Getting different solutions isn’t always about looking for new ideas but sometimes just looking at the same things differently. But looking at things differently and changing your perspective usually means getting outside of your tribe. After all if what you were doing were working you wouldn’t be stuck and you’d already be heading where you want to be going. One of our biggest problems is that we have a tendency to surround ourselves with people who are just like us. People who think like us, dress like us, talk like us; they even believe the same things we believe. That’s why we allow them to be close to us. But getting different solutions means going to new sources. Here are 6 ideas to get outside of your tribe and get different solutions:
1. Invite the Wrong People to the Meeting
Instead of inviting the same old people to the meeting who have the same old ideas, change up the invite list. Bring in people from a different generation, background, or layer of the organization. I guarantee you’ll walk away with different ideas.
2. Make a new Hire
Any time you make a new hire from the outside you’re bringing in a wealth of new and different experiences and ideas. Go to work in the first 3 months of mining those ideas. Let them have a look at everything you do and encourage them to question ‘Why do you do it that way?’
3. Chase until you get Caught
Make a list of people that you respect who have different abilities and gifts than you, who have been successful in their field, and then chase them this year (don’t stalk them). You’d be surprised how many successful people are generous with their time when it comes to investing in others. Remember leaders don’t go looking for people to invest in, leaders press into people who press into them. This may mean investing some time and money, but the ideas and personal growth that you experience will be well worth it!
4. Take a trip to Disney World
Go and visit leaders from different industries and learn what principles can be transferred back into the area you’re leading in. A Chic-fil-A Executive once told me that they don’t look at other fast food companies to learn from, they go outside their tribe to other global industry leaders to learn from.
5. Engage a Good Consultant
Bringing in an outside experienced professional with fresh eyes and different questions is a great way to help you begin to think differently. I know some great consultants at TonyMorganLive (the consulting group I’m involved with) that love the local church and want to see you win, that I’d highly recommend.
6. Move your Workspace
This is a simple step you can take this week. Take a day and move your workspace to a coffee shop, a cabin, a park or any place other than where you work every day. You’d be surprised how a change of scenery can make you think and act differently.
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