Systems thinking and critical thinking rank right up there with emotional intelligence in terms of skills that makes a consultant truly outstanding.
Someone like that becomes a force multiplier.
They spark ideas, debates, thinking, creativity.
They energize.
There are also those who just turn up just to ‘do their lines’.
They ‘coast’, and do the bare minimum to keep their jobs.
Most people I know lie somewhere in between the spectrum of these two extremes.
People who are big picture thinkers, but also the sensitivity and humility to ensure that those around them feel safe and included, are very inspiring.
I talk about systems thinking, critical thinking and emotional intelligence every chance I get, because it’s so important to be able to shape the quality of your thinking.
I’d want my kids to be able to think, question, be able to state and to provide strong arguments for their belief, and also be able to actively listen and learn from those with opposing views.
I don’t want them to be automatons, to accept what’s given to them, or be blinded to what might be glaringly obvious to others.
Secretly, I want to arm them with the tools to sift out manipulators, grifters, takers, and toxic people, and the only real way to do that is to be observant and to think for themselves.
These skills are so useful, both in work and in life, that I wonder why schools don’t put them into the core curriculum.
I wish I learned all of this at school, as opposed to integration, trigonometry, chemical formulas and standard deviations 😬
#leadership
#onthepeiroll
#emotionalintelligence
#systemsthinking
#criticalthinking
#personaldevelopment