Author: George Liacos
How to think more strategically: Veil of Rationality: Example (Part 2)
Thinking with a strategic mind takes time and practice, but with the right tools, is very effective.
We build our strategic thinking muscle using a range of techniques and tools as outlined in my book Spark Change.
The eleventh Spark I’d like to introduce you to is Veil of Rationality. Let’s share with you an example.
How to think more strategically: integrate
To effectively integrate this Spark into a strategic thinking process, I follow these specific, sequential steps:
- Prepare the ground: At the outset, prepare yourself and your team for a different approach. Acknowledge upfront that your strategic thinking approach will consciously consider both rational analysis and emotional, intuitive inputs.
- Gather preliminary data: Begin with traditional data collection and analysis. Look at the hard facts, figures and logical arguments pertinent to the strategy and draw your initial hypothesis and conclusions.
- Call out biases: After analysing the data, hold a session to identify potential biases. Encourage team members to openly discuss and recognise biases that could influence their thinking and insights.
- Hang out the laundry: Allocate a specific phase in the process for exploring emotional and intuitive insights. Ask team members to share gut feelings or emotional responses to the strategy and data presented and deep dive into why. Do not skip or shorten this step just because it’s uncomfortable.
- Balance the discussion: Facilitate a structured discussion to balance the rational data with the emotional and intuitive inputs. Explore how these different elements can complement each other in forming a comprehensive strategy.
- Incorporate diverse non-rational perspectives: Actively seek the opinions and intuitions of various stakeholders, including led experience. This can include surveys, interviews or workshops with individuals who might be affected by or have insights into the strategy.
- Consolidate and synthesise: Bring together the rational analysis, identified biases, emotional insights and diverse perspectives. Synthesise these elements to form a well-rounded strategic plan.
- Reflect and adjust: Finally, reflect on this process. Evaluate the effectiveness of integrating both rational and emotional elements and make adjustments for future strategic planning.
By following these steps, you will ensure a thorough, inclusive approach to strategy that transcends the limitations of purely rational thinking.
How to think more strategically: navigate
To anyone keen on navigating past this veil, here are some techniques to try:
- Self-reflection: Catch yourself. Are you oversimplifying? Are the metrics the whole story, or just a chapter?
- Seeking diversity: Engage with different voices. They can offer perspectives that pierce through the rationality veil.
- Embracing narratives: Numbers are crucial, but so are stories. They add depth to our understanding.
- Constant evolution: Strategies should be fluid. Challenge, iterate and adapt.
- Sharing wisdom: Talk about the veil of rationality. The more aware we are, the more holistic our collective decisions become.
There is so much richness that comes through stories and conversation. These things add to our wisdom and complement data and method. With practice, you will come to know when you are using rationality as a veil or truly deploying your wisdom to the problem.
Resources & Support
This is why I wrote the book Spark Change, developed the Strategic Thinking Masterclass, and have released The Spark Strategic Leader ™ Subscription Program – all to help our sector’s leaders build the strategic thinking muscle.
Contact us at info@sparkstrategy.com.au to find out more.
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Want to read more about each Spark? Check out all our blogs and resources.