Linus Pauling, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1954, and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1962, once said: “The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas.”
It sounds like a simple strategy, but it turns out to be a great deal more difficult than it sounds. Here are a few ways you can try to increase your capacity to come up with new ideas.
New ideas require looking at problems or challenges from a different perspective. This can help you see relationships you may have previously thought unlikely. This is known as associative thinking. Associative thinking is a crucial component of using asset-based approaches to creating change. As you uncover people’s skills, relationships, and talents, the best ideas often emerge by considering how to connect two or three seemingly unrelated assets. This skill is at the core of creative leadership.
If you survey all of the capacities you have to leverage, you have to be willing to identify potential relationships between things which at first glance appear to be unrelated. Then ask yourself, “What if?”
Appreciative Inquiry is another good way to stumble upon new ideas. Generative dialogue serves to create community by forming new relationships. It also generates ideas with a future focus. Asking questions always yields new ideas because every person will have a unique response to a question (Read more about Appreciative Inquiry here).
Songwriters are often asked whether they start with the lyrics, or the melody. Their responses remind us that songwriting is not necessarily a rigid process. Sometimes it is a single lyrical phrase. Other times it is the tiniest piece of a chorus. A common thread among many songwriters, however, is that they write down these bits and pieces as soon as they come to them, or maybe record a short voice message to return to later. This is a good habit.
Ideas can be fleeting. Make some type of note that you can return to. Some creative people keep a notepad at their bedside. As they lay down, and the noise of the day begins to clear their mind, a moment of clarity can reveal itself. They write their insight down, so it doesn’t get lost.
Finally, remember that not all ideas are gems. Two or three bad ideas might simply be covering up a magnificent one. Ideas hide in serendipity. They can come from deliberate attempts, but they can also be happy accidents. So keep your eyes and ears open.
Illustration from Edwin D. Babbitt’s The Principles of Light and Color, 1878, (public domain)
“… what you learn today, for no reason at all, will help you discover all the wonderful secrets of tomorrow.”
Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth
After publishing my recent post, “Five Quotes About Listening,” I began to think more about the relationship between listening and curiosity. I started to think that curiosity might possibly be the most important leadership trait. It creates relationships and is a key to both social and emotional intelligence. It feeds innovation and informs shared vision (you have to be curious about what an alternative to the status quo might look like in order to make it happen). Without curiosity, we can get locked into inaction by a sense that the familiar is an absolute, immovable reality.
Without curiosity, mysteries and crimes would never be solved. Novels could not be written. Curiosity inspires learning, and discovery. Without it, there would be far fewer scientific discoveries. Scientists will tell you that the laboratory isn’t just a series of “eureka” events. More often than not scientists will look at some result in their lab and say, “hmm, that’s weird.” Curiosity is sparked. Discoveries are made.
Years ago, I was working on a writing project. I had been researching the life of a woman who had accomplished some amazing things as a teenager in the early 1930s. She had passed away, but one of the people I interviewed told me that the subject of my research had a younger sister who was still alive, and that she would be happy to introduce us. This was a tremendous opportunity.
I prepared a list of eight to ten questions to ask the younger sister. On the day of the interview, I got to the third question, and her answer introduced ideas I had not considered. My curiosity told me to go down the path the sister was taking me, rather than the path that would fill the gaps of the story I had thought would be important to tell. As a result of remaining curious about the direction the sister led me, my understanding of the story I wanted to tell became deeper, more nuanced, and compassionate.
Curiosity makes you dig deeper. It can bring additional clarity to positions you already hold. But it can also give you the courage to change your mind.
Curiosity is a prerequisite for creative leadership, and continuous learning. Being a leader doesn’t mean that you know everything. It means that you are always on the lookout for context, lucidity, and insight. Curiosity allows you to see the world through many different lenses. Be curious.
I just Googled the phrase “effective listening.” It produced 312 million results. 312 million! For generations, there have been throngs of people in this world trying to teach us how to be better listeners. It is amazing that we are still so terrible at it. I guess we just haven’t been listening. As writer M.M. Owen recently said in an essay published on the website Aeon titled, “The Art of Listening:”
“As a culture, we treat listening as an automatic process about which there is not a lot to say: in the same category as digestion, or blinking.”
