Insightful Style
What does Kevin Jarrard mean when he says that every one of the decisions he made was “the result of the totality of my experiences throughout everything that had happened to me up to that point in my life”?
His Good Samaritan background could have led him to leap to decisions or make bad judgments, like that missionary group arrested in Haiti on kidnapping charges while trying to move alleged orphans across the border into the Dominican Republic. But Jarrard avoided making any assumptions and wanted to consider all aspects and steps before he took any action.
He was aware of the Marine mission at that time in Iraq, of the willingness of Lieutenant Colonel Bellon to consider a request such as his, of the capabilities of Captain Nadeau, which strengthened his case, of the people back in the States he could count on for help and action, and of what he needed to do to respect the Muslim family members and the tribal leaders. Furthermore, he was able to assemble a big picture that led to a dream that would be hard, but ultimately doable, as it turned out.
If you have an insightful style, you are able to step back and reflect so that you can gain perspective on a situation or problem. You are likely to stand firm on tough issues, if the evidence supports the position, and you will follow though despite obstacles. You tend to see beyond the immediate and you seek clarity. You are capable of being honest with yourself and set a high standard for yourself. Insightful people can be described as prudent, humble, and reflective. Having an insightful style helps build specific thinking skills, such as the following:
• Taking time to reflect
• Maintaining perspective, even in difficult situations
• Willingness to persevere
• Accurately understanding personal strengths and weaknesses
• Making judgments that fit the evidence (don’t overgeneralize or oversimplify)
Open-Minded Style
Let’s pause to consider again one of the most dynamic aspects of “Amenah’s Story.” A Muslim child and her mother were being sent to the Christian Bible Belt of America, where they would stay in the home of Christian Pastor Steve Berger and his wife Sarah, be embraced by the church’s congregation, have their travel financed from donations all across the area, have their cultural foods and customs respected, and no one would make any attempt to convert them, but rather accept them for who they were and honor them as fellow human beings who needed help.
Following 9/11, some people in America wrote graffiti on and damaged convenience stores owned and operated by members of the American Muslim community. Then, there were people like Pastor Terry Jones from Gainesville, Florida, who burned the Koran in March of 2011, an act that drew angry condemnation in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where anti-American sentiment runs high, causing riots in April in which many people were killed. The actions and emotions of these people mark one extreme of the grassroots mood. There was a lot of confusion and some prejudice about Muslims. Religion can be a very touchy subject, but that was not an issue with all the people who came forward to help.
Deanna Dolan, of World Relief, was one of the first to contact Janet Jarrard and say she wanted to help. One of her key decisions was where to place Amenah and her mother, Maha. She knew her choice was important: “I wanted them to be with people who I trust, people who I know would be committed, and who would be sacrificial. Because it is a huge sacrifice to allow strangers that you’ve never met, who were coming with huge needs, into your home. I mean, it takes pretty solid people to be able to do that.” She weighed the options and chose wisely: Steve and Sarah Berger.
Deanna speaks some Arabic, but she also helped provide Zainab, an interpreter who could help Maha and Amenah communicate. She helped with respect for food and cultural needs, and when she saw fear in the eyes of a mother afraid her child might die on the operating table, she made sure there were people available to support Maha, especially during those stressful hours in the waiting room. She brought together caring Christians from Grace Chapel whose only purpose was to comfort and support a worried mother, one who just happened to be of the Muslim faith. Deanna’s approach, though a Christian herself, was to offer support, empathy, and solutions without reservation or judgment.
If you have an open-minded style, you are typically tolerant of the opinions and viewpoints of others and can put yourself in the position of the other person. You can think of different options, different possibilities, and different conclusions. You are comfortable not rushing to judgment, and prefer to thoughtfully weigh information and alternatives. You tend to avoid extreme positions. You value fair play and like to think things through. Open-minded people can be described as intellectually tolerant and fair minded. Having an open-minded style helps build specific thinking skills, such as the following:
• Using an approach that is fair minded
• Seeking information from people with different views or perspectives
• Suspending judgment to evaluate information
• Generating alternative solutions
• Making connections across different situations or topics
Systematic Style
Recall that when David Bellon listened carefully to Kevin Jarrard’s proposal, he was assessing Kevin’s thinking and putting what he was hearing into context. Kevin’s plan was well crafted, but David needed to step back and consider how this plan could affect the larger operation. As he mentally scanned the system, he immediately recognized the challenges and he silently muttered, “Oh, my God, this is going to be a car crash with higher headquarters.” He understood that he needed to navigate the system and get buy-in, or at least, avoid the command to stop. He needed to harness relationships that had been developed and protect respect that he had earned from three tours of duty in Iraq. David needed to take a systematic approach in his support of Kevin.
