Same questions, different answers

David Carne, school business professional and executive coach, explores why leaders must constantly evolve their thinking and strategies 

Read the full article below or on page 10 in our February magazine 

There is a great story about Albert Einstein and his teaching assistant at Princeton University. Einstein was administering a second-year exam when his teaching assistant, in state of anxiety, informed him that he had administered a paper the group had completed the previous year. Einstein showed little concern for his blunder. “Why,”asked the teaching assistant, “would you do that?” “Because”, Einstein replied, “the answers have changed!” 

This story illustrates a powerful lesson for us as leaders; answers change! Just as in physics, new discoveries occur and new knowledge created so, too, nothing stays static in organisational leadership. Einstein is widely credited with saying that, “The thinking that got us to where we are is not the thinking that will get us to where we want to be.” In other words, we cannot assume the answers that led to today’s success, will sustain that success, moving forward.

Neuroscience tells us that deep thinking is incredibly energy-intensive and that once we have an answer to a question our preference is to continue using the same answer when we encounter similar situations, rather than assessing each situation on its own merits. As an executive coach my experience is that the biggest barrier to people reaching goals and resolving problems is often not their ability, but an unwillingness to think differently and generate different answers. 

When asked how they might approach an issue it is not unusual for clients give a single answer, where multiple answers exist. One of my favourite questions when coaching is, ‘What else?’ This challenges clients to move beyond the first answer and suggest multiple ways forward.  

Some people reading this article may remember video rental store operator Blockbuster. Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, if you wanted to watch a movie, you went to a Blockbuster store to rent a physical copy. In 2004, Blockbuster was a multi-billion-pound business; just six years later it was bankrupt. In 2000, Netflix offered to sell Blockbuster their business for just $50m. Their offer was rejected because Blockbuster’s CEO believed that Netflix was a ‘very small niche business’. Had they taken up the offer, Blockbuster would have survived and now have a $125bn company, with 150m subscribers worldwide. Blockbuster believed the answer to renting a movie would always be to rent a physical copy – and that belief killed their business. 

As leaders it is wise to recognise that there is rarely a single answer which will last forever. Below are some ways we can guard against this type of thinking.

Different answers in different contexts

To some extent, all of us are a sum of our experiences – and, usually, wisdom comes from experience. Often we take what we learnt in one role or situation and use that to inform strategy in another. However, we need to ensure that, in doing so, we are not just sticking with what is comfortable for us as leaders at the expense of what is right for the organisation. Our experience is why we are appointed as leader but it should not be a limit which we are not prepared to grow beyond. Being open to adopting different solutions, and ways or working, depending on the context helps ensure that our experiences enhance, rather than constrain, our ability to generate innovative answers. 

Different answers at different phases of growth

Many organisations assume that the same systems and style of leadership can be maintained regardless of scale or maturity level. Leaders who have been hands-on, and had a good personal grasp of every issue when their organisation was expanding, are likely to have to take a step back, become systems leaders and rely on professional management as their organisations grow. As organisations mature, their leaders often need to move from a ‘directing’ to a ‘coaching’ style of leadership, giving others greater autonomy. As our organisations change, as leaders our role is to change with them.   

Different answers to the accepted wisdom

Peter Drucker, the ‘management guru’, once said, “If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old.” I am a big advocate for collective wisdom and borrowing the best ideas from others but leaders also need to push the boundaries and challenge conventional approaches. Within appropriate limits, our thinking and action needs to rise above what everyone else does, and to constantly question ‘Why?’ it is done that way and ‘How’ could be done better. 

Different answers from contra-indicative evidence

John Kotter once said, “Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.” His research indicates that successful organisations tend to focus on themselves and ignore contra-indicative evidence about their success. Seeking out this counter-evidence is, arguably, more important than seeking supportive evidence for our strategies, as is ensuring that evidence is being correctly and objectively interpreted, rather than being made to fit what makes us feel good.

Different answers from hearing all voices of dissent

One of the risks of listening is that you may hear things you do not like. However, often the less you like what you hear, the more powerful the potential lesson – if you are willing to take it on board. As leaders, we must have conviction in our ideas, but also be open to the possibility that we are wrong. Listening to others openly can be a powerful way to avoid mistakes; often people have insight we lack, or perspectives to which we have been blind.  

Different answers by not relying on today’s results

We use the expression, ‘pride comes before a fall’ and, all too often, complacency is the enemy of success. Decline often happens rapidly and current results are a poor proxy for successful strategy. Today’s results are a result of yesterday’s strategy, but future results will be a consequence of today’s. As leaders our role is to treat today’s results with extreme caution and suspicion, and to keep focused on today and the future, not the past.   

So, what answers are you holding on to, that may have changed?