Creating & Fostering paradox for the Greater Good

 

What?

Sometimes, as humans, we can get so trapped in a single path forward. Maybe it is the path of least resistance or what we feel is the only right way, but it is often, truly just the path we are used to. It seems this is because when you think of beliefs, actions, or ideals that are contradicting, we tend to overanalyze what contradicting means at its core; We hear contradicting and assume that opposite is innately negative. We witness contradictions and assume that they cannot exist in such a paradoxical manner (Yip, 2010). Some of the largest, leading and quite successful organizations or companies allow those paradoxes to be used as “leverage” in finding a transformative path forward (Yip, 2010). Often times, this can lead to out of the box solutions and more comprehensive perspectives that are used to outdo competitors (Yip, 2010).

So What?

Learning to lead through paradoxes can be challenging, because you must be willing and able to broaden your perspective and widen the lens of your understanding beyond what you sometimes may enter the scenario with. When it comes to innovation and continual success, monotony and predictability may come with a level of comfortability but can also be inhibitors for innovation and diverse solutions to continuous obstacles. To be successful in navigating such paradoxical mindsets, you must be willing to assess the dynamic and alter the course of action when necessary (Yip, 2010). It can feel routine an safe to analyze leadership and decision making as if, then statements: if this happens, then this is the solution. However, it is sometimes when we accept the possibility for and/or within solutions that we can better our outcomes. In fact, sometimes planning the course can be the most difficult obstacle to overcome. For example, in working with children, there will almost certainly be factors that you cannot account for beforehand. While this can sometimes create hardship, it also can sometimes be those adaptable responses where the best new practice originates from. This is a hard skill to teach and can sometimes be a natural skill or something developed through time. However, this starts with an open mind. A mind that is open to accepting how two things, ideals that seem to compete may do so without crowning one the victor and can co-exist within an organization or conversation or within ourselves.

Now What?

              Understanding the significance and what the proper way to handle such a paradox can be much different than enacting such thought process. Some leadership styles or personalities do not do well with the idea of improvising to work in a paradoxical mindset. However, this is not to say that it will be impossible to develop this skillset. It starts with being willing: the willingness to both acknowledge the uncomfortable nature of having to improve and to sit in and work through that uncomfortable feeling when the time comes. After being able to be self-aware of our own capabilities of handling such contradicting viewpoints, we are then able to work on our responses and our capacity to manage such paradoxes. Knowing that this can happen, accepting it when it does, having the willingness to sit in that discomfort and using trial and error to work through it will be key first steps to bettering our abilities. With acceptance, practice and experience, you can then move from enduring paradoxical scenarios, to creating them. Creating that perhaps uncomfortable situation and navigating through them yourself, as well as guiding your team to do the same, can be where seeds of greatness, innovation, and competitive ideals can become a reality.

 

References

Yip, J. (2010). Leading through paradox. In Hannum, K. M., McFeeters, B. B., & Booysen, A. E. (Eds.), Leading across differences: Cases and perspectives (pp. 171-179). Pfeiffer.