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Think by Margot Cairnes
 

Robert Kegan, professor of education at Harvard University, tells us that there are many different levels of thinking from which individuals operate. The higher our level of thinking the more capable we are of strategic, social and conceptual thinking.

The lowest level of adult thinking – egocentric – is akin to that of the adolescent. At this level of thinking all decisions are made through a filter of self interest. This level of thinking has been highly rewarded in both business and politics. The cult of the celebrity is the cult of egocentric thinking. 15% of adults are stuck at this level.

55 to 60% of the population makes it to the next stage – socialised thinking at which the individual’s whole sense of who they are is linked back to what the external world reflects back to them about themselves. So if I am at socialised thinking and I have a big house, a new car, a good looking partner, a big bank balance and/or a big office I think I am okay. From socialised thinking I don’t want to rock the boat, because then people won’t like me. Socialised business leaders are heavily into benchmarking (being good at what others accept as best practice), they are risk averse, look backwards, and are reactive to what has been.

25% of the population makes it to the next stage – independent. This is the first level of thinking at which independent adult thought and therefore transformation is possible. People at this level accept that they are simply individuals doing their best in a rapidly changing world. They look reality straight in the eye and have the courage to find creative and innovative ways forward, even if these ruffle a few feathers or demand personal discomfort.

The next step is integral thinking – achieved by only 1% of the adult population. Integral thinkers accept both reality and their own humanity, however they believe that if they link up with other individuals and have a vision they can make a real difference.

Experts (mostly from socialised thinking levels) have studied successful integral thinking leaders and broken their behaviours down into skills and competencies which they have then trained into people at socialised and egocentric thinking levels. This makes as much sense as trying to teach the skills and competencies of a prima ballerina to a baby who isn’t yet crawling. They just can’t do it. So we have a multi-billion dollar leadership training industry trying to do the impossible. No wonder we so often hear people complain that we don’t’ seem to have good leaders any more.

Rapid discontinuous change has raised the leadership bar. Unless leaders are thinking at independent or integral levels they will not be able to perceive change and to create the personal, organisational or social transformation needed to successfully deal with it.

Going up the levels of thinking is an emotional, spiritual, intellectual and cognitive exercise. It isn’t a matter of just learning a few skills. Going up the levels of thinking is about maturing, growing up on every level of our being. This involves transformation.
 
Questions to Ask Yourself:

1. The situations we find ourselves in have a bearing on what level of thinking we operate at; depending on what is going on around us, we can move from level to level.  And all of us will be operating at a certain level of thinking most of the time; this is like a centre of gravity for our thinking. 

  • What level of thinking do you operate at most of the time?

2. Think of a time when you know you were operating at a higher level of thinking.

    • What was the difference in your experience of yourself?
    • What occasioned the shift up?  How did you get to a higher level of thinking?

    3. What do you understand your emotional, spiritual, intellectual and cognitive ‘intelligences’ to be?

      • How have you sought to develop these different and linked aspects of yourself?
      • What could you do to move up levels in each of these areas?

      4. As a leader, what are the implications of staying at your current level of thinking for

        • You?
        • Your team?
        • Your organisation?