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Constructing Your Worldview

PRACTICE GUIDE – Inner Producer

What is a Worldview?

It’s the way you perceive the world so that it makes sense to you. We all live in the same tangible world (that’s out there), but it is too complex and unpredictable for us to grasp every dimension or nuance. So, our brain selects data collected by our senses that our nervous system processes and then structures so it makes sense to us. We then have a coherent model of how we are coupled with our environment that’s revealed as a living movie that we can act in and relate to.

But we will have different experiences, make different distinctions and different interpretations. This causes our nervous system to create different maps and models of the world we are experiencing. We may observe the same “things”, even describe them the same, but they can mean something different. These assessments become the beliefs we use to make choices that make sense in one context but may not work for us in another.  This is when we get conflicted, anxious or concerned and we are challenged to reconstruct our reality or face a breakdown. The diagram below is based on the work of Dave Gray.

The tension in most mental models is that some are driven by an understanding of the mind (how we are nature) and others by an understanding of our environment (how we use nature). Bringing them together will enable us to consider a wider range of perspectives from which to make decisions and solve problems. If we don’t then our explanations for how things work will always be a partial understanding of the relationship between things.

So What does this mean?

As we become more conscious of the hidden processes that are going on inside ourselves and others, we can understand more of what makes us human and limits our capacity to change our perceptions and behaviours so they explain how things work for all of us. Just because we share the same physical space, cultural or even family background doesn’t mean we live in the same “world”.  We have constructed and edited our own unique version of what is real to us that becomes the “life movie” we are living in and constantly remaking.

As you grow, your nervous system constructs reality for you to make you feel OK about yourself and your environment. This creates an internal mental map of what is “you” and “not you” that becomes your Way of Being – with habitual patterns of talking, listening, feeling and acting. They are transparent to you until they cause you discomfort, even pain. You are then forced to question your assumptions and look for ways to cover up your discomfort or produce a new worldview, one that becomes your new life movie, one that better reflects who you are or who you want to become.

When a leader’s worldview dominates thinking, learning stops and new ways of being, seeing and doing things is lost. The potential to understand people better, make better decisions and solve problems is constrained.  That’s why just changing the actions can fail to improve results because the choice of actions is limited to one mental model.

But can we believe what we see?  Depending on the type of observer that we are is what determines how effective our “constructed reality” is in enabling us to lead a life that serves our own and other people’s needs. What we believe can limit our expectations of ourselves and others. In this video, George Rowley from Mindsways explains, in an entertaining way, how we only see what we believe and how it overrides our senses to create illusions that we perceive to be true.

Clearly, what we have to say and how we say it is crucially important if we want to connect with others and engage them in seeing our version of reality. To “be” an effective leader we have to “act” like a leader, but it has to be believable.

Now what?

Reflect on this extract from Edgar Alan Poe’s poem “Alone”.

From childhood’s hour, I have not been
As others were—I have not seen
As others saw—I could not bring
My passions from a common spring—
From the same source, I have not taken
My sorrow—I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone—
And all I lov’d—I lov’d, alone—
Then—in my childhood—in the dawn
Of a most stormy life—was drawn
From ev’ry depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still—
 
Now ask yourself . . . .
  • In what ways do you think you are stronger or weaker because of your life experiences?
  • Does having different ways of being, seeing and doing make you feel stronger or more vulnerable?
  • Do you believe what you see to be true or do you see what you believe to be true?

Practices

1. Think back to an assertion you made recently about a person or an event. Perhaps it was a strong dislike or disagreement.

  • What personal experiences created your assessment?
  • What theories did you use and what judgements did you make to draw your conclusions?
  • What assumptions did you make that you could not verify with objective evidence?
  • What alternative conclusions could you have drawn from your observations?

2. Identify a concern that you have and explore the beliefs that are preventing you from being or doing what needs to be done.

  • What experiences led you to adopt and hold on to those beliefs?
  • What could you do to reframe your perspective and reconstruct those beliefs to address your concern?
  • What actions could you take from a new frame of mind?

3. Recall a conversation when someone clearly wanted to get something off their chest that was making them angry. It could involve a friend, colleague, a scene in a film or on TV.

  • What similarities or differences of opinion came to mind at the time?
  • Did you question their opinion or just agree with their right to express it?
  • What did you learn from their opinion?  Did you change your opinion of them?

References

Liminal Thinking by Dave Gray. Two Waves 2016

Belief Magic by Paul Marko. Createspace 2014

The Biology of the Mind by Bruce Lipton. Hay House 2011

Thinking Tools

THE HUMAN OBSERVER
– Noticing what’s happening and sensing what could be hidden from you.
THE CDE MODEL
– Identifying the conditions and rules that produce different patterns of interaction
THE OAR MODEL
– Improving your observation skills to choose actions to will deliver what you care about.
THE SCARF MODEL
– Identifying the core concerns that shape your emotional responses
ONTOLOGICAL LEARNING
– Understanding how to change your Way of Being
THE PSYCHIC SYSTEM
– Knowing how to change your Way of Being to fit the prevailing context
ONTOLOGICAL BREAKDOWNS
– Dealing with disruptions in the flow of your life
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
– How you give meaning to to your experience of internal senses and external events.
QUADRANTS OF CHANGE
– Achieving a more holistic and balanced response to complex situations.
ACTION LOGICS
– Assessing leadership behaviour and effectiveness in different contexts
THE U PROCESS
– Using your senses to improve your effectiveness now to shape your future.
SPIRAL DYNAMICS
– Explaining the growth of human capacity and values
THE HEROES JOURNEY
– Finding a bigger purpose and passion to lead your life from.
ACTIVE LISTENING
– Knowing how to actively listen for understanding and empathy
REFRAMING
– Looking for possibilities to question and reshape perspectives.
THE OODA LOOP
– Achieving a bigger impact when working with other people
ADAPTIVE ACTION
– Examining the dynamic patterns of thought involved in decision making
THE LENS OF INQUIRY
Using the power of questions to get breakthrough results.
THE NINE PANES MODEL
– Discovering new perspecives when dealing with breakdowns in the flow of life.
THE JOHARI WINDOW
– Identifying alternatives to unseen or disruptive behaviour
THE FOUR TRUTHS
– Recognising and considering alternative perspectives in any situation
THE CIRCLE OF CONTROL, INFLUENCE & CONCERN
– Clarifying how you interpret what you see, hear and feel.
THE MIRACLE QUESTION
– In your ideal world, what do you want to be feeligs, thinking and doing?
A “BOTH/AND” PERSPECTIVE
– Dealing with paradox and ambiguity.
THE ADAPTIVE CYCLES
– Resisting breakdown and maintaining your viability for a breakthrough.
CREATING A WELL-FORMED OUTCOME
– Reducing the chance of facing unintended consequences.
WAY OF BEING
– Connecting words, emotions and body presence to be more effective.
CYNEFIN
– A sensemaking framework to help you crack different types of problems.
YOUR INNATE WISDOM
– Knowing what makes you who you are and using it to lead a more fulfilling life.
A SOLUTION FOCUS
– Finding out what works and doing more of it.