It isn’t always easy to listen, especially when you are attempting to listen to people with whom you strongly disagree. When the first thing out of someone’s mouth pushes a button in your brain that demands to construct a rebuttal, you have probably stopped listening already. In his book, “Killosophy,” author, Criss Jami puts it this way:
“It’s not at all hard to understand a person; it’s only hard to listen without bias.”
Even when people spend most of their time in social media echo chambers where they develop narrow worldviews, draw lines in the sand, and refuse compromise, it is still important to know how those worldviews were constructed.
People’s views are often formed by personal experiences, as opposed to being rooted in deep ideological theories. Empathetic, active listening can help us hear and see the humanity in people who we have previously thought of in terms of labels such as evil, or the enemy.
People whose voices are not heard risk becoming invisible to society. When you are invisible your human rights are at risk. Sometimes, simply being heard and acknowledged can help bring marginalized people to the decision-making table and potentially deescalate tense situations. In the words of Hugo Powell,
“Listening, whether done by individuals or by companies and government, is a signal of respect. When people don’t feel listened to, they don’t feel respected. And when they don’t feel respected, they feel anger and resentment. This resentment is exacerbated if people think you’re pretending to listen but aren’t.”
It is frequently pointed out that listen is an anagram for silent. A lack of distractions, eye contact, and giving one’s full attention are important. It is also important, however, to break your silence to confirm that you understand what someone is telling you. People want to be both heard and understood.
In her novel, “The Lake,” Banana Yoshimoto, talks about listening as a responsibility.
“When someone tells you something big, it’s like you’re taking money from them, and there’s no way it will ever go back to being the way it was. You have to take responsibility for listening.”
Once you know something it is difficult to unknow it. What you do with information is a reflection of your values. If listening reveals that someone might be in danger, or is starving, moral and ethical questions are suddenly in the forefront. Listening is serious stuff.
I want to share one last quote about listening. It is from Eudora Welty’s book, One Writer’s Beginnings:
“Long before I wrote stories, I listened for stories. Listening for them is something more acute than listening to them. I suppose it’s an early form of participation in what goes on. Listening children know stories are there. When their elders sit and begin, children are just waiting and hoping for one to come out, like a mouse from its hole.”
Listening should not be considered a chore. When you listen, it should be done with a sense of anticipation that something important, or insightful might be about to come your way. Welty’s idea of “listening for” rather than simply “listening to” is a great reminder that at any moment you might hear some thought or idea that you did not expect to hear. That thought or idea might shed light that makes a little more sense of something that you’ve been struggling to understand. Listening always has the capacity to give unexpected gifts.
“Trust brings a higher level of communication and a higher level of commitment and accountability.”
Bruce Arians
You cannot advance change without understanding the importance of trust. Every positive change that has ever occurred in human history has happened because of the development of personal relationships built on trust. Trust is a necessary component in turning shared values into shared action.
Trust doesn’t happen overnight. It develops over time. If we trust each other, it doesn’t simply mean that I believe what you say. When you consistently do what you say you are going to do, it builds trust. When you demonstrate honesty, kindness, transparency and humility, it builds trust. Trust is created by actions, not by saying, “trust me.”
Because it is intensely personal, trust can be complex. It can be influenced as much by intuition, and gut feeling, as it is on logic and evidence. Trust is not necessarily an either/or proposition. It can exist on a continuum. You can share values and goals with someone, but disagree with the means by which they want to achieve those goals. Your level of trust informs your tolerance for risk, or your willingness to invest time and energy.
Trust is not transferable. Just because A trusts B, and B trusts C, it doesn’t mean that C will automatically trust A. The trust between B and C can, however, serve to open a door to a trusted relationship between A and C. Trust can also fade without regular, reliable, trustworthy acts,
Misinformation erodes trust. Example: Outlandish, unsubstantiated medical, or scientific claims on social media serve to erode public trust in science. There isn’t a tremendous return on investment trying to combat the rantings of the misinformation echo chamber. When it seems difficult to tune out those rants, just ignore them, and remember that change happens at the center.
