Stupid = Smart, Doesn't It?

Photo Credit: Richard Chicoine. All Rights Reserved 2008

Who? Me? Stupid?

With the driving forces of the economy and politics at the forefront of our minds, we should be slapping yellow and black dummy stickers on our foreheads. It’s time to admit that we are a little more stupid than we’ve been lead to believe.

Now, that’s not an insult.

It’s a reality.

In our drive for conscious consumerism and instant communication, it’s been easy to be smart, to be global and to be in touch with a quick click. We’ve taken ease for granted. We’ve slipped into bad grammar, abbreviated spelling and hieroglyphic instant messaging. We have evolved into a society that is so smart, that it is stupid.

Research conducted into the increasing speed of knowledge by organizations such as the Tagore-Einstein Foundation, states:

“It is one of the most important and intellectual tasks of our time to develop skills to perceive current phenomena in their global and historic correlation”. What does that mean? Translation: we need new “smart” skills to deal with an innovation based world culture.

Whole brain thinkers, like Ned Herrmann of the Whole Brain Institute have said that our greatest strength becomes our greatest weakness. The assumption that we can carry all knowledge, and transfer that knowledge to decision making, leads not only to personal disasters, but global shake-ups like the ones we have seen in the past few weeks.

How do we develop new smart skills? Take time to simplify what we know are the facts in our own lives. How do we take time to simplify?

The first step: we must stop. Analyze. Come to grips about our own personal realities in context.


The second step: Look back. Research past trends. Sort what we know into new categories. Determine what is really important and most important from an ethical standpoint.

The third step: Look forward. What ultimately makes sense in this situation? What needs to be renegotiated? Who holds the best smart advice we can find?

Finding the new smart skills, means that “reflection” should be added to all leadership job descriptions. Time out from the pressure leads to attention to intricate detail as well as setting and measuring standards.



The hardest question to answer just might be: “What are we holding onto that keeps us from moving forward?”

I invite you to send me your reflections/answers. Click on "comments" below.



The Coach says: the more curious you are, the more you dig and sit back to think about what's bubbling to the surface, the smarter and wiser you will be...appreciate "stupidity" for its role in "smartness".


Maggie Chicoine is a Master Coach and professional speaker, specializing in Strategic Systems Thinking and Innovative Leadership for organizations and their people. Her Keynotes are lively, provocative, and always laced with a twist of ingenuity. 1 800 587 1767.





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Leadership Special Post

Inspired Advice

What if you could find the solution to a problem by combining two contrasting ideas?

A key responsibility in leadership is digging up answers for situations that emerge from bottlenecks and gaps in the system. Traditional problem solving techniques may overlook an approach that not only analyzes the situation, but becomes a source of inspiration and innovation for the whole team.

Explore the Intersections

Experienced leaders know that there is a point of intersection that merges seemingly unrelated concepts. By combining contrasting thoughts, exploring random arrangements and sequences, ground breaking explanations may emerge. Prepare to be surprised.

This answers why solutions often come from sources that don’t seem to be related to the task at hand. And why innovative companies hire mavericks to shake up the thinking around the board room table.

So what’s the point?

In my work as a Coach and Facilitator, I find leaders who don’t take advantage of intersectional opportunities. Talented leaders are unintentionally stuck in ruts. Teams become uninspired. Brilliant ideas at meetings are ignored, and most often not voiced. The systems in these organizations lack influence, the power to be heard.

Being innovative is risky business, especially when fear takes over the fun.

However, when people are ready for an ingenious approach, they hop on board easily. The first clue to readiness is laughter. If your meetings are housed in silence, you know that the clout of imagination has left the building.

Give people permission to play, connect and use their intuition. Allow everyone to combine fields and disciplines in random ways in search of a solution that works in reality. Instead of judging, generate.

