Page 96 - Fearless Leadership

The Need to Be Right 83

in limitations. When your opinions and views dominate, the organization
goes on autopilot, and real thinking vanishes.

Problems Are Not Resolved Effectively

Solving problems within the framework of what you already know results
in closed problem solving, which means that ideas are examined only
within a defined and rigid structure. You get to be right, and you find evi-
dence (and people) to support your beliefs. No new information can come
in to alter your thinking, and you are left with the same solutions—just
tweaked with new variations. In closed problem solving, the limitations
of what you know define the boundaries of all possible solutions.
You get to be right and solve the same problems over and over again.
The sidebar “Defending What You Think You Know” lists the ways in
which we ensure that all thinking remains inside our closed loop of auto-
matic listening. Inside this closed thinking, there is no room for explo-
ration, dialogue, or inquiry into new possibilities.

Defending What You Think You Know
•“I know there is not a problem.” You defend the adequacy of the
present and deny that a problem exists.
•“I know how to solve the problem.” You defend what you already
know and stop investigating further.
•“I know the right way to solve the problem.” You restructure what
you already know, and you call it a new solution when, in fact,
it is the same information in a new order.

You Lose the Ability to Adapt and Recover Quickly
The law of requisite variety (sometimes known as Ashby’s Law after
William Ashby, who proposed it) states, “The variety in the control sys-
tem must be equal to or larger than the variety of the perturbations in order
to achieve control.” The popular interpretation is, “The most flexible
system or person is the most powerful one.” When the complexity of the
environment exceeds the capacity of leaders and organizations, the envi-
ronment dominates and ultimately destroys both.