Success impulse against intellectual inbreeding in companies
There are a wide variety of ways of thinking, behaving and working that managers in companies use to achieve success - but also failures. Mental inbreeding - that is, firmly ingrained beliefs - is a hindrance when great things could come from good.
One of the wonderful things for me as a sparring partner, consultant and executive coach is that I have had the opportunity to look inside well over a hundred companies in all kinds of industries over the past few years. In doing so, I always find one thing fascinating: the different ways of thinking, behaving and working that the people in the companies - and especially the leaders - use to achieve their successes (and failures).
Questioning beliefs
What is an absolute must for some, others have never thought of. Examples (there are countless others):
- For some, weekly alignment briefings are routine, while others struggle to even find such an appointment once a year.
- Some show fun and humor, others make you feel like you have to go down to the basement to laugh.
- Some constantly encourage and challenge themselves with coaching and training, while others almost never do anything of the sort.
Here's my point: There is a clear connection between how a team thinks and acts and its ongoing successes. The problem: Most never look beyond their own beliefs and experiences.
Ideas against the intellectual inbreeding
Here are three ideas for what you can do for yourself and your team to counter the threat of mental inbreeding:
- Allow the thought that you could be significantly more successful if you thought and behaved differently. This willingness is sometimes very difficult to achieve (after all, you are already successful). But as the saying goes, "The greatest enemy of great is good."
- Keep challenging yourself and your team with new approaches and thought models. The way you've been doing things is probably never the absolute best solution. Try new things, even at the "risk" that they may not work right away.
- Perspective: Keep giving yourself and your team new perspectives. Be it visits to other successful companies with new concepts, participation in conferences, external experts with fresh ideas, video trainings or exciting books: there are various possibilities.
The most important thing is to accept that there is always a better way (and usually several). Mental inbreeding is one of the great dangers to sustainable success.
To the author:
Volkmar Völzke is a success maximizer. Book author. Consultant. Coach. Speaker. www.volkmarvoelzke.ch
