The first part in this series introduced the concept of the espoused theories we consciously believe in and the theories-in-use that actually determine our choices and behavior.
The second installment explored how it is not only possible, but likely for there to be differences between those two sets of theories.
But what can be done about those discrepancies?
The issue can be approached from two angles. The first concerns the validity of the espoused theories we hold. We must first determine whether the things we consciously believe actually lead to the results we think they do.
Does competition between employees really increase productivity? Does collaborative leadership really lead to better decisions? Do low-level employees really need constant supervision?
Questions like these deserve serious attention, for if the principles we consciously champion are not sound, our leadership will inevitably flounder.
The second (and more fundamental) aspect concerns those areas in which our behaviors do not match the theories we espouse — areas we must identify and find ways to remedy.
This presents no small challenge, for, as we have noted before, discrepancies between belief and behavior are nearly invisible to us. Like the woman in the diner or the CEO of the manufacuting firm, we all think our behavior reflects our beliefs. It just happens that sometimes we’re wrong.
As leaders we can address these issues only by taking an honest look at daily behaviors and reflecting on the attitudes and beliefs those behaviors imply.
Only by stepping back from ourselves can we note that our tendency to act unilaterally doesn’t match our championing of collaboration, that our habit of putting subordinates in competition with one another doesn’t support our speeches about teamwork, that our level of information sharing contradicts what we think we believe about open communication.
Only by a searching reexamination of ongoing patterns of behavior can we begin assembling a picture of the values, paradigms, and assumptions that inform our actions and decisions.
Maintaining this level of awareness throughout a day—while sitting in meetings, chatting with coworkers, writing reports—takes effort. It is work in the truest sense of the word.
Moreover, it almost invariably punctures some of the comfortable fictions we build around ourselves.
Maybe you realize that instead of never having time to talk with subordinates, you simply do not value their opinions that much.
Maybe you find that though you think of yourself as being available to coworkers, you actually wish they would simply resolve problems themselves.
Maybe you discover that though you wish others would shoulder more responsibility, you are reluctant to give up the opportunity to be the hero.
Such revelations can be hard to face, particularly when they run counter to familiar assumptions and cherished self-conceptions.
But simply becoming aware of these disconnects is no small achievement, and beginning to grapple with them is a step of real growth, not only as a leader, but as a human being as well.