Open the Circle

Have you ever turned on the television and seen a congressperson at a local town hall getting yelled at by their constituents? The look of shock on their face is usually worth the price of admission, and it’s also very telling. They have spent the better part of their time in Washington, DC, surrounded by others who think like them. They assumed their constituents felt the same way.

It is the classic ivory tower situation. Nobody gets to go into the tower but those who agree with you. But then, when it comes time to make the decisions, you lack context. You don’t know the opinions of those other people, just like the assuming congressperson.

The solution is opening up your circle. By letting in other voices, you gain more information. That data opens you to paths that you never would have taken.

Always Be Learning

There have been dozens of times in my career where literally asking, “Whose voice is missing?” has become a powerful tool. There was one scenario where I was working on a technology project, and just outside of my office was a bullpen with lots of young interns. Sometimes, just walking by them, I learned something new—a technology I wasn’t familiar with yet or an app popular amongst people their age.

Now I could have gotten that knowledge from somewhere else. It is possible that one of my executives might have heard of the app or technology in question. But for those people, it likely would have been gleaned second hand; the interns lived with those products. They understood innately how they worked and how to use them. Who better to ask?

I would not have learned these things had I stayed in the ivory tower that was my office.

Recognize Your Biases

The other issue is you. Making decisions requires setting aside biases, which can be challenging. I know that I have failed at that myself many times. On one recent occasion, had I not opened myself up to hearing new voices and putting away those preconceived notions, our business would have lost out on a very promising opportunity that is now bearing fruit.

You need to provide space both internally and externally for new voices. Open yourself up to learning. Forget those preconceived notions. By doing that, you put yourself in a much better position to listen, and that choice can make the difference between whether your company succeeds or not.

It’s Not Easy, but it Doesn’t Need to be Hard

You can consider overlooked perspectives in decision-making. It primarily requires intellectual humility or the recognition that you don’t have all the answers, and giving others a chance to share their views. The starting point of active listening can also be augmented by diverse decision-making or advisory teams, cultural competency, and formal and informal feedback loops.

In the end, you must choose whether you wish to engage in authentic idea discovery or to reinforce echo chambers and conformity.

Design the right path for you and your organization. It’s worth it.