Author: Eddie Botes
A little while ago, I wrote an article titled “Critical thinking for the Adaptive Leader – nine key characteristics to What are your sacred cows”, which featured on the Conference Speakers International website. I briefly highlighted nine characteristics that Adaptive Leaders adopt to navigate a changing world. For this article, I am going to be […]
A little while ago, I wrote an article titled “Critical thinking for the Adaptive Leader – nine key characteristics to What are your sacred cows”, which featured on the Conference Speakers International website.
I briefly highlighted nine characteristics that Adaptive Leaders adopt to navigate a changing world. For this article, I am going to be looking into the first characteristic in a little more detail.
Critical thinking and problem-solving have consistently been voted as key skills for leaders to develop in the twenty-first century. It is becoming increasingly important for leaders to make the right decisions and that involves a key characteristic of critical thinking.
Adaptive Leaders start from the premise that they may be wrong and are open to their minds being changed.
I grew up in a fundamental religion where we believed in the absolute authority of its religious text and its founder. The founder of this religion described its Keystone religious text as “…the most correct of any book on earth”. Many consider this religion a cult, although whilst I was part of this religion, this would have been a claim I would have vehemently defended against.
As a youngster, fresh out of the military, I spent another two years as a missionary, proselyting door to door to anyone who would listen. I believed passionately in the message. In fact, not only did I believe, but I proclaimed a sure knowledge of the truthfulness of the message that I was teaching.
Every facet of my life was influenced by the teachings of the church. It permeated every aspect of my thinking. Every major life decision that I made was done within the context of its peculiar doctrine. There was no room for doubt of any kind. As a member, you are very strongly discouraged from reading any literature that might raise questions about any of the truth claims which the church makes. I never questioned.
About fifteen years ago my life was thrown into turmoil when I came across a book that challenges the authenticity of the churches foundational text. A former Bishop of the church and geneticist set out to prove, through DNA, the truthfulness of some of the major claims made in the book. He didn’t find what he was looking for. In fact, after reviewing the evidence he had to conclude that the claims were fabricated.
The book raised a few questions for me and sparked an almost three-year obsessive drive to challenge all the sacred cows that I had. All of the beliefs that were never questioned now became the object of intense scrutiny. Did I really have all the answers to life’s complex questions? Or hadn’t I been asking the right questions? Did my world view really contain “A fullness of the truth”?
The proverbial rug began unravelling very quickly from beneath my feet and I soon discovered that I no longer had a sure knowledge. In the face of rigorous testing and compelling evidence, all of my sacred cows became indefensible. And so began a process of change and discovery that – upon reflection – became my journey towards self-awareness.
The reason I tell this story is that our leadership culture has, for decades, focused on persuasion and influence. We celebrate leaders that are decisive, persistent and unwavering in their convictions. There is no doubt that persuasion and influence are important skills for leaders, but in a world that is changing faster than ever, I believe it is far more important for leaders to be persuadable. The real competitive advantage for leaders now is the ability to change their minds in the face of new information and new circumstances.
In a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous world, leaders need to make good decisions. When we are open to our minds being changed, we use all the available information, even the stuff that contradicts what we already believe to make the best judgement. Adaptive leaders also recognize that part of the process of adapting to changing circumstances, is that we need to change our minds – and change at speed. With the increasing pace of change, the best leaders lean aggressively into these changes and question the status quo. They are not uncomfortable receiving feedback, even if it contradicts a belief they have about themselves. This allows them to improve at a more rapid pace than others.
In prevailing Leadership culture, we have bought into the myth that leaders who change their minds are flip-floppers or pushovers. This is simply not true. Adaptive leaders are very clear on their reasons for changing their mind. They don’t pander to a certain demographic but rather do so because it’s the right thing to do. They don’t apologize when it’s an intelligent decision.
The really courageous leaders don’t wait for feedback from others before considering a shift in their mindset. They actively look for information and trends that might threaten their industry or an existing product they have on the market. It’s important to take note here that being open to our mind being changed does not mean that we are gullible. Leaders who are open to their mind being changed don’t always change their mind. It just means that they have a genuine willingness to change their minds in the face of good evidence. The key here is “In the face of good evidence”. Adaptive leaders don’t change their minds if they haven’t been presented with good reasons to change their mind.
What are your sacred cows and are you willing to kill them? What are the issues in your business and life that are worth changing your mind on? What are the decisions that you can make where you stand to make a huge gain by being open to change?
Eddie Botes is an international speaker and facilitator and is the founder of Leadershift, an organization that is dedicated to helping organizations and leaders to build a focused and adaptive organizational culture and finding What are your sacred cows.
Contact Us at WeSpeak Global and follow us on Twitter
The articles, video and images embedded on these pages are from various speakers and talent.
These remain the property of its owner and are not affiliated with or endorsed by WeSpeak Global.
Raizcorp supports over 500 businesses, find out their innovative selection process and how success can be your downfall. Allon Raiz, is a successful entrepreneur building numerous businesses and he is the founder of Raizcorp which nurtures entrepreneurs and grows profitable businesses. How Allon Raiz Went From A Failed Business To Raizcorp Allon Raiz is regarded […]
Corporate motivational speakers for team building and leadership development. 1 Why corporate motivational speakers are needed now more than ever I am a corporate motivational speaker and my real job is to directly address the major factors contributing to an organization’s successes and failures. As I’ve spoken around the globe, to organizations across just about every […]
Is Complacency Putting You Risk? Lessons From a Fighter Pilot Flying taught me a valuable lesson about life: complacency can cause serious problems for ourselves and those around us. In this newsletter, share a personal story about the dangers of complacency including the following topics: Complacency Consequences What leads to complacency? Signs Complacency is Creeping […]
TAKING THE STRESS OUT OF EVERY DAY with Highly Resilient People! Every morning they wake up and say today I choose joy – consciously – and then; They observe their thinking all day and stop thoughts that create stress. They work at being present in every moment and not worry about or dwell on what […]
Some companies perceive the concept of creating a “Personal Branding at work” to be self-serving for the employee. But the reality is there is no downside to having team members with heightened self-awareness and a willingness to improve themselves. Basically, that is the foundation for developing a respected Personal Brand at work; to get clarity […]
Connection with someone takes more than common interests of What Makes People Click. It also takes this. Do you know who created the world’s first social network? It wasn’t Zuckerberg, Dorsey, or Tom from MySpace. It was the person who kindled the first fire. The fire’s loud crackling, billowing smoke, and beautiful orange glow attracted others […]
How to bounce back after retrenchment or a job loss. Got retrenched? Here’s how to recover and step up One of the most devastating feelings is the realization of the loss of your income. It puts you in an immediate spiral of fear, anxiety, and uncertainty. Retrenchment affects you emotionally and the whole process can […]
Think about a baby’s laughter. It is one of the most contagious sounds when heard; you are bound to start smiling and eventually, break out in laughter, too. So, How to influence the workplace by bringing the right energy? Imagine if you could be like the baby’s laughter in your place of work. The one […]
No results available
ResetOur Mission
© All rights reserved 2025. Created using VOXEL THEME