Has the current speed of change gotten uncomfortable for you? It sure has for me.
Since 2020, and with the more recent emergence of AI, the world we navigated for so long, now seems uncomfortably off balance. Calm, thoughtful, leaders who can maintain perspective are needed now more than ever. Let’s continue to dive into those skills that help maintain composure and perspective.
Strategic thinking is one class of skills that we’re exploring this quarter. Last month we examined Decision Quality. Now, let’s take a look at Intellectual Horsepower. Intellectual Horsepower means the ability to think fast and accurately understand complex information and problems. Is that a trait or a skill?
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- Trait – inherent characteristics such as honesty, integrity. They are often considered stable and lifelong.
- Skills – learned abilities that can be developed through education, training, and practice. Skills can grow with attention or lost through apathy.
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Can you train yourself to understand complex information? I would argue yes. We all have the capacity to make small improvements in how we process information to reach better conclusions.
Here are a few tips:
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- Tend to react with emotion? Practice slowing down and regaining composure before solving a problem. A key part of managing emotions is awareness. Simply recognizing when emotions are taking over gives you the power to manage them. Stepping away and taking a walk are effective tools to regroup and remove emotions from the equation.
- Make decisions too quickly? Make time to think. Leaders tend to be action oriented. As the world speeds up, there is a pressure to act even more quickly. Resist that urge. Let the quiet voice in your head remind you to slow down and gather facts and information, so you have enough intel to engage your wisdom. Then, give yourself time to ask questions, categorize the information, and lay out decision options.
- Belief system kind of narrow? Expand your horizons. According to anthropologists, our experience unknowingly creates boundaries for our thinking. A common example: The Hopi Indians in the American Southwest have one word for snow. The Inuit’s of Alaska have 24 words for snow reflecting different conditions. Take a journey and read about things with which you are unfamiliar. Recognize that this invisible barrier exists and ask, what don’t I know?
- Not sure how to think broadly? Learn to see situations as a system. Concrete thinkers tend to see things in terms of the visible – what’s immediately in front. Training your mind to see things as part of a larger system expands your intellectual horsepower. Check out The Systems Thinker for some amazing resources on this topic.
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What is one way you could see yourself expanding your intellectual horsepower in the next 30 days?
Open Gate Consulting offers a variety of leadership resources to help you on your journey. From individual strengths-based coaching to deep dive courses on topics you are looking for.
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