612: How to Solve the Toughest Problems, with Wendy Smith

15 snips

Jan 16, 2023

Wendy Smith, a Professor of Management at the University of Delaware and expert in strategic paradoxes, discusses the perils of either/or thinking in leadership. She emphasizes embracing 'Both/And Thinking' to tackle complex problems creatively. Wendy shares insights on navigating organizational tensions, like IBM's shift to cloud computing, and highlights the value of radical listening to understand diverse perspectives. Her strategies encourage holistic decision-making and resilience in the face of contradictory demands.

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ANECDOTE

IBM and the Cloud

Wendy Smith studied IBM's move into cloud computing during her PhD.
Senior leaders struggled with balancing innovation and managing existing operations, highlighting the tension between today and tomorrow.

INSIGHT

Beyond Either/Or

Either/or thinking limits long-term possibilities, even though it reduces short-term anxiety.
Consider a "both/and" approach, combining aspects of both options for a better outcome.

INSIGHT

The Pull of Either/Or

Either/or thinking is pervasive because it provides comfort and short-term resolution in uncertain situations.
The desire for clear answers during uncertainty, like in the early pandemic, reinforces either/or thinking.

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Wendy Smith: Both/And Thinking

Wendy Smith is the Dana J. Johnson Professor of Management and faculty director of the Women’s Leadership Initiative at the Lerner College of Business and Economics, University of Delaware. She earned her PhD in organizational behavior at Harvard Business School, where she began her intensive research on strategic paradoxes—how leaders and senior teams effectively respond to contradictory, yet interdependent demands. She has received the Web of Science Highly Cited Research Award for being among the 1 percent most-cited researchers in her field and received the Decade Award from the Academy of Management Review for the most cited paper in the past 10 years.

Her work has been published in such journals as Academy of Management Journal, Administrative Science Quarterly, Harvard Business Review, Organization Science, and Management Science. She has taught at the University of Delaware, Harvard, and Wharton while helping senior leaders and middle managers all over the world address issues of interpersonal dynamics, team performance, organizational change, and innovation. She is the author with Marianne Lewis of Both/And Thinking: Embracing Creative Tensions to Solve Your Toughest Problems.

In this episode, Wendy and I discuss the dangers of either/or thinking and how that tendency limits our effectiveness. We explore how to shift to both/and thinking in order to resolve the most challenging problems. Plus, we share key tactics that will help us do this in more practical ways.

Key Points

Framing a decision as an either/or will often minimize short-term anxiety, but limits creative and innovative long-term possibilities.
While easy to see both/and opportunities for others, we’re likely to approach things as either/or when it’s ourselves. An outside perspective from someone who’s not emotionally connected is helpful.
Changing the question we are asking is the most powerful to navigate paradoxes.
Moving up a level when facing tough decisions can help us see the big picture.
Consider shifting from “making a choice” to “choosing” in order to lead us towards better outcomes.

Resources Mentioned

Both/And Thinking: Embracing Creative Tensions to Solve Your Toughest Problems* by Wendy Smith and Marianne Lewis

Interview Notes

Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required).

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