Finally, remember that trust is not about marketing, or propaganda. It is about developing authentic human relationships and having each other’s backs. In the words of psychotherapist and author Thomas Moore: “We need people in our lives with whom we can be as open as possible. To have real conversations with people may seem like such a simple, obvious suggestion, but it involves courage and risk.”
What is the difference between a problem and an issue?
A “social problem” is a condition that negatively affects large numbers of people created as a result of public or private policies, or through practices embedded in social structures. The scale, and complex nature of these problems make them seemingly too big to take on. What can organized groups of people seeking to create change do to address social issues such as, poverty, climate change, or racism? You need to strategically “cut” a realistically manageable and winnable issue out of the problem.
Choosing the Issue
In 1991, Midwest Academy published a very useful field manual titled, Organizing for Social Change. The book’s “Checklist for Choosing an Issue,” provides some helpful guidance for narrowing the focus of a campaign for change. The authors list these sixteen criteria for choosing an issue:
It must result in a real improvement in people’s lives.
It must set your organization up for the next campaign.
It must have a pocketbook angle.
It must raise money.
It must be consistent with your values and vision.
Your issue should have most of these, though it may not always be important to find a pocketbook angle, or to raise money. It is probably also impossible to avoid some internal divisiveness. This is why a leader must develop some basic conflict resolution skills.
Don’t get overwhelmed by the scale of a problem. Identify small, winnable issues that will contribute to a greater goal. Your work will complement that of others doing work on related issues. Build on your successes. No problem is too big to overcome.
“If we manage conflict constructively, we harness its energy for creativity and development.”
Kenneth Kaye
Just because people share the same goal around creating change, does not mean that they will agree on everything. Effective social change leaders recognize the importance of addressing internal conflicts early, and in a way that improves relationships among allies. Even if a dispute seems like a small thing it needs to be addressed. What seems like a small thing to one person might be the key to trust or commitment to another.
Sometimes conflict appears to be about one thing, but it is, in fact, related to a variety of things. This reality is commonly illustrated by an iceberg metaphor. Factors such as culture, values, and assumptions are always present beneath the conflict in question.
Not every conflict involving people who are different is caused by cultural differences, but recognizing cultural differences is particularly important. Cultural differences can include things such as:
communication styles
attitudes towards conflict
approaches to completing tasks
decision-making styles
ways people come to know things
We cannot know all things about all cultures, and there are no universal intercultural problem-solving methods. These two things, however, are true: 1) in every culture people communicate because they want to be listened to and they want to be understood; and 2) in every culture people respond to respect and disrespect.
Individual Conflict Styles: a Starting Point
Many people find it useful to try to determine where individuals fit on an inventory of conflict styles. The most popular description of individual styles is probably the Thomas–Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument, developed in the early 1970s by Kenneth W. Thomas and Ralph H. Kilmann. The assessment instrument itself is under copyright, and can be purchased, but the categories as they are mapped in terms of their relationship to assertiveness, and cooperativeness, are widely known (see image below).
“I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.”
Blanche DuBois, A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams
I have frequently written about the importance, and primacy of personal relationships when it comes to working for change. I continue to believe that most things that ultimately succeed in this world do so because of personal relationships. There are, however, complementary endeavors that lead to success, and the relationship that makes those work is not interpersonal, but rather it reflects a person’s relationship with their community as a whole.
A number of years ago I was in a work meeting that was winding down, when the subject of LinkedIn came up. For those of you not familiar with LinkedIn, it was created to serve as a “professional” social network. It is not the kind of social site that many people who belong think about, much less check on a regular basis. People you’ve met through work make requests to become part of your list of “connections.” The site identifies varying degrees of connectedness among your connections. Its algorithms also predict that you know lots of people you’ve never heard of.
Anyway, back to the story. Most of the people in the meeting were saying that even though they were not active very on the site, accepting someone’s request to be a connection was a painless way to have a potential bridge to someone who might be a professional contact in the future. Plus, it provided them a tiny bit of validation when someone thought they were important enough to be networked with. Almost everyone agreed, however, that they did in fact have numerous people among their connections who they couldn’t remember, or had any idea how they were currently connected to their work.
