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Career advice, insights & tips for HR professionals

Time to think 16/11/2009

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"What on earth was I thinking?"........is a fairly common plaintiff cry at the moment, as we reflect back on some of the financial commitments we have all taken on in recent years. Of course there are some 'clever bastards' (the title of an Ian Dury song, so pease don't criticise me or the website for a profanity) around at the moment who are attempting to demonstrate that they saw the credit crunch coming, but most of us got caught up with the herd.

Time to think

Click to jump to section

  1. 'Most people would rather die than think'
  2. Wasted energy
  3. Practical leadership
  4. Taking responsibility
  5. Keep on asking
  6. How do we know when someone is thinking?
  7. So how do you get everyone to think?
  8. Collective positive energy

'Most people would rather die than think'

"What on earth was I thinking?" Well the truth is that we weren't thinking. We were pretty much on auto pilot, which is why the economic downturn feels like an awakening, and a rude one at that. 'Most people would rather die than think' Bertrand Russell once said that 'most people would rather die than think', which sounds crass until you think about it. It is incredible what we can accept, as long as we can blame someone else. Witness the mass witch hunt over 'who is to blame' for the current economic situation. The truth is we've all done rather well, and now we have to pay. The truth is we are all to blame, so let's stop the forensic examination and start looking forward.

Wasted energy

Energy spent in creating excuses and reasons why, is energy not spent creating a better future. It is wasted. So how do we get ourselves and those around us looking forward not back? How do we get out of the negative energies around blame, and into the positive energies of creativity?

Practical leadership

Well, we all need to start taking personal responsibility for solving problems. Taking personal responsibility is really tough, and almost impossible to do on our own. It's like trying to give up smoking without telling anyone. We need leadership, but not of the sort that stands up and exhorts us to take responsibility, since that will not work, particularly if the exhortation is coming from those whom we are still conveniently blaming for our situation. We need the practical, on-the-ground leadership of consistent and dedicated facilitators.

Taking responsibility

Something magic happens when you make someone think - they start to take responsibility. They have to. Try it out - pick any problem in your company and ask someone about it, and you will no doubt hear a strident critique of the situation, combined with a laser like analysis of who is to blame. Then ask that person what they would do if they were in charge. Notice how easy it is for them to answer the question, but only in vague and general terms. There will be little specificity in their answer. Follow up by asking 'but specifically what would you do?' and notice their confidence start to evaporate in front of your very eyes, since asking for specifics is really asking them to take real responsibility for what they think, and that is risky for them.

Keep on asking

So much easier to stay in a place of criticism and blame. Notice in fact how they do not actually answer your request for specifics, but resort instead to a continuation of what is wrong and who is to blame. Keep asking what they would do, and keep noticing how the question is avoided. If you persist, they will eventually have to think. And so starts the journey of personal responsibility. Soon you will be able to deliver the only really important question which is 'what can you do to help solve the problem?' "They went quiet and their eyes glazed over.......". This means that we have to stop having nice (and conspiratorial) conversations, and start having structured discussions that really get people thinking.

How do we know when someone is thinking?


Well, they go quiet and they drop their eye contact. They go quiet because they are really having to consider their answer before starting to speak, and they drop their eye contact because they are searching for the answer somewhere in their brain. Of course managers feeling very pressured tend to interpret this behaviour as both inconvenient and resistant, and so they jump in with the answer to their own question, thus letting the person off the hook.

So how do you get everyone to think?

The answer is basic coaching - frame the right question; ask it clearly; stay quiet while they are thinking; keep asking the question until it is answered; don't accept "I don't know" as an answer. As well as framing great questions, and insisting they are answered, we need to work on our behaviours as leaders - accepting people's answers without necessarily agreeing with them; being patient; sitting with someone else's discomfort; deferring judgement until we are ready to make a decision. The reality is that all the answers to all the problems lie within our own workforce. Our job as leaders is to have the strength and the patience to bring this out, harness it and martial the energy and creativity.

Collective positive energy

There has never been a greater need for collective positive energy and creativity in our businesses. It is 'time to think', and to bring this out we must lead people by giving them time to think.

Spring Partnerships

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Gareth Chick, director, Spring Partnerships

Gareth Chick, director, Spring Partnerships

Gareth Chick is Director and Co-Founder of Spring Partnerships, an award winning international change consultancy formed 5 years ago with Stephen Archer. Spring design and deliver events that change people's behaviour - from leadership development and cultural change to conferences and incentives.