A naive question has no preconceived assumptions or answers and often cuts to the core of an issue. Stupid questions lack intelligence and common sense. Their insensate tone reflects a lack of awareness and due diligence on the part of the asker. Asking naive questions refreshes and invigorates thinking. Asking stupid questions is simply annoying.
Start an “I don’t know” list. Few better ways to update your way of thinking than to force yourself to write down things you don’t know about your business.
Reverse the mentoring. Ask a junior colleague to mentor you and gain the perspective of someone from a different background. Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, is given credit as the inventor of the first reverse mentoring program back in 1999. Basically, older executives are paired with younger employees who teach them about new technology, including social media.
Borrow a job — swap jobs for a day. Spend time with the amateurs and the young at heart. Instead of working with your peer group of experienced professionals, spend time with the newcomers. Watch how they work and play: learn from them.
Travel to new areas. While not appropriate in a COVID-19 world, traveling to new areas can help change your perspective. Sure, a first time trip to a foreign country can do this, though you can also get this perspective by traveling to a new area in your hometown or city. Walk some streets you haven’t walked before. Get your head up out of your phone and look around.
Seek out the outside view. This concept comes from psychologist Daniel Kahneman. We typically make decisions by focusing on the specific task and by using information that is close at hand. In turn we make predictions based on that same narrow and unique set of inputs. The ‘inside view’ includes anecdotal evidence and erroneous perceptions. The ‘outside view’ is different. It asks if there are similar situations that can provide a statistical basis for making a decision. Rather than seeing a problem as unique, the outside view wants to know if others have faced comparable problems and, if so, what happened. The outside view is an unnatural way to think because it forces people to set aside all the cherished information they have gathered.
Understanding that there are different viewpoints on issues is step one in realizing the need for new perspectives. Even within your own field you can harness an outsider’s mindset, where you’re making sure that your ideas and the things you’re working on really come from your own identity and value system, but with a fresh look.
