Good day,
"Becoming a learning organization" - that's what some of you said in response to my question about the current biggest challenge for corporate culture.
In an age where change is blow by blow and executives keep many balls in the air at the same time, that's not surprising. Navigating through the jungle is becoming a fine art. Having an adaptive and learning organization becomes a "must".
How else are companies supposed to cope with the multitude of challenges that currently need to be solved?
How to secure supply chains in the current market environment?
How to assess risks as digitization advances, for example in cybersecurity?
How to develop business models sustainably in the middle of an energy crisis?
How to get the best people in a dried up labor market?
And much more...
Resolving these issues requires intellectual openness throughout the organization - and first in management.
Those who do not repeatedly reconsider their own views and decisions run the risk of succumbing to confirmation bias.
Yes, learning requires focus and concentration. But the relearning and unlearning demanded today requires much more: replacing convenience with courage, for example. The process of rethinking is often cyclical. It begins with humility - knowing what we don't know. We should all have a list of topics in which we are not knowledgeable.
Knowing our deficits opens the door to flexible thinking. And questioning our insights makes us curious about what information we are missing.
Accepting uncertainty leads us to new discoveries and opens our eyes to solutions we overlook in the daily grind.
This skill can be learned and tested on any business question or decision.
Learning works in dialogue, based on listening and engaging with new, previously unknown solutions. It involves moving from logical to integrative thinking, which is characterized by four criteria:
Holism. Actively seek out the less obvious and expand the range of elements you consider.
Dynamics. Try to be clear about developments: What becomes something that is not yet and leaves behind what it is no longer?
Coherence. Consider the connections and relationships that give themes, events, or experiences their meaning.
Transformation. Describe the natural movement towards a new form, which is characterized by the active search for innovative answers.
The active search for innovative answers creates a creative momentum for you as a manager, for the employees and for the company as a whole.
In the shortest possible time, major challenges are transformed into practicable solutions that can be implemented directly.
You want to experience integrative thinking directly based on an acute question or upcoming decision? Check out huebner.io, where you can book a 1:1 problem-solving conversation directly. Or reserve a free time slot to get into the dialogue.
I look forward to the exchange and wish you an inspired working day.
All the best and warm greetings,
