Exploring mindtraps: The key to effective leadership

Summary: Author Jennifer Garvey Berger explains how our brain's evolutionary tendency to simplify can lead to five common "mindtraps" like oversimplified narratives and stubbornly insisting we're right. These traps are ill-suited for today's complexity. She provides techniques like reframing perspectives to break free from mindtraps, allowing leaders to better navigate a complex world.

In her 2019 book "Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps", Jennifer Garvey Berger explains how our brains originally evolved to help us survive in a relatively simple world by protecting us from threats. However, the mental models that allowed our ancestors to survive are ill-suited for today's complex, unpredictable world. As Berger notes, "our human instincts, shaped for (and craving) a simple world, fundamentally mislead us in a complex, unpredictable world."

Berger identifies five common "mindtraps" that leaders frequently fall into: Simple Stories, Rightness, Agreement, Control, and Ego (SCARE). Have you ever invented a simplistic narrative to explain someone's behavior? Felt convinced you were right about something? Prioritized agreement to avoid conflict? Struggled to relinquish control? Let your ego drive your choices? If so, you've experienced one or more of these mindtraps.

We've all been ensnared by mindtraps before, often without realizing it was happening. In my coaching practice, I use Berger's techniques to help clients recognize and break free from these mental traps. This approach is particularly helpful for those who make unfounded assumptions, get stuck in unhelpful inner narratives, or spiral into unproductive thought patterns.

Let's look at the "Simple Stories" mindtrap as an example. As humans, we are inveterate storytellers who automatically construct narratives in our minds, assigning roles to the characters involved. However, these stories are incomplete, limited by our subjective perspectives. Our brains then fill in the gaps by drawing on past experiences, mental models, and observations to manufacture a beginning, middle and end, often falsely linking cause and effect. We tend to immediately accept these made-up stories as truth.

To avoid this trap, we can apply Berger's technique of intentionally generating alternative narratives that recast the characters in different roles. Perhaps the "antagonist" becomes the "protagonist." Building varied stories helps expand our perspective and recognize when we lack crucial information or need to communicate directly rather than make assumptions.

By understanding our propensity for mindtraps, we can catch ourselves before falling into them, and make better decisions as leaders. While we can't eliminate instinctive storytelling, we can consciously widen our view. Practicing this skill unlocks our ability to lead effectively in a complex world.

Reference

Berger, J. G. (2019). Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps. How to thrive in complexity. 1-147. Stanford University Press.