Then a woman shared that she had set about the task of weeding out her list of connections on the site. She said that she used one simple question as a determining factor. The question was: If this person asked me to do them a favor, would I do it? If the answer was yes, they stayed on the list. It was her way of turning a confusing, infrequently used, personal network, into more of a trusted personal network.
Our non-professional, offline lives operate a little differently than social media sites. Our community may include relatives, friends, acquaintances, people we know of only by reputation, and strangers (there are probably many more categories, but you get the idea). There are varying levels of connection, and trust exist across and within these categories, but all can, and do bring value to the quality of life in the community.
Community-building, and community development obviously benefit from trusted relationships that result in constructive community engagement. Community engagement and connection, however, also occurs outside of trusted personal relationships. It happens because individuals with few individual connections place their trust in the idea of community itself.
Community engagement can be thought of as people doing a personal favor for the community. You can be a loner, or a hermit, and still value the quality of life created by community. A strong commitment to a place might simply come from the comfort of the familiar, or the lure of some natural feature, or maybe you just want the community to thrive for convenience of not having to go out of town to shop, or get a haircut.
I don’t think one can underestimate the power that an individual’s sense of place holds. As philosopher Patricia Churchland wrote, “Being engaged in some way for the good of the community, whatever that community, is a factor in a meaningful life. We long to belong, and belonging and caring anchors our sense of place in the universe.”
The efforts of strangers can complement, or build upon the work of organized allies. Just because people are not acting as part of your group’s plan, does not devalue their contributions. Maybe they eventually get to know you, maybe not. It doesn’t matter, because you always have a common friend – the community.
“Too often we… enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”
John F. Kennedy
At its core, social change leadership is about changing people’s minds. How did you come to have your position on an issue? Was it an event in your personal life? Was it scientific data, or a startling statistic? Did a trusted person convince you?
We can have difficulty knowing exactly how our opinions formed. It is a complicated business. It is usually a combination of factors. It might be strongly-held personal values, or the opinions of people you believe to be knowledgeable, or maybe just gut feelings (see the image below). There are so many filters through which we get information, and form opinions, it is unlikely that an approach relying heavily on data, “facts,” and evidence will be enough to change minds.
Image: Lbeaumont, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Confirmation Bias
Once a person acquires what they know, it can be difficult for them to consider changing their mind. For many people, their stated beliefs have become almost indistinguishable from their identity as a human being. Admitting they are wrong about one issue might make them question everything that they believe. The thought that something made them question something they thought to be true can often motivate them to seek out more arguments to rationalize what they already believe. This is called confirmation bias.
It is important to note that confirmation bias isn’t simply looking for like-minded sources to counter evidence-based arguments. The bias also assumes that the evidence that supports one’s position is more important or valuable, even if it is not supported by data, science, or rigorous analysis. In a world with social media, the biased search for, and interpretation of information is easier than ever. We may recognize that those with opposing views are repeating information from the same limited number of sources.
One key to understanding how you might change minds is to make sure that you are not in an echo chamber yourself. If you want to overcome confirmation bias, and make objective decisions, you must keep an open mind and be willing to be proven wrong. It isn’t enough to know what an adversary believes. You need to find out why they believe it. Challenge yourself to look at things objectively.
Changing the Approach
(Note: I don’t have a degree in rhetoric, or claim expertise in psychology, marketing or any professional field that asserts to have a scientific approach to persuasion. I’m just suggesting a few approaches that community organizers and others have found to be successful.)
You need to change some minds. Screaming, belittling, and drowning people in data doesn’t seem to be working. You may need a radical new approach. As counterintuitive as it might seem, imagine an approach that begins with humility, empathy, and compassion. These are not signs of weakness. They are indicators that you want to enter into a civil exchange where both parties are heard and understood.
