Think Differently!

Actively seek new inputs

The shift from low cognitive demand thinking to high cognitive demand thinking brings with it a change in world view.

How could it do anything else? By definition, as we make connections between disparate events, facts and people, and as we gain deeper understanding our minds develop new perspectives.

The world is changing and changing fast (this is now a given) and for us to change our world view with it we need to do high demand cognitive work.

Traditionally,we would read and think about things. Today,we need to directly experience new information that challenges our current worldview – not a lot, necessarily – but enough to keep us at the edge of our comfort zones where learning takes place.

Gathering feedback from other stakeholders, opening up classrooms to observation are all ways to gain inputs that may be new to us. These are necessary activities – because they increase trust levels and they allow us to ground our current worldview - but they are largely passive and expose us only to current practices.

We also need to seek out things - perspectives, practices, things that jar when we really look at them. These don’t arrive passively, we do need to actively observe, research, consult and create new ideas in collaboration with others.

This is the work of leaders at every level in an organisation - not all the time,certainly - but a proportion of the time, 20% perhaps.

It is this work that is engaging and meaningful.