Why?
During our last session, we asked, “Why?”. Then we asked again. And again.
A lot of the choices we make are based on assumptions. When we force ourselves to persistently ask “why”, we began to dissect our assumptions. When you’re running an organization, mistaken assumptions can be devastating. You should always ask “why?”. You should always question your and your organization’s assumptions.
We often think we should know what to do and even feel pressured to act like we know what to do. I’ve worked in organizations where it felt like naive confidence was more valued than logic and honesty.
Often times, we don’t want to be honest because the truth is threatening. When we define ourselves by our idea of ourselves, any fact contrary to this idea becomes a threat. We welcome naivety to avoid facing challenges to our self-esteem. We spend our lives protecting who we think we are instead of being who we are.
An organization cannot be honest with itself if the leader is not honest with herself. Some organizations stumble upon success, but the rest of us earn it. We earn it by having a growth mindset — we embrace challenges and failures for what they are: learning experiences. We are not defined by our difficult moments, but by how we respond to them.
Carol Dweck wrote a book called Growth Mindset. It presents her research on the advantage of having a growth mindset which means experiencing failure as a chance to learn instead of a threat to one’s fixed ideas of oneself.
The way you approach life matters. Your mindset defines your experience. Carrying a growth mindset that questions assumptions is a requirement for creating a company culture that seeks truth, that asks “why?” and keeps asking until truth is found.