A Leadership Intersection Example

What if you could be taught relevant leadership skills from an unlikely, unrelated profession? Let’s criss-cross “horse whisperer” with “dog whisperer” and “baby whisperer” as an example. I am recommending time spent wisely watching the National Geographic Channel.

Horse Sense

Training a wild horse can be an arduous and daunting task. Horse whisperers have learned, that their best approach is to pitch the official methodologies and instead, pay attention to feelings. They recognize that many of the problems with animal behaviors are a result of the way that they are handled. Patience and a genuine desire to communicate bring about a stronger relationship. That’s where you make it or break it.

Author of “The Horse Whisperer”, Nicholas Evans, says, “I truly believe that one of our problems as a species is that we have lost our animal nature and have come to think we are superior to all other species. We have stepped out of the circle of life and have come to believe that our highly developed rational/intellectual sense is the only one that matters. In so doing, we have lost use of our other senses (our common sense, especially).”


Dog Days

Dog whisperers find that unruly canines need structure and discipline. A calm, assertive approach leads to submission, which is not cowering, but a respect for leadership.

As Cesar Millan, a professional dog whisperer stresses, “being leader of the pack does not imply strong punishment and corrections but an assertive, confident approach where the dog recognizes your leadership.”

Baby Wisdom

Sheyne Rowley, the Australian Baby Whisperer, emphasizes a safe and secure environment, room for independence with guidance, and a routine for managing transitions. Babies have questions, and they become frustrated when they cannot communicate their needs. Behavior problems signal that something is wrong and the ripple effects the whole family. “When mama and baby ain’t happy, nobody’s happy.”

Whispering Leadership

When we intersect the three unrelated “whisperers”, and extract the leverage for leadership, we learn that:

* The stronger your authentic relationships, the more leverage you create
* Intuitive listening is crucial in the mix
* Individualized approaches maximize the whole team’s performance
* Frustration and behaviorial problems are signals within the system: do you hear the cry?
* Your leadership can’t be assumed. How are you positioning the role?

Just Do This:

I encourage you to hunt for leadership techniques from a wide variety of resources.

But even more of a priority is to ask your own team for feedback. Let them assess your style, and use the opportunity to deepen your relationship with each person. Let them find the unexpected connections. Let them whisper to you.

Maggie Chicoine is a professional Coach, Speaker and writer based in Thunder Bay Ontario Canada. “Experience Speaks, with a twist of ingenuity”

Reach her at 1 800 587 1767 or http://www.theideasculptor.com/

Reprint this article? Email for permission. maggiechicoine@gmail.com

This Cracks You UP

Pay Attention to What Cracks You UP!

You know how sometimes you’re in the right place at the right time and something totally absurd happens and it turns out to be one of the funniest things you’ve ever seen and then you keep telling the story over and over again until you’re now celebrating your 100th birthday and the same thing is still funny?

OK, I broke the “Say It in Seven™” rule for the opening sentence. But here’s the HOW TO… that unplanned, seemingly insignificant episode stuck with you because you are open to the possibilities.

The “C” words in the Idea Du Jour (see column on the right) – your leverage points – all refer to the positive effects of allowing more space in your filters.

My recommendation?
1. Ask yourself more questions – that’s a coaching secret – and don’t rush with the answers. Simplify. Look for the obvious. Crack yourself UP by combining and canceling, colouring and cooling down. Don’t rush (this process)….hush………….

2. Listen. Don't talk so much. Watch as well as hear. Listen for the obvious; sometimes what's most obvious is most invisible.

3. Write stuff. Every day. Comedian Red Skelton wrote lists every single night before going to sleep. Everyday comments and happenings became his inspiration. Even if it doesn't make sense today, someday it might.

As a coach on call, all you have to do is email me and I'll send you a complimentary checklist of questions. Maggiechicoine@gmail.com .
BTW, subscribe to this feed (see below, way below!) and you'll get these leverage points automatically every Tuesday.

Keep on cracking,
Maggie
www.theideasculptor.com