How often do you have a conversation where you have that freaky feeling that the person you are talking to has Spock-like mind-melding capabilities? Where they seem to see your experiences and relate them back to you better than you can articulate yourself?
This was my experience yesterday in an interview with Steven and Chutisa Bowman. We were interviewing them about their book âNo More Business as Usualâ and I wanted to learn from them how this model of business applies to schools. Fortunately for us and for our educational leadership listeners, the Bowmans have experience in working with school districts in Australia and it was quickly very apparent that they know schools.
We jumped right into the conversation and got to what underlies our assumptions that lead to aversions to change and risks; thoughts that keep us stuck. These assumptions can be summarized by the three lies of scarcity.
1. There is never enough _____(fill in the blank; money, time, people, resources, etc) AND there will NEVER be enough.
2. It’s hard and it is getting HARDER!
3. This is just the way it is and there is NOTHING we can do to change it.
One or more of these three lies is always behind our assumptions when we feel stuck–individually or as an organization.
The Antidote? What if (the lie I’m believing) isn’t true? What if this assumption is just an interesting point of view? If it’s just an interesting point of view, then that suggests that there are other interesting points of view.
Following questions rather than conclusions allows us to recognize opportunities that didn’t exist from the point of view of the assumption. At the very least, it is movement rather than the inertia of being stuck.
Check out the interview to learn more about how these assumptions may be holding you and your organization back from making the changes you want to make.
Dr. Meduna earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Special Education from Wayne State College, Master of Science in Community Mental Health Counseling from the University of Tennessee, and an Ed.S. and Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Indiana State University. In addition, Dr. Meduna is also certified in Reality Therapy through the William Glasser Institute, and earned her coaching certification through the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching.
Dr. Meduna also currently co-hosts a talk radio show with Margaret Ruff called, Educational Leadership. What else is possible on the VoiceAmerica Variety channel.
