Adaptive Thinking

Adaptive Thinking: The New Superpower for 2021

By: Courtney Clark

You’ve seen the horror movie cliché: the killer is approaching, yet one clueless person runs UP the stairs instead of out the door. Now they’re trapped.

You watch, knowing what’s about to happen. You want to yell at the screen, “Get out!” “Go the other way!” But the clueless victim bumbles along, seemingly without thinking.

For some people, confusion and fear leads to foggy thinking. Bad decisions. At the very worst moment, the brain seems to cloud over and keep thoughts from crystallizing together. For other people, that same confusion and fear can lead to razorsharp clarity. Quick thinking and ingenuity. Those are the characters that survive at the end of the horror movie.

How can you be one of the survivors, and not the person running toward certain doom?

The answer lies in our responses to these novel, changing situations. And specifically, in our EARLY responses. At the TASPA 2020 Fall Support Staff Conference, I spoke about Adaptive Thinking, and how we can use the skills of Adaptive Thinking to help us succeed in this completely new world that 2020 has brought us. But Adaptive Thinking isn’t just useful for major crises like we’re facing now. It’s a skill that helps us navigate all kinds of change, both in our personal and professional lives, for years to come.

STEP 1: DOING AWAY WITH “HOW WE’VE ALWAYS DONE IT”

The first hurdle to developing an Adaptive Thinking mindset is to let go of the first solution that pops into your mind. Many of us have become successful over the years by following the mantra “go with your gut.” There’s a belief that your “gut” intuitively knows the answer. And that may be true… IF it’s the answer to a problem you’ve solved before.

Your gut only knows the answer to familiar problems. Your gut

only knows what you’ve swallowed before.

When you’re dealing with a new problem, or a novel environment (like a global pandemic!) research shows that your first ideas and solutions are the least creative. They’re the closest to status quo. To address an issue that hasn’t been faced before,

the first hurdle is to wipe “the way we’ve always done it” out of your mind and start the process of ideation with a clean slate.

STEP 2: AVOIDING THE GOLDILOCKS PARADOX

I told a story at the Fall Support Staff Conference about my first cancer diagnosis at age 26. The news shook my world. When the doctor gave me several treatment options, I sat there overwhelmed with what felt like too many choices, and none of them good.

When the nurse walked in, she explained that the four choices the doctor had given was the correct number of choices, because when he gave three choices (like many doctors did), patients tended to default to the perceived middle option, deeming it the “safe” choice. They made the middle choice almost instinctively, without much consideration. But when he gives four choices, suddenly patients seem to think more critically, weigh the options more fully.

I call this problem The Goldilocks Paradox. Our brains are overwhelmed with information and want to search for an easy answer. Three options provide an easy, default middle choice. But by offering 4 or more options (instead of the standard 3) we can keep ourselves from making a default decision.

Not only do we not want to stop the idea process at the first idea, like we discussed above, but we want to keep digging until we have at least four good options for solving a problem. In this way, we give ourselves the best opportunity to solve challenging problems in creative ways.

STEP 3: SOLVING PROBLEMS WITH STORIES

In 1978, a Harvard researcher named Ellen Langer launched a study about, of all things, a photocopy machine. Her team started approaching people at the library copy machine line asking to cut in line. They said “Excuse me. I have 5 pages. May I use the Xerox machine?” About 60% of people said yes to the request.

Then they changed the request slightly. They asked “Excuse me. I have 5 pages. May I use the Xerox machine, because I’m in a rush.” They offered a reason. This time, 94% of people allowed the researcher to cut in line.

Finally, they changed the request just a little more. This time, they asked “Excuse me. I have 5 pages. May I use the Xerox machine, because I have to make copies.” A full 93% of people agreed to let the researcher cut the line! Almost the same as the request above! But “I’m in a rush” is a much more sensible reason than “I have to make copies.” Of course they have to make copies! Everyone waiting in the Xerox line has to make copies!

There is power in the word “because.”

When we explain ourselves, when we share a story, people are instantly more willing to get on board with what we’re doing. From educators to naval officers, research shows that when we tell people stories about WHY something is happening, or why something NEEDS to happen, we encounter less resistance. Is someone more likely to remember page 64 of strategic plan spreadsheet? Or a story that illustrates the same request? A story is the clear winner every time.

HARNESSING THE SUPERPOWER OF ADAPTIVE THINKING

2021 won’t be easy. But there’s a way to navigate uncertainty without added pain and with a greater guarantee of success. It’s a way to meet the challenges of this new world and survive, even when resources are stretched thinner than ever.

Let go of “the way we’ve always done it,” avoid the Goldilocks Paradox, and share stories (both stories of success and stories of failure). If we can develop the skills of Adaptive Thinking in ourselves and our teams, we’ll be more ready for whatever comes our way.

Courtney speaks to organizations and businesses that want to adapt faster and achieve more by creating a culture of Accelerated ResilienceTM. Her presentations are designed to help you adapt when the stakes are high and life doesn’t go according to plan. For more information go to courtneyclark.com