See Things Differently
Becoming an Advantaged Thinker means breaking through the dominant disadvantaged narrative – and that means we need to practice seeing the world differently.
AT is never ‘finished’.
You can’t ‘complete’ Advantaged Thinking. It’s something to build into your practice on an ongoing basis, continually reflecting and checking in with yourself when you encounter new situations and different challenges. Keep returning to the question, ‘what would an Advantaged Thinker do?’. Over time, it becomes a reflex!
Here are five key practices you can begin with to start seeing the world through your AT specs.
Rather than start with the problem, ask: what is the opportunity to create? The opportunity to create is the ‘opportunity spot’ for Advantaged Thinking to take seed.
Rather than focus on what’s currently wrong within the problem, begin with: what might good look like? The focus on what a good life looks like begins to shape how Advantaged Thinking can grow.
With a clearer vision of ‘opportunity’ and ‘good’ in mind, we can begin to ask: what practice already exists in other fields of innovation to learn from? Looking outside our sphere of knowledge, we can find fresh Advantaged Thinking to apply.
Next, we should turn to how we can invest in those around us. Thinking about the skills and potential of the people working for and with your services will identify other ways to advance Advantaged Thinking
Clarify how our opportunity, good life, knowledge and skills investments will lead to a positive shift from a world in which people can only survive and cope with disadvantages, to a world in which people can adapt to thrive with advantages.
This powerful combination moves us from a world of survival and coping into a space of adapting, thriving and people realising their power, purpose and potential.
Try this exercise with an existing challenge you’re facing.
- What opportunities can you identify when you focus on those rather than the problem?
- What does the goal look like when you focus on the best possible long-term outcome rather than just fixing an immediate problem?
- Where might ideas lie that you haven’t considered before?
- Who around you has the skills to invest in this project – giving them an opportunity to develop?
The possibility for AT exists in every interaction you have with someone, in every role and in every organisation. What will your next step be?
Read Next: Going Deeper
Putting Advantaged Thinking into action is instinctive and natural for a lot of people. For others, the proof is in the pudding. Whichever of these two groups you’re in, you’re already on your Advantaged Thinking journey. Now it’s time to go deeper.
