3 mental models that could be holding you back
I had the chance to attend a fantastic Learning Lab this morning with Jennifer Baker of the American Physical Therapy Association and Ray Saputelli of the New Jersey Academy of Family Physicians. The discussion focused around "mental models"--assumptions and generalizations that influence how we understand the world, make decisions, and act.
Essentially, mental models are the framework we use to sort and interpet things we see, hear, or otherwise experience as we go through life. The plus side is that mental models make it possible for us to get through the day without having to painstakingly analyze every detail; on the negative side, we're often unaware of the way our mental models affect us. We can disregard information that contradicts our mental models--even in the face of overwhelming evidence. As Jennifer and Ray said during their session, unless we surface our mental models, test them, and improve them, we're hemmed in by barriers that we don't even know are there. When you say "Our members will never ..." or "Our members always ..." you're revealing assumptions that can be barriers to your own thinking.
Jennifer and Ray's session was aimed at healthcare executives, so they asked participants to discuss the mental models that could be affecting discussions of healthcare reform among healthcare associations. A lot of the mental models and assumptions discussed were specific to healthcare-related societies, but I heard a few that could impact any association. (Note that the interpretations below are my own).
1. Lack of a common definition (in this case, of healthcare reform). If the players in a dialogue aren't operating under a common definition of terms, they can be having two different conversations without realizing it.
1. "All change is bad, and I'll get hurt." If you assume that change will have a negative outcome, you'll dig in your heels and fight it, avoid it, or spend your energy looking for ways to protect yourself instead of looking for ways to help create a positive outcome.
2. "There will be winners and losers." If you assume that someone has to lose in a particular situation, chances are you'll fight to be a winner, right? Or, potentially, if you think you can't win, you'll give up and disengage from the dialogue rather than waste energy on a situation you've already "lost."
I think I'm going to spend some time on the plane home thinking about my own mental models and how they're shaping my work ...
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Comments
interesting stuff. Knowing what to avoid is helpful. But did you by any chance also pick up info on mental models that WORK from the speaker?
Posted by: Mark J. Golden, CAE | September 3, 2010 12:46 PM
Thank you for commenting, Mark! If I was understanding their session correctly--and I'll email Jennifer and Ray to see if one of them would like to weigh in, too--mental models aren't inherently "good" or "bad." A mental model that works very well in some situations can be a real handicap in others. For instance, the "There will be winners and losers" mental model I mention makes complete sense in a competitive sports situation, or when you're running a for-profit business in a very competitive market.
The big lesson I gathered from Jennifer and Ray was that, because mental models can help us and hold us back, depending on the situation, the most important thing is to be aware of your mental models. Consider how they can be narrowing your vision or blinding you to certain aspects of a situation. And also consider what mental models others might be operating under that could keeping you from understanding each other, or causing your actions to come across in a way that's very different from what you intended.
Posted by: Lisa Junker | September 7, 2010 10:00 AM
Mark/Lisa,
First, thanks for your interest in the topic. As I mentioned in LA, I am NOT an expert -- in fact, until Jennifer approached me with the idea I'd never given "mental models" more than a passing thought. Since then, I have become quite interested in the topic as it pertains to our work as association execs, and perhaps even more in my role as an leader in a healthcare related association.
For me, Lisa is on target with her response: mental models are neither good nor bad by definition, but the model can be beneficial or detrimental depending on the circumstance. Simply enough, we could never process the amount of information that we process in our minds without the mental models we use. This may not be the best example (remember, I'm not an expert) but when I am driving down the street and a ball comes rolling out from the sidewalk, my foot immediately goes to the brake and I slow down...even if the ball is nowhere near my car. That's because my mental model tells me that there is likely a young person chasing that ball who is likely to be closely behind. Is it bad that I don't have to think about all of that, and maybe see the child, before I begin to slow down, probably not. At the same time, I confess to having certain mental models that drive my thinking about membership service. If those models make me unwilling to listen to new ideas about how to service members, well...to put it mildly, I may be serving members based on a set of assumptions formed a long time ago and miss the boat. To be clear, this is not as simple as "young vs. "seasoned"" or "new vs. old" or even right vs wrong. It is simply that when we are not aware of our mental models -- or at least that we HAVE mental models that drive our thinking -- we are less likely to engage in true dialogue that moves our orgs forward.
Hopefully some out there are more expert in this than I (Jen???)and will continue the discussion.
Thanks again for your interest.
Ray
Posted by: Ray Saputelli, MBA, CAE | September 7, 2010 1:50 PM