This is a Japanese phrase meaning “beginner’s mind.” I’ll let Buddhist scholar Shunryu Suzuki explain this concept:
This does not mean a closed mind, but actually an empty mind and a ready mind. If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything. It is open to everything. In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities; in the expert’s mind, there are few.
It is not easy to practice SHOSHIN! Approaching situations and problems with a completely blank sheet of paper is one of the most difficult things you will ever do!
In my seminars on communication and emotional intelligence, I teach the concept of “point-of-view.” Point-of-view is definitively idiosyncratic – it is unique for every person. Your point-of-view (i.e. the way you are seeing and understanding a given situation) is a product of your…
- Information
- Assumptions
- Expectations
- Perceptions
- Wants and Needs
- Goals
- Values
- Priorities
- Experiences
- Background/Culture
In other words, if you and I are viewing the same facts, and any of the above elements are different for us, our points-of-view will be different! And if our points-of-view differ, we are likely to experience disagreement and even conflict.
SHOSHIN requires us to suspend all the elements that have defined our point-of-view and temporarily set them aside in order to be open to completely new ways of seeing things and thinking about them. This isn’t easy! To do so requires (1) keen self-awareness, and (2) tremendous personal restraint.
Open-minded people don’t care to be right, they care to understand. And in order to gain better understanding, they are first able to temporarily suspend notions of right or wrong. For them, the foundation of clear thinking is all about understanding. The Boss Doctor
If you CAN do this, you will be able to…
- Identify and understand other people’s points-of-view;
- Resolve conflict and negotiate workable compromises more easily;
- Solve problems more creatively; and
- Author improvement and innovation.
So… how do you do this?
1. Tap into the “fresh eyes” of new recruits and employees. Give them permission to ask “why?” especially with regard to priorities, processes, procedures, rules, and routines. If you can’t answer their questions compellingly, then maybe you need to reconsider what you are doing! And use their differing backgrounds and experiences to inform and enrich your body of knowledge and know-how. The organizations they have served in the past may prove to be a rich source of best practices you can use in YOUR organization.
An outsider’s point of view is always handy. Pat Oliphant
Up Close and Personal
For most of my professional life, I was the “new guy” on the executive team. (I spent a great deal of my career in short tenures, advancing professionally by taking positions with a succession of increasingly larger, more successful organizations.)
In one such position, I found myself in a meeting of the executive team I recently joined, in the middle of a rather contentious discussion of a problem that had been plaguing the organization for a number of years! I felt elated, because I had recently come from an organization that had solved the same problem with a simple approach that answered the need; eliminated any potential conflict between departments; satisfied everyone involved; and guaranteed the desired high-quality outcome. When I described it to the executive team, the response was deadening. The consensus was, “That approach won’t work here.” There was no discussion. There was no attempt at analysis. There was no moment of consideration. It was a classic example of closed-mindedness. I was completely dumbfounded. I couldn’t believe that such a successful organization could have such completely jaundiced leadership.
Since that time, I have seen this same lack of openness among certain leaders—in every organization—over and over again in my consulting practice!
2. When solving any problem, thoughtfully examine the 10 elements of everyone’s point-of-view, especially YOURS! Relentlessly root out personal bias or prejudice. Strive for the blank sheet of paper that makes no assumptions and holds no dogma.
3. When resolving conflict, take time to accurately define and understand each party’s point-of-view. Don’t jump to any conclusions. Give everyone the benefit of the doubt. Let each party speak without interruption or rebuke. Set judgments and characterizations aside. Get to the root of each party’s motivations and desires. Keep in mind Habit #5 of Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People:
Seek FIRST to understand, THEN to be understood.
(For more help with this, check out this post: Great Advice from Top CEO’s – #4 | The Boss Doctor )
4. When managing change in your organization, have the self-confidence to ask stupid questions in order to explore your point-of-view and the biases that shape your thinking:
- Why are we doing this?
- What was wrong with the old way?
- How are we hoping this change will help us?
- Is this really the best thing to do or the best way to do it?
- What other approaches (especially from other successful organizations) might also work for US?
- Are there any changes we need to make to the change initiative itself?
Then use the concept of point-of-view to gain a better understanding of how employees and managers “view” the change. Interview the people in the organization who are going to be impacted by the change, especially those who will be facing the greatest impact.
Next, get people involved in the process of planning how to implement the change. MAKE SURE YOU INCLUDE THE PEOPLE who are going to be (a) most affected by the change and (b) most responsible for implementing the change. If you do this right, you will…
- Tap into “fresh eyes;”
- Possibly discover refinements to the change that will improve the situation immeasurably;
- Gain broad and valuable ownership of the change process;
- See higher engagement on everyone’s part; and
- Accomplish more effective implementation as a result.
If you are looking for ways to apply SHOSHIN to critical aspects of your organization, CALL US—we can help! We can facilitate your team and executive retreats with fresh approaches designed to meld people into a collaborative team; break through resistant company culture; and create new ways of thinking, planning, and working. And STAY TUNED to future posts of this blog for more great ways to improve YOUR leadership!
Until next time… Yours for better leaders and better organizations,
Dr. Jim Dyke – “The Boss Doctor” ™ helping you to BE a better boss and to HAVE a better boss!
