In this fortnightly series, Alison Glynn-Baker discusses some key concepts in Mandy Holloway’s book, ‘Inspiring Courageous Leaders’. She also poses some provocative questions. We invite you to provide your opinion and join the discussion.
Looking back. And how it can help you move forward.
Last time, we looked at the concept of leadership mastery. The next chapter of Inspiring Courageous Leaders deals with building confidence in that leadership mastery.
How often have you heard someone say, “You should take a holiday. You won’t know yourself when you come back”? Actually, you will know yourself better. Why? Because removing yourself from an everyday routine forces you to spend more time thinking.
As leaders we can spend so much time putting out fires or making snap decisions that we act almost unconsciously, out of touch with ourselves. And afterwards, it seems there’s no time to stop and think about what went wrong (or right).
It is only by spending time in reflective thinking that you can truly know yourself, personally and as a leader. This sense of self is what separates the courageous leader from the conventional leader. A sense of self gives you the confidence to make decisions that feel right – based on a sense of self-worth and belief in your own abilities and intuition.
Hats on
If you’re new to this reflective thinking business, it’s good to start with a structured approach. Mandy uses Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats.
Each hat, as you put it on, brings a different focus to the thinking. Here’s how it works, in summary, with an image to help you remember what each hat signifies:
- Visualise yourself putting on a blue hat – A blue sky. The big picture. What do I want to achieve from this exercise?
- A white hat – A blank white sheet of paper. The facts. What happened? What do I know? What do I need to know?
- A yellow hat – Sunshine. A positive focus. What are the benefits of what just happened? What did I do well?
- The black hat – The black robes of judgement. What went wrong? What is not working?
- The red hat – Burning embers. Warmth and emotion. Acknowledge and share (if necessary) your feelings about the situation.
- The green hat – Trees. Creativity. What if…? Here is your chance to brainstorm what you would do differently next time. No idea is a bad idea at this stage of reflective thinking.
- Finish off by donning the blue hat – Summarise your reflective thinking efforts and move forward with confidence.
The Six Thinking Hats are also very useful in a meeting, as they provide a positive environment for people to be objective and subjective, detailed and ‘big picture’. And just remember, if nothing else: some reflective thinking time might be (almost) as good as a holiday.
But surely using the Six Thinking Hats in a meeting would open up a can of worms? Surely it’s best just to make a decision based on the facts, have that hard conversation and move on? After all, practice makes perfect, right? This is your chance to have your say.
Don’t have a copy of Inspiring Courageous Leaders? Buy it now
About Alison Glynn-Baker: Alison Glynn-Baker has 15 years’ experience in professional services marketing, business development and operations. Through her own consultancy, she has combined her two passions – training and writing – to help clients improve performance both personally and in business.
