At workplace or personal situations, now and then we all tread into what I say as the zone of dissonance. We have to "DO" things that are opposite to what we "THINK" is the right thing. And what is right or wrong is of course based on individual core beliefs which differs from person to person.
Since we are all tuned to reduce internal dissonance to manage stress, we consciously or unconsciously take either of following two paths depending on which one takes less effort:
Path 1: We collect more supporting information about what we are DOING and update our core beliefs. Even if that means creating illusions. That brings the "THINK" part in harmony with the "DO" part
OR
Path 2: We choose to stick to our core beliefs and refuse the assignment at hand. This will also bring the "THINK" and "DO" parts in harmony.
And of course the third path is that the two are not brought in harmony over long periods of time. You continue to remain disengaged with low productivity. An attitude of "I do not care - just doing because I have been told to do so".
When leading global teams, I have found one of the superior ways to direct the team towards Path 1 is to explain clearly the rationale behind my decisions / actions (in all honesty) instead of handing down orders. Allow people to "see the reason" and update their beliefs. Disengagement is a far more serious problem to deal with.
Since we are all tuned to reduce internal dissonance to manage stress, we consciously or unconsciously take either of following two paths depending on which one takes less effort:
Path 1: We collect more supporting information about what we are DOING and update our core beliefs. Even if that means creating illusions. That brings the "THINK" part in harmony with the "DO" part
OR
Path 2: We choose to stick to our core beliefs and refuse the assignment at hand. This will also bring the "THINK" and "DO" parts in harmony.
And of course the third path is that the two are not brought in harmony over long periods of time. You continue to remain disengaged with low productivity. An attitude of "I do not care - just doing because I have been told to do so".
When leading global teams, I have found one of the superior ways to direct the team towards Path 1 is to explain clearly the rationale behind my decisions / actions (in all honesty) instead of handing down orders. Allow people to "see the reason" and update their beliefs. Disengagement is a far more serious problem to deal with.
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