It is Necessary to Listen to Individuals
You won’t change minds at a large rally. Rallies are for preaching to the converted. People’s opinions are very personal. As I said earlier, values and beliefs are core parts of an individual’s identity. Your success at changing minds depends on authentic, interpersonal communication. As economist Thomas Sowell put it, “If you want to get each individual’s honest opinion, you don’t want that opinion to be influenced by others who are present, much less allow a group to coordinate what they are going to say.”
Rapoport’s Rules are a good way to structure an honest, respectful, conversation with someone who’s mind you’d like to change. According to RationalWiki, Rapoport’s Rules “. . . are a set of rules intended to encourage productive, critical discourse. In particular, the rules seek to avoid straw man representations of an opponent’s argument and to avoid the backfire effect that criticism often provokes.” There are four general rules:
“You should attempt to re-express your target’s position so clearly, vividly, and fairly that your target says, “Thanks, I wish I’d thought of putting it that way.”
You should list any points of agreement (especially if they are not matters of general or widespread agreement).
You should mention anything you have learned from your target.
Only then are you permitted to say so much as a word of rebuttal or criticism.”
You should present choices based on a vision of how things might be. People need choices. Listen to people describe how their opinions reflect, or have an impact on their lives. What assumptions are they starting from? What do they believe that you do not? In what ways are their values reflected in the vision you present? The more you understand that, the more you can use it to your advantage.
Be genuinely curious. Admit your ignorance. Ask them to point you to more information about the larger, remaining points of contention. If they are unable to point you to any “authoritative” source you may be able to plant some seeds of doubt. Ask them if they agree with 50% of your position, or if you are feeling confident, maybe 60%. Try to discover the personal connection they have to the ideas on which you agree.
Evidence and Truth
Bertrand Russell said, “The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd.” If you seek social change, you know that support for the status quo is not usually rooted in evidence-based decision making.
Evidence-based facts are, however, still important. They always matter in courtrooms, and in science. And even though they should also matter in matters of policy and public opinion, for many people evidence does not equal truth. You cannot rely on evidence alone to change people’s minds. You have to be prepared to make emotional appeals. Your success will appeal to shared values and the recognition of the life experiences of those whose minds you seek to change.
Related Resources on This Site
It is important to identify issues that people view as zero-sum questions. (See my article, “Getting Beyond Either/Or,” I look at thinking about ways that adversarial, zero-sum issues might be re-framed to explore productive dialogue around differences of opinion.)
It isn’t necessary or realistic to convince everyone to embrace your point of view. My piece, “Change Happens at the Center,” reminds us that when you’re in the business of changing minds, you are not only talking to people who have dug in their heels in direct opposition to the change you seek. There are undecided people, as well as people whose commitment to the status quo is not necessarily very strong.
“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”
Albert Einstein
Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images via Pixabay
An elevator pitch is a brief, persuasive synopsis that you use to create interest in your issue, a project, or an idea. It is called an elevator message because you should be able to articulate your message in the time that a short elevator ride would take.
How do you create a message that can be delivered in 30 seconds or less? First, remember that the goal is not to try to squeeze as much information as possible into your 30 seconds. What you are trying to do is to give someone one compelling idea to think about (or if you’re really successful, act on) that relates to your cause.
I am always saying that the usually unspoken questions at the heart of many conversations are: 1) what’s in it for me; and 2) what’s it going to cost? Self-interest motivates people. This is important to remember when thinking about your message.
I recommend trying to create an elevator speech in just five sentences or phrases:
Say who you are (Hi, I’m John).
Get their attention (shocking or surprising data point or something that speaks directly to commonly shared values).
Note your group’s ultimate goal and general strategy (“We work to end (issue) by (one or two primary strategies.”).
State succinctly how that benefits the listener.
Share how can they find out more information.
Some more tips:
Use natural language. Practice your speech aloud, and at a conversational pace.
It should not sound “memorized.”
Read the room. Depending on your audience, you may need to have more than one benefit ready to explain.
If you are part of an organization, or an organized group, you should not all be delivering identical messages.
[Note: I originally published this piece on the ABCD in Action website.]
“There is one word which may serve as a rule of practice for all one’s life -reciprocity.”
