Finding out what’s true is tricky, it takes effort.
Our brains have a neat way of avoiding that effort.
We just decide what’s true in advance.
We store those “truths” away and grab them quickly when we need a quick answer.
We take shortcuts, make assumptions, apply labels, follow brands. Have gut feelings.
Let’s call them Perceptions.
This person is smart, that person is stupid, that group is evil, this brand is high quality, that place is dangerous, that project was a failure. I’m a good person.
Perceptions are useful for navigating life but dangerous when applied to complex problems.
The problem is they stop you seeing clearly.
A great habit to build in your work is the habit of challenging perceptions.
Seeking the truth.
“Good” and “ bad” are perception labels.
Popular and unpopular are too.
Are they always true?
“…Perceptions are useful for navigating life but dangerous when applied to complex problems..”
Is there a team or individual at work who are just “not good”?
Do you accept that or look to find out if they really are or not?
Try this perception test. Think of someone you don’t like. Now think of something good they do. An odd thing just happened – did your perception of that person just change? Somewhere in your brain they were just a bad person, but the thought of them doing something good challenged that label. It showed that perception was just a memory. Likely based in some truth but not fully true.
How often do you try to find something good in an unpopular item?
Or something bad in a popular one?
Go looking, you might be surprised by what you find.
This is a great leadership habit.
No matter what you find, your sight will be much clearer from doing it.
Now do the same to your own job.
Are you doing good or bad?
How do you know?
One way is by measuring yourself..
What are you measuring that shows progress or not?
Or are you just storing away memories – Perceptions?
Success or failure, hit or miss, good or bad?
If you’re getting feedback from others, are they measuring you or also just relying on perceptions?
If you’re playing sport you keep score. Not just win/lose.
What’s your score?
What’s your project’s score?
If you don’t have one, start one.
Where is the truth?
.
.
“I might be wrong, but at least I’ve thought about it…”