Suspending Judgment – Sounds good, doesn’t it?
Imagine living in a world where judgment doesn’t exist. Imagine coexisting in a universe that knows no preconceived notions whatsoever; a world oblivious to hierarchy, chains of command, rankings, and judgment. How surreal would that be?
Fear would be an extinct emotion. When there’s no judgment; when there’s no fear of being judged, that’s when one can unleash their thoughts and just set them free, not being scared of what others might think of them, or their ideas.
That’s one of the many things I learnt during the two-day workshop the amazing Mr Pierce has led. We can be truly crippled by fear, and consequently, unproductive. He talked about the three fears the first week:
1) Fear of seeming mad
2) Fear of sounding rude
3) Fear of being wrong
And adding a few of my own (if I may) there’s also…
4) Fear of seeming silly
5) Fear of sounding stupid
6) Fear of being misunderstood.
Personally, all these fears got the best of me at times when I was in a brainstorming session; especially when it was in my advertising job. I’d be sitting with a creative director, art directors, copywriters, and when I’d want to share my ideas, fear strikes. And that fear is because judgment does exist. Because my boss just might think that he’s over-paying me, or that my ideas aren’t ”all that” afterall. But can we suspend it this judgment? Would it be of any good? That’s another thing that Pierce talked about. That’s another thing that Pierce does which I find fascinating.
It’s very simple… he talks about suspending judgment. Suspending hierarchy. If just for a couple of hours. Whether within your groups, whether in a business, in a factory, whether parents and their children, a professor and a student, I believe when all hierarchy is being suspended -not thrown out the window for good- but merely put on hold for a few hours, a lot of good solutions can come out.
I asked Pierce before saying goodbye and goodluck, “Do you think we need a leader in our team? Do you think we would do our jobs better?” This question has been on my mind (and on my blog) for a couple of weeks now… He said something that made total sense: Mobility and Flexibility. Well, of course when he said it that way, it didn’t make sense at all, and it stirred up my reaction of “say what now?!” What he basically meant was that each one of us is a leader in their role. Flexibility of leadership, and therefore creativity of leadership. Each one of us is a leader in his/her own domain and field of experience, once crossing that territory, we suspend our leadership and make room for the person in charge of that particular domain to lead.
At the end of the day, If it weren’t for freedom of thinking, freedom of presenting thoughts, and the fearlessness of letting your imagination run wild, design thinking wouldn’t exist perhaps. Or maybe, the creative economy would be a dead economy, or not even a concept that is yet acknowledged.
So try it out… if you’re someone’s boss, someone’s parent, or if you’re a team leader, take a break. Genuinely and figuratively get off your chair, and prepare to be amazed by what others have to say…
P.S. And have fun while you do it! We did…
