“What is in my face that I am not facing?” That question gave me pause when I read it in Time to Think by Nancy Kline. How could this question be useful to you in the boardroom?
This is the final part of a 4 part series on the Thinking Environment. In this post I will outline the final three of ten components that work together to enable all participants to access and share their high-quality thinking.
- Information, accurate and full information provides the path to good independent thinking. This also means facing up to denial. Denial is the assumption that what is true is not true, the proverbial ‘elephant in the room’. The opening question of this article is one that can help to puncture denial.
- Difference, diversity raises the intelligence of groups. “When real diversity emerges, a thinking environment does too”. The greater the diversity of the group, and the greater the welcoming of different points of view, the greater the chance for accurate, cutting-edge thinking.
- Place, a Thinking Environment says back to you, ‘You matter’. The physical environment does not have to be fancy but when it affirms our importance, we think more clearly and boldly. Place also includes the attention of others (attention was outlined in part 2 of the series). The first place of thinking is the body and it needs to be in a condition that says to us as thinkers, ‘You matter’.
This series started with an overview of Incisive Questions and then an outline of attention, equality and ease. The third part was about appreciation, feelings and encouragement and this is the final part of the series. These behaviours all work together to create a Thinking Environment. When applied to board meetings, they can support more effective meetings with a range of benefits including fostering innovation and reducing groupthink.
Applying the components of the Thinking Environment could have a significant impact on decision making in your boardroom.