People like Jonathan Malloch, as you saw, can be analytical and systematic when it comes to safety in a well-thought-out plan.
If you are systematic, you are able to size up a situation and place it into context. You are able to see the bigger picture and how the pieces fit together. You approach problems with a logical framework or scheme. You have vision and can anticipate the consequences of different alternatives. Systematic people can be described as conceptual, process oriented, and intuitive. Having a systematic style helps build specific thinking skills, such as the following:
• Comparing perspectives, information, and alternatives
• Developing criteria for evaluating information and alternatives
• Analyzing alternatives
• Making connections across different situations and topics
• Evaluating plans
Timely Style
Few people get bounced a bigger ball that calls for timely action than was Janet Jarrard, Kevin’s aunt. When she read the e-mail from Kevin asking her to be the point person in Nashville, she immediately said yes and went to work on December 14th, not knowing exactly what she needed to do, but being fully committed to quickly figuring it out. The time pressure was incredible—a few weeks to secure fund-raising, complete logistical planning, and nail down a multitude of details. Within three days, she had found Jonathan Malloch, and that led to the extraction team being put into place. World Relief, Deanna Dolan, and Grace Chapel church came next. Every single day, she managed to fit another piece of the puzzle into place. Janet describes this time as the most intense period of her life. She didn’t know that she could do something like this, but she did. Her efficient, resourceful, and timely approach kept the Nashville side of the operation in sync and moving forward.
Timely people can gather information and make decisions without undue delays. They don’t typically get caught up in analysis paralysis or procrastination. Instead, they are able to actively search out relevant information and work their way though situations in a timely manner that is neither too cursory nor too slow. Timely people can be described as efficient, reliable, and responsive. Having a timely style helps
develop specific thinking skills, such as the following:
• Being conscientious about working through a problem or opportunity
• Making a timely decision
• Calling for action when it is appropriate
• Appropriately pushing for plans
Truth-Seeking Style
Major Mark Lamelza’s job as Operations Officer was to support Lieutenant Colonel Bellon by asking the tough questions and giving honest advice. He said, “The truth is that you always know the right thing to do. The really difficult part of it is actually doing it.” Establishing and maintaining local governance, legal systems, and security for the cities in their region all fell under Mark’s responsibility. He laughed when he admitted, “I wasn’t one of those who jumped on the bandwagon.” He knew it was the right thing to do, but he also knew that he had to ask the tough questions and dig deep to make sure that this humanitarian project did not jeopardize anything within the vast umbrella of local governance or security. Mark wasn’t naïve; he knew the fragile state of these emerging systems, and he knew that an American-driven plan to move a baby girl and her mother to America for surgery and then back again was risky. Mark’s job was to find weaknesses in the plan and then eliminate those weaknesses. He needed to apply a truth-seeking style so that the team could avoid mistakes and recognize potentially dangerous problems.
People who are truth seeking are able to ask tough questions of themselves and others in an effort to get at the truth. They will push deeper for clarity even if it causes some discomfort. They may be skeptical and not willing to accept information at face value. They are not likely to be gullible or passively rely on others for a point of view. Truth seekers can be described as independent, tough minded, and skeptical. Having a truth-seeking style helps people build specific thinking skills, such as the following:
• Thinking independently without undue influence of others
• Clarifying issues or beliefs
• Evaluating information and seeing potential holes
• Minimizing group think
Making the Best Use of Thinking Styles
Now that you understand your preferred thinking styles, let’s look at how they play out in your daily life. Write down a situation you have experienced recently (e.g., a decision you needed to make or a problem you solved at work/home).
* * *
Situation:
Which styles did you use in this situation?
How did they help you accomplish your goal?
Were there styles that you could have used, but didn’t?
* * *
These questions are intended to help you become more aware of how you are currently using your thinking styles. If your top style is analytical and your bottom style is systematic, you are likely to approach situations by looking for missing details and inconsistencies, but less likely to begin by putting the situation into a larger context. Knowing your preferences helps you use your strengths more effectively and become more aware of things that you might miss.
