1.5 - About University

D ANGER!—CAVEATIn cases in which only triage issues—usually symptoms—are dealt with, the problemwill almost certainly recur. When immediate needs are met, the temptation for othersis to say, “Thank you” and move on. If this happens, you leave yourself in a lowleveragesituation. If you sense this may happen, start by asking larger, big-picturequestions. You can always revert to triage, if needed.D EALING WITH AMBIGUITY WITH OTHERSTo capture the benefits of big-picture questions, you must be able to manage the increasedambiguity they produce. One technique is this: On hearing the answer to a big-picture question,always paraphrase or summarize what you have heard. The benefits of using this techniqueare:• It shows you are listening, able to track the complexity, and willing to handle messysituations.• Others can correct any misconceptions you may be receiving.• Summarizing has the highly desirable effect of reducing ambiguity.• Summarizing helps others to go to the next deeper level, where underlying causes andbarriers are situated.H OW TO USE THIS LEADERSHIP TOOL“Nothing undermines openness more surely than certainty. Once we feel as if we have ‘the answer,’ all motivationto question our thinking disappears.”—Peter Senge, THE FIFTH DISCIPLINETo help you with the practical application of the Hourglass Model, here is an example of thehourglass from everyday life. Because of its universal appeal, the example of a parent−child situationis used for illustration. We do not mean to imply that parent−child relationships arethe same as leader−other relationships!Picture a five- or six-year-old child playing in a playground near home. The child comesrunning home to the parent. The child is crying, scratched, bruised, and has a minor cut. Whatwould an effective parent do? Triage, of course. First the parent would soothe the cries, treatthe cut, and put bandages on the scrapes. Then would the parent send the child back to theplayground? (Often children are anxious to get back.) No! An effective parent would probablysit down with the child and ask big-picture questions about how the situation arose and howthe accident happened. After discussing the bigger picture of how the child got hurt, an effectiveparent would probably complete the conversation with both parent and child agreeing tocarry out some actions designed to keep the child away from further harm.To help you get started with the hourglass application, here is a questioning sequence youmight use, starting with someone stating a complex issue:Step 1: Summarize and Outline Your Processa. Summarize or paraphrase what you have heard so far:“What I understand so far is … .”b. Outline your process:180 SECTION 6 TOOLS FOR CRITICAL THINKING AND INNOVATION