Let’s try an experiment

If you’re thinking to yourself, ‘Why would I do that? I’m not a scientist.’ Let me help you think again, drawing inspiration from Adam Grant’s book with the same title. Grant begins by highlighting our natural resistance to rethinking. We tend to slip into three modes when our beliefs are challenged:

• Preacher mode: Defending our beliefs and trying to convert others

• Prosecutor mode: Attacking others' ideas to prove them wrong

• Politician mode: Campaigning for approval from our audience

Grant wants us to think like scientists, approaching ideas with curiosity, humility, and a willingness to change our views if new evidence is presented. Leaders who behaved the same way they did 20 years ago are no longer leaders. The world is constantly changing, and your view of it will also change as you gather new information. Leaders can apply this mindset to the smallest scale and experiment directly with their team. What better way to learn and grow than to experiment regularly?

Experiments in Leadership

Experimenting is a mindset as much as a task. When you’re experimenting, you’re admitting you don’t know what the right answer is. You’re trying something to observe the results and see if it works. The point of an experiment is not to be right; it’s to learn. Sorry to all the leadership gurus out there for what I’m about to say, but there is no guaranteed way to achieve success as a leader. People are complex, and leading people only magnifies the complexity.

Think about the process you use to interview. What if I told you there was evidence that says the age, gender, and education of the person you’re interacting with impacts the success of different interviewing tactics? A good leader would be curious and seek to understand if they are inadvertently missing good candidates because of their style. A bad leader would be defensive and insist that their 20 years of experience surely trumps any data. When we commit to experiment, we convey to ourselves that we’re open to learning new ways of working and leading.

You can apply the same logic I used above to any process or system you have. The best leaders are the ones who can continually evaluate themselves because it’s the only way to get better. It’s easy to identify areas where we can improve. I recently started experimenting with different formats for my team huddle. Not only different formats but different topics. So, maybe we can try it in a coffee shop for one week. Then, next week, we change the agenda to flow more effectively with the top priorities. Experimenting with your team is fun, and it allows you to model the behaviors and mindset to your team.

Our brain is exceptional at learning new things. Let’s just not forget to revisit and rethink things from time to time. You never know when your experiment will give you the missing insights you’ve been searching for.

Reflection

It’s simple to implement the idea of experimentation. All you have to do is ask yourself these two questions and answer them honestly.

1. What hasn’t been working well for me and/or my team?

2. How could I experiment and try something new in this area?

Experiments are fun, and they help you learn. Although you may not always get the answer you want, you’ll be one step closer to finding the right one after experimenting. It’s important to embrace new ideas and change our opinions in light of new facts. So, I encourage you to try an experiment or two this week!

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Meet Rick!

Thanks for reading this far. I’d like to take some time to introduce myself to you all! And thanks to everyone for subscribing. Consider sharing it with your friends if you’re a true fan of the newsletter!

My name is Rick Fearnbaugh, and I’m passionate about learning! I especially love learning with and through others, which is why I live my professional life in the world of strategic leadership development. I’m available for consulting (very limited spots) if you ever want to explore how to build an organizational structure and leadership pipeline that supports your goals (I only work with companies that have 150 employees or less). I live with my wife and dog in Camp Hill, PA. As you’ve probably noticed, I’m also a bibliophile and love discussing book recommendations. Send ‘em my way if you have any!

I really enjoy meeting new people and discussing leadership, so please reply directly and tell me a little more about yourself!

See you next week, 

Rick