In my previous blog I spoke about how I was sabotaging my effectiveness in problem-solving by falling in to a natural human behaviour: Being JUDGEMENTAL.
Instead of being curious about the reasons people did what they did, I was allowing my judgemental mind to block the creative thought processes required to successfully develop solutions to the many challenges of business management.
Walt Whitman said “Be curious, not judgemental”. Wanting to shift my mindset, I adopted this as one of my philosophical guidelines of management.
You see, we are more alike than different. When faced with someone else’s disagreeable behaviour, consider your own self in the same situation. Ask what the possible triggers could be that would prompt such a response. What would need to occur for you to have a different, more desirable response?
I developed these 4 steps to get out of a judgement mindset:
- Monitor your thoughts. Be aware of your judgements and mentally push them out as not being valid.
- Look for the basic goodness that the overwhelming majority of people possess. People don’t intend to upset others and have them look upon them as undesirable. We all strive to be thought of in a positive light.
- Embrace yourself and those around you for whom they ARE, not what you want them to be.
- Look for the underlying issue that is going on and find solutions for that.
There is always the opportunity to deepen our understanding of those around us, and it starts with curiosity.
Judgement is the greatest limiting mindset to development. Curiosity, though, expands your mind and allows for your powerful and consistent growth.
(In Part III I will share 5 specific examples to help you put this powerful principle into practice.)