While many times I have noted putting on my "blinders" as advantageous in getting the job done, I am now able to reflect back and see ways this mentality has limited my effectiveness. As Shoemaker and Russo describe, I have fallen into "framing blindness" not realizing alternative options that were hidden due the distortions in my thinking.
There are three key areas of my life where I often see myself falling into these framing traps and three methods that will help me avoid them.
#1. "I've thought this through, it is the best plan." This is a trap I fall into often. I am not allowing myself to understand the frames of others, as Shoemaker and Russo recommend. While I do engage in deep reflective thought. I go through the steps of critical thinking. I check in with key stakeholders. Then I come up with my plan and I stick to it. The pitfall here is that I don't check in to see if there are more logical or beneficial alternatives along the way. While the resolute nature of my thinking is rewarding in that it allows for task completion, it does not always lend to a great sense of group think after the initial decision making process. I am now aware that I need to continually re-evaluate decisions along the way for maximum gain, not only for the business but the entire organization.
#2. "We've decided on this as a team, we've spent lots of time and effort on it and it is functional, why change?" Shoemaker and Russo offer the technique to find ways where individual frames align. A specific example here wold be the creating of a project plan for which the Project Management team utilizes as a template for each customer project. Originally this project plan included over 300 daunting milestones. Customers were completely overwhelmed and discouraged when they saw the project plan. We met and used approximately $20,000.00 of resource time to successfully manage the list and narrow it down to 65 steps. There have been several revisions since the initial group think sessions. The current project plan is still under revision, but there have been times that I have thought it was unnecessary to revisit this plan continually. I've had the thought that such time is not well spent as that time could be spent meeting customer needs. In reflection, there is probably truth to both views. No, spending hours and hours working on a plan and spending minimal time on execution is not advantageous. That being said, if a team member does not feel heard or understood through the process, they may begin feeling a great sense of animosity and therefore decrease productivity, especially as it relates to successful use of the project plan. By looking for ways where individual frames may align, we will be able to find common ground as a team and improve to better meet the needs of our customers.
3. "This method has been effective for us and we've always passed audits doing it this way." During implementation, I often find organizations looking to me for input on how best to approach a decision for their customization of the software. Yet, we often come to points where they have historical experiences that have evolved into policies and procedures that are not as effective as they could be. Sometimes, I have allowed the customer to continue with their legacy methods and not challenged others' reference points, as Shoemaker and Russo recommend. In the future, I plan to challenge these views by asking questions such as "Did you have our Clinical Decisions Support technology in place prior to that audit?" or "Did you have an implemented EHR in place that meets federal mandates at the time?" This may assist the agency in finding the best fit and continuing to evolve with technology.
Through this reflective exercise, I found that there are still many areas for which I need to continue developing to become the leader I would want to follow. It is an ongoing process, and I know it will take time. Each day I hope to increase my awareness of my frames and understand ways to improve not just personally but for my organization and my team.
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