What am I going to do today to prepare for General Conference as an addict?
I’m not sure the preparation is much different than for a “normal” person, but where I’m trying to live a new normal, maybe there are things I should try differently.
When I went to LDS.org, this caption seemed to be an answer even though I didn’t even read the article yet.
It caused me to think, “What questions do I have that I need answered?”
Questions I Have that Need Answered
This reminds me of what we talked about at family night. “The Power of Not Knowing,” by Liz Wiseman.
Unfortunately there isn’t any text about this yet, but there is a video that I’m watching.
Can we actually get too smart?
Is knowledge really power?
Is there actually more power in not knowing?
It looks like someone has gotten too big for their britches.
Can we get a little too full of ourselves? A little too smart for our own good?
How does the knowledge of a leader affect the intelligence of the team around them?
Oracle’s recruiting strategy: Hire the top grads out of the top schools, mix them together, and see what happens.
I felt really luck to be working at Oracle – I became a genius watcher. Intelligence was a powerful tool for innovation, but I also saw intelligence was a weapon. Many of these leaders never look beyond their own genius.
T = terrible…
Multipliers vs. Diminishers
Why do some leaders bring out the best in people and some do not?
Diminishers issue directives.
Multipliers define opportunities.
Diminishers believed that no one would figure it out without them.
Magic Johnson was a leader multiplier – he made the teams he played on so much better.
The Accidental Diminisher
The rescuer – the person that doesn’t like to see others fail or hurt.
Our most noble intentions have a negative affect.
How as a professional does our knowledge get in our own way?
What’s the question that you’re holding this year?
How does what I know get in the way of what I don’t know?
15% of what we know today is likely to be irrelevant in 5 years…
How to people with experience approach a task?
With experience comes virtues and assets; it also brings blindspots.
The more we know, the less we see around us.
When we’re in the rookie mode, we operate unencumbered. We lack know-how so we have to go out and get it. We ask more questions. We value feedback. We seek feedback.
2 Nephi 9:28:
When they are learned they think they are wise, and they harken not to the counsel of God.
A man may have a great intelligence but have nothing.
How do we escape the trap of knowledge?
- Ask more questions: operate from a place of inquiry. Speak to your children only in the form of questions – the extreme question challenge. When I ask the questions, people find the answers. We can tell less and ask more.
- Admit what you don’t know: we’ve never done this. In fast times, everyone is winging it. Admit what you don’t know! Relax, you don’t have to pretend. Your value will come from the know-how to build, not the value you bring.
- Throw away your notes: “my students deserve my best and most recent knowledge.”
- Learn to see the genius in others
We are so often at our best when we don’t know.
The best leaders don’t always have the answers, they have great questions.
We do our best work when we’re on the outer edges of what we know. We grow through challenge.
Don’t get too big for your britches!
It’s not what you know that counts, it’s how fast you can learn.
It’s in seeking, not knowing, that we find truth.
I spent more time this morning on study than I expected to, but this talk was truly powerful.
I’m grateful for what I don’t know.
I’m grateful for her challenge to ask questions, both of myself, of others, and of God.
I look forward to a day in recovery today.
Hasta luego!
Nate
[…] I’ve learned this month, or even today, is that it’s ok not to know everything. It’s ok to have questions. In fact, it’s probably better to NOT think I know […]