4 tips to help you think and act collectively
How can you overcome individualistic reflexes and introduce collective thinking and action? Start with yourself… then get your teams, stakeholders, and entire organization on board in a virtuous circle of shared growth.
Grow the Pie
By Alex Edmans, (Cambridge University Press, 2020).
1. Alter the way you think about your potential
Your skills are not innate, and they’re not hard-and-fast. If you want everyone to have a nice slice of the pie, start by reconsidering your own growth potential.
- Adopt an attitude of continuous discovery (if it’s not already the case): be positive, look favorably on people who show initiative, and encourage colleagues to push the envelope.
- Accept the need to experiment and take risks, which is essential for you to develop and change.
- Be prepared to make mistakes: success isn’t defined as an absence of failure, but as the ability to step out of your comfort zone to improve yourself – which implies there will be failures.
- Learn black-box thinking: own up to your mistakes and take responsibility for them (rather than blaming them on external causes), analyzing them after the event so you can use them as a source of learning.
- Build your future around what makes you tick and not on “rational” calculations or career plans. Ask yourself these three all-important questions:
- How do you see yourself in ten years? (What kind of person would you like to be, what would your ideal work schedule look like?).
- What do you really like doing in your spare time? (Your hobbies are indicative of who you are and what really turns you on.)
- What are your non-negotiable values? (The values you won’t compromise on).
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