Confucius
In the world of community-building there may be no concept more important than reciprocity. The acknowledgement of mutual dependence is at the core of a healthy society. Social psychologist, Jonathan Haidt calls it, “the basic currency of social life.”
I realize that anthropologists, and economists have their own definitions, so I want to be clear. I am not defining reciprocity simply as some sort of exchange marketplace. I’m talking about reciprocity as the recognition of the fundamental humanity and value of every member of the community, and the recognition of the interdependence of each community member.
Recognition of mutual benefit is important. You see it demonstrated all the time in thriving communities. People with no school-aged children will vote in favor of school referendums because they understand the value of educating youth. People shop at farmer’s markets, and locally-owned businesses because it sustains community economic development.
A sense of reciprocity is also expressed through volunteerism. According to The Corporation for National & Community Service, one out of four American’s volunteer, two out of three Americans help their neighbor (informal volunteering). These volunteers are almost twice as likely to donate to a charity. To be reciprocal is to look at the world around you through a community lens.
Reciprocity is:
The place where trust resides;
A key to belonging;
A contributor to one’s sense of place;
Generosity of spirit;
The enemy of selfishness; and
A condition that allows each person’s gifts, skills, and talents to be shared and celebrated.
You are interested in social change. Therefore, I assume that you are probably angry about something, right?
Anger is a powerful emotion. Repressing anger can create stress and anxiety. It has to be expressed. Anger can sometimes result in hopelessness, or in aggression (anger as payback). But, you don’t have to let anger drain you. You can use it energize your belief that the thing making you angry can be changed.
The thing that allows anger to provoke action for positive change is social agency. Social agency is the belief that you have the capacity to act both independently, and with others to change the world around you. It requires a strong sense of self-efficacy. You have to believe that change is possible, and that you have the necessary power to create that change.
We get angry about injustice. Your anger can help you articulate your values. It can motivate you to take a stand, and work for justice. As Aristotle said back in the fourth century B.C.,“. . . the angry man is aiming at what he can attain, and the belief that you will attain your aim is pleasant.” (Rhetoric, Book II – Chapter 2)
“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”
Albert Einstein
Humans will never fly. Television is just a fad. Who would ever need a computer in their home, much less carry one around wherever they go? Some people have trouble picturing a different future. Imagination allows you to see changes that others cannot. It can also help to forge a path to those changes.
So many of the topics that I have written about here illustrate the importance of imagination. Having an imagination is essential. Imagination helps turn ideas into actions. It is a key to problem solving. You have to be able to imagine a solution to a problem you are trying to solve.
The ability for any group of people in search of a better quality of life, to create a shared vision of what changes they will have to work toward, requires imagination. Maintaining the hope, or the expectation that your shared vision is possible requires that you be able to imagine a better world. When you ask someone to keep their “eyes on the prize,” you are reminding them to imagine that improved life.
One way to discover creative strategies and solutions is to seek out creative people. Who is creating art in your community? Who is managing to do great work with seemingly very few assets? The most imaginative people may not be in your usual circle of acquaintances. You may have to look at the margins. Find the people who are otherwise invisible. Find these imaginative people and listen to what they have to offer. As George Bernard Shaw put it, “Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.” (For more on creativity and leadership see, “Traditional Versus Creative Leadership.”)
If imagination is so important, why is it then that so many people say that they don’t really have much imagination? This isn’t a problem with children. Kids will frequently remind you of their capacity to imagine. They also often turn that imagination into creative works. Many adults, however, apparently lose their imagination mojo.
In the 1940s an advertising executive named Alex Osborn (He’s the guy who coined the term, ‘brainstorming’), recognized that this lack of adult imagination was a problem, so he came up with something he called, “creative problem solving.” The idea is that imagination can be cultivated and nurtured. You can read more about it here.
I have written previously that the world is not simply made up of two groups: your allies, and those opposed to your ideas. A great number of people are simply unaware that your issue is even a problem. The need to attract attention to the change that you are trying to create requires imagination. With all the ideas competing for our attention, imaginative, fresh messages stand a better chance of being heard.
Leading Differently 
