1.5 - About University

1.9 U NDERSTANDING THE T HINKINGB EHIND Y OUR T HINKINGInspired by Stephen Covey, Peter Drucker, Thomas Kuhn, Peter Senge, Stephen Weinburg,Marvin Weisbord, and many others.Is there a leader who hasn’t heard of the word paradigm? Probably the most familiar paradigmshift in history was moving from thinking that the world was flat, to the stunning realizationthat it was round! Yet many explorers of the day continued business as usual, working withinthe “flat earth” paradigm. Needless to say, the explorers who adopted the new “round earth”paradigm were able to take advantage of huge economic expansion opportunities. Does any ofthis sound like the present-day paradigm shift to e-commerce?The paradigm shifting process that Stephen Weinburg describes within scientific researchis not dissimilar to paradigm shifts within the leadership field. He notes, “There are periods of‘normal science’ … (when) scientists tend to agree about what phenomena are relevant andwhat constitutes an explanation of these phenomena. … Near the end of a period of ‘normalscience’ a crisis occurs. … There is alarm and confusion. Strange ideas fill the scientific literature.Eventually there is a revolution. Scientists become converted to a new way of looking atnature, resulting eventually in a new period of normal science. The ‘paradigm’ has shifted.”Some of the major paradigm shifts within leadership have included participative management,planning and business strategy, and the changing nature of work and employment.Leaders today need to understand their own mental maps or personal paradigms, andbecome efficient at making paradigm shifts. It’s important to understand your personal andleadership paradigms because:✔ If you don’t understand the thinking behind your leadership ideas and tools and theirlimitations, they will almost certainly fail. (If you don’t learn from history, you’rebound to repeat it.)✔ By understanding the paradigm behind a leadership tool, you are better able to refineand adapt it to your unique set of circumstances (and also challenge others who espouseeasy answers to complex problems).✔ True improvement and growth result from regularly challenging and revising your leadershipparadigms.T HE WORKPLACE CHANGE PARADIGMMarvin Weisbord describes the paradigm shift in how work and processes are designed, andwho is involved.SECTION 1 FOUNDATIONAL CONCEPTS 29