Consider the value of each style as you practice your critical thinking skills (see Figure 3.1). For example, a systematic style, the tendency to see the big picture and anticipate consequences, is particularly helpful when you are trying to evaluate information and draw conclusions. A timely style helps you bring a plan of action to life.
Figure 3.1 Consider the value of each style as you practice your critical thinking skills.
Source: Pearson
Summary
You’ve explored several positive thinking styles that support skill development and good thinking. Hopefully, you visited the Web site and have a better feel for your own thinking style or styles. When you have done so, you will know more about your own tendencies, the styles you use more frequently, and those you use less frequently. You can also hone and improve your thinking skills. The key lesson here is about being intentional, and the key piece of advice you can take with you is to know your style and grow with your style. It’s easier to build your thinking skills when you use your preferred style. You no doubt recognize that some thinking skills will require more work to develop because they don’t match your preferred style. At some point, it will be valuable for you to take a tough look at your least preferred styles and work on improving those, but that should come after you build a solid base of skills.
Chapter 4. Change Your Thinking... Revolutionize Your Career... Transform Your Life
Amenah is now back with her family in Iraq, a healthy, growing young girl with every chance to live a full and happy life. That miracle is over. But there are plenty of other miracles needing to happen in the world, dreams to fulfill, and lives to improve. You can be at the heart of all that.
The end of her moving story is the opportunity for the beginning of yours, which brings us back to the subtitle of this book: Change Your Thinking...Revolutionize Your Career...Transform Your Life. You have an opportunity now to commit to a practice of highly effective thinking—and in doing so, you will open yourself up to the potential for greatness.
Like the heroes of “Amenah’s Story,” you can position yourself to succeed. In the chaotic world today, high-quality critical thinkers can navigate a turbulent global economy, shape a new vision for the education of tomorrow, and lead with wisdom and compassion. You need these skills to think on a world stage, but you also need these skills in your local community, in your neighborhood, and in your home.
You will know that you are making progress when you notice yourself behaving in new and more effective ways, particularly in situations that used to be a challenge for you. People and situations that used to hijack your emotions will no longer have power over you. Opportunities that you didn’t know existed or that you didn’t know you were looking for will find you. Doors will start to open for you—that you didn’t know were there—and you will start walking through them to a richer life.
The people who helped Amenah were, in many ways, people just like you—soldiers and civilians, all volunteers with compassion in their hearts and commitment to a better world in their sights, and they engaged in high-caliber thinking to accomplish an extraordinary feat. Every single person played a critical role; every single person made the crucial difference, a well-thought-out behavior or sound decision that tipped the scale toward success. You too can be the person who tips the scale in a positive direction; you just need to be ready, willing, and prepared.
Getting Started
What we’re talking about is critical thinking. By critical, we don’t mean for you to go around criticizing—especially yourself. In fact, critical thinking is quite the opposite. It means you want to understand more fully all the aspects and perspectives of people or ideas, not so you can judge and find fault but rather so you can evaluate more clearly and see the big picture and assess the value in something. You cast a curious and critical eye as you look at any individual or situation, whether it’s to consider a relationship or someone who wants to sell you part of a time-share condo.
Now, here is the really huge thing you can take away, in addition to knowing Amenah is doing fine now—critical thinking is all about you taking charge of your own thinking and owning your life. Totally! Think about that for a moment. That’s a big difference for many people. You’ve seen people who plod along and see what their mind comes up with next. Or worse, you’ve seen the ones who turn to others for their opinions, as if they’re not even able to think on their own at all. This one key aspect is empowering for you. You can own this enhanced power. You might suppose that you think pretty well so far, but consider what it can mean to develop your own criteria and standards for analyzing and assessing all manner of people and situations.
That’s what we’re up to here: getting you the tools and the techniques and getting you started in the right direction to improve the quality of the way you examine and think about anything. Like starting a health-fitness regime or personal diet, there are things you can do every day to stretch, exercise, and get better
. What follows is a practical daily practice for developing yourself as a great thinker. You will immediately start to experience benefits from using and following this guide. It all starts with you.
My Thinking Styles
If you have not already done so, go to www.ThinkWatson.com/mythinkingstyles and take your free My Thinking Styles assessment and learn about the strengths and opportunities embedded in your current thinking style.
Now You're Thinking!: Change Your Thinking...Revolutionize Your Career...Transform Your Life Page 9