“There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home.” With that statement, Digital Equipment, CEO, Ken Olsen took a position that pretty much trumped anything good he might do or say in the future. A visit with the proprietress of Bakers Grocery, my grandmother, would have served him well. She persistently challenged my use of absolutes and binary thinking. The only exceptions I remember were relative to inquisitions specific to my bad behavior, and the answer was usually, “yes ma’am, I did.”
Overgeneralization, as illustrated by Ken Olsen, is a cognitive error to watch out for when leading change in your organization. DEC ended in a 1988 acquisition by Compac, another now defunct business.
Status-quo is simply not good enough. The ability to lead transformation is expected. In some organizations cognitive errors are endemic and in some people they are ingrained. In both cases they can be barriers to leading essential change.
Here are five considerations for leaders:
1. You’re in or you’re out” (Binary thinking) – There is comfort in status-quo. Change requires people to move from comfort of the known to the uncertainty of the unknown. Even when change is positive for individuals and the team it is likely that people will feel a sense of loss in the face of change. At some point, people will have to adopt and implement new thinking and action. As the leader, be cautious to not put a negative label on those who question, challenge, or are not early adopters. People process change at different rates. You can speed that up by being clear and articulate about the change and leading open, non-threatening discussions that include addressing fears and concerns. At some point everyone has to be in, or out. Lead people to be in.
2. Catastrophizing – Inherent risks take on bigger than life status. “What-if” discussions are good as long as they lead to awareness and appropriate mitigation planning rather than kill shots to innovation and improvement.
3. Confines of your profession – Thinking like a leader is different than thinking like an engineer, machinist, doctor or mechanic. While some of the principles of a leader’s professional discipline may continue to be valuable to the leader and the team, the ability to think and act beyond the parameters of the profession become increasingly essential as a leader advances. In leading transformation, the ability to help others to do so becomes an essential skill.
4. Illusion of control – It is easy to be seduced by the belief that we can control that which we cannot control. Get clear about this. How good are you at self-control? Focus leadership energy on positive influence and impact on the team and individuals within your teams.
5. Accept Hofstadter’s Law:* “It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s Law.” Agility, flexibility and resilience are desirable characteristics of high performing teams, businesses and leaders. Tenacity is a leadership essential and a characteristic of the Transformational leader. This reality is well understood by any leader who has built a new house or accomplished a major remodel.
*Hofstadter’s Law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s Law.
— Douglas Hofstadter, Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid
