Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Don the Right Thinking Hat

It’s time to think right. Yes, while everyone is good at thinking, there are some people who think in the right way at the right moment and outdo others in various ways – job, management, work-life balance, and maintaining relationships. Unlike other aspects related to human psychology, right thinking is applicable to every human being at any age. It is more significant in the heavily competitive corporate world where each decision of yours is instrumental in carving your career. Good decisions are the result of effective thinking. A good thinker is original, resourceful, perceptive, practical, and logical. Here are some normal thinking hats that form the basis behind all our actions and reactions and can help become a good thinker.

Objective thinking is appropriate when things look confusing and you need facts to arrive at a conclusion. A neutral attitude develops with the help of this thinking. Managers often handle interpersonal relationships between subordinates with the help of this thinking. People skills are mastered easily by people who have an objective outlook towards solving problems and understanding people.

Emotional thinking is necessary when things are going out of your control. It is not good waiting for the events to unfold when you are sure of disastrous consequences. Listen to your emotions and trust your intuition and you might also want to show anger if nothing else can help solve the matters. Remember the importance of gut instinct and deal harshly wherever necessary.

Negative thinking is essential when you are geared to move ahead with a highly risky proposition. You need to spend time to understand why things might fail and plan fool proof measures to prevent blunders. While most of us are against the gloomy and negative attitude, we need to understand that it saves from many dangers. Remember the adage that a stitch in time saves nine.

Positive thinking helps when you are filled with hopes and you must go ahead with an optimistic outlook. You cannot always fear that something wrong is about to happen. Likewise, you cannot restrict growth by refraining from experimenting and trying out new things. A positive thinking attitude will be of great help under such situations. Mostly, when you have taken all the necessary steps and things are beyond your reach, thinking positively prevents pressure and tension from building up in your mind.

Creative thinking comes to your aid when you discover that contemporary and traditional practices impede your growth and things seem to be dragging. Cultivate new ideas that help solve problems. Make use of techniques such as brainstorming and mind-mapping to enhance your creativity. It is not always necessary that existing practices need to fail to let your creative juices flow. Some people employ creative thinking to stay ahead in the race and have an edge over others. Increasingly, the focus is shifting towards innovation everywhere across the globe.

Finally, thinking from a wider perspective is the most important type of thinking. Look at the broader picture and try to understand the problem at hand in relation to other systems in your organization. Project managers in charge of cross-functional teams often don this hat to build and manage such teams without any hassles.

These thinking types don’t often go alone. They mostly go in pairs depending upon the situation. You can be objective and critical at the same time when you have to reprimand a subordinate for being irresponsible. Likewise, creative thinking syncs well with looking at things from the broader perspective. Many other factors, such as risk, consequences, and the people involved play an important role in determining the apt thinking hat for you at any moment. Hence, focus on the outcomes while donning the right thinking hat. Balance your criteria and consider the effects of external pressures. Begin with testing the different types of thinking in different situations to arrive at the best combinations that suit your personality, goals and aspirations.

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