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Kimberly Ballew's avatar

This is so incredibly valuable to ponder. I have a daily calendar from Adam Grant, and Wednesday's "Something to Think About" was:

"Not having an opinion is not a sign of ignorance or indifference. It's often a mark of an open mind.

The more complex and consequential the issue, the more critical thinking depends on suspending judgement.

A good habit for learning is gathering information without forming a conclusion."

It's interesting. Early in my career I was often coached to "have an opinion", "speak up faster", etc.

I think those qualities are important in the right setting. AND, I have found it incredibly important in leadership (and quite honestly - simply as humanity) to set those aside to exercise what you spoke about "active listening" or "listening to understand". It IS truly ACTIVE listening - because I am constantly gut checking myself to see if I'm engaged in the listening process or if I'm in my own head thinking about how to respond, processing something different, etc.

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Jason Averbook's avatar

Thanks for sharing. I want to have a buzzer implanted into be for bringing old thinking, not having an open mind or judging!

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Kimberly Ballew's avatar

Wouldn't that be incredible! Zap!

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Jessica Harvey's avatar

I've been reading Adam Grant's Think Again and this same logic/concept is well outlined by him. Glad to know I wasn't the only one making the connection.

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Jason Averbook's avatar

I hate when I find myself saying wrong too fast without listening. Anyone else? Tactics you have used to overcome?

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