Most leaders have heard of, or been trained in active listening skills. They have also been trained in communication skills; how to format the perfect response in any situation. But how much of listening is being trumped by the desire to communicate well? Does this subvert our efforts at active listening in a desire to formulate ‘the ideal response’?. These are unconscious processes that divert our brain power at just the time we need it most. So how can we make our listening more real, more authentic?

If we consider that more of the brain is involved in visual processing than any other function, I propose a visual aid to help in both these leadership skills – the simple jigsaw puzzle. If we approach the solution to an issue or challenge as a jigsaw puzzle, we can engage groups with the concept that solving the puzzle depends on locating all the pieces. We need to uncover all the pieces, no matter how big or small or misshapen one might think their contribution is. Then, just like a pictorial jigsaw puzzle, determine by instinct and trial and error which pieces fit, and how. We can also then discard those pieces that belong to a different puzzle.

What this does is to trick our brain away from the cognitive illusions, biases and other limitations that we are not aware of, and focus on something in a way that our brain is expert at doing – processing pictures. It creates an open canvas, without threat of ridicule or rejection, for the contribution of ‘pieces’ to the puzzle.

The brain is a complex machine, and recent neuroscience revelations have made us aware how outdated many of our mental models are. The good news is, as we learn more about the intricacies of how the brain functions, we gain more insight into how we can manipulate it to dilute the downside and concentrate the upside.

Simple tricks, for substantial solutions.

Author: Gail La Grouw. Insight Mastery Program Director, and Strategic Performance Consultant for Coded Vision Ltd.