Prioritize curiosity and actively question your own certainty, especially when you feel you ‘know’ something, as this enables continuous learning and helps avoid marching into disaster.
Actively quiet internal chatter and genuinely listen to others’ perspectives, especially those you disagree with, to learn more and improve interactions and understanding.
Accept that it’s okay not to have all the answers; you can still move forward and take action without pretending to know everything.
Intentionally engage in asking different questions, taking multiple perspectives, and seeing systems to behave in a more developed way, especially in complex times.
Design and run small-scale ‘safe-to-fail’ or ‘safe-to-learn’ experiments in complex environments, prioritizing learning about the system over guaranteed success.
Cultivate a leadership presence that makes others feel bigger, more comfortable taking risks, and more creative, rather than focusing on personal charisma.
When frustrated by others (e.g., children), shift your approach from trying to change their behavior to genuinely trying to understand their perspective and what they mean.
Regularly ask ‘Who am I being right now, and is that the person I want to be?’ to prompt self-reflection and guide intentional behavioral shifts in your daily life.
In complex situations, resist breaking things down into isolated parts; instead, focus on understanding how the whole system’s dynamics and interactions create observed phenomena.
To escape negative ‘attractor basins’ (e.g., politicking after meetings), practice open, respectful communication in meetings to build trust and create new, positive feedback loops.
Recognize that you can initiate significant change within an organization from any position, regardless of formal power, through small, courageous interventions.
Ensure your body is well-rested, fed, and unstressed, as a compromised physical state hinders your ability to show up as your most developed self.
When making decisions, actively consider problems from various viewpoints, including those of different stakeholders and abstract societal lenses like regulators or legal teams.
In complex systems, identify existing patterns and intentionally amplify those you want more of, while dampening those you want less of, to influence the system’s disposition.
Actively extract and apply lessons from safe-to-fail experiments to make them effective, otherwise they are merely pilots hoping for success without guaranteed insight.
In complex situations, make many small, low-investment interventions to discover which ones yield disproportionately large, non-linear returns for the system.
Understand that habitual patterns of thinking and decision-making can be identified and changed to improve your effectiveness and approach to problems.
To change a habit, first identify the cues (physical feelings, repetitive thoughts/actions) that trigger the old behavior, then consciously shift to a new, desired action.
Involve trusted colleagues or friends to call you out when you fall into old habits (e.g., not listening) to reinforce new, desired behaviors and accelerate change.
Resist the urge to simplify complex issues into soundbites; instead, dedicate effort, slow down, and allow time for deeper understanding to avoid creating bigger problems.
Engage in contemplation, self-reflection, perspective-taking, kindness, compassion, and seeing beyond self-needs to accelerate your personal wisdom.
Use the adult development map (socialized, self-authored, self-transforming) to understand growth patterns and be intentional about your personal development journey.
If acting in a socialized way, actively identify and cultivate your internal principles and values to make choices that align with your authentic self and purpose.
For knowledge workers, redefine expertise as continuous curiosity and willingness to learn and question what you know, rather than just accumulating facts, to transform information into knowledge.
As a leader, encourage your team to ’try stuff’ and loosen up, reminding them that mistakes are temporary and news cycles are short to foster a culture of innovation.
Implement small, symbolic actions (e.g., opening office curtains) to visibly signal cultural shifts towards transparency and openness, which can have large, lasting impacts.
As a parent, remember that children’s behaviors are often stage-appropriate and temporary; avoid making permanent judgments and embrace their ongoing development.