Arguing could be a perfect thing — perhaps the key to success — if we could train ourselves to do it healthily.
Research tells us that cognitive diversity makes a group smarter. Indeed, two heads are better than one, and many heads are even better, especially when everyone is willing to share their expertise and opinions.
Cognitive diversity (how we approach problems and think about things) is a skill required more than ever. We live in difficult times, when complex solutions are needed and where one solution for all approach no longer works.
Could we benefit from broadening our perspective?
Although diverse thinking and disagreements can be uncomfortable, they drive breakthrough solutions more than consensus and “nice” conversations in which people hold back what they think.
We get sucked into trying to “win”— so we look good — which leads us to ignore logic and evidence against our original beliefs. And so we fight without making much progress.
We can change this dynamic, moving toward more effective discourse (exchanging diverse ideas) and debate (arguing honestly for and against the merits of those ideas), by adopting the right habits.
For debate to be productive, participants need to be willing to respect every viewpoint and change their minds when necessary. This is what psychologists call “intellectual humility,” and it’s one of the most essential skills a good leader can develop.
The rules of intellectual humility:
- Don’t take things personally.
- Listen to and respect every person and their viewpoint, even if you disagree.
- Admit when you realize you’re wrong, and cheerfully concede when others have good points.
- Be curious. Even bad ideas can be useful; they can help us find new and better ideas.
We can be intellectually humble, but if we’re never curious enough to listen to other viewpoints, we aren’t really that open-minded.
Curious to explore more?
- A New Way to Become More Open-Minded http://ow.ly/mAG230qNvff
- How to Debate Ideas Productively at Work http://ow.ly/4k2a30qNvfV
- Take the Intelectual Humility Quiz and discover how you can improve http://ow.ly/8JSS30qNv8o
