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Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps: How to Thrive in Complexity
Author and consultant Jennifer Garvey Berger has worked with all types of leaders―from top executives at Google to nonprofit directors who are trying to make a dent in social change. She hears a version of the same plea from every client in nearly every sector around the "I know that complexity and uncertainty are testing my instincts, but I don't know which to trust. Is there some way to know what to do when I can't know what's next?" Her newest work is an answer to this plea. Using her background in adult development, complexity theories, and leadership consultancy, Garvey Berger discerns five pernicious and pervasive "mind traps" to frame the book. These the desire for simple stories, our sense that we are right, our desire to get along with others in our group, our fixation with control, and our constant quest to protect and defend our egos. In addition to understanding why these natural impulses steer us wrong in a fast-moving world, leaders will get powerful questions and approaches that help them escape these patterns.
88 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2019
287 people are currently reading
1,397 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
October 31, 2021
I cannot recommend this book enough for leaders hoping to operate in an increasingly complex world. Garvey Berger takes many of her ideas from previous writings (such as Simple Habits for Complex Times) and distills them into a set of five mindtraps and the behaviors leaders can cultivate to try to avoid these five traps. The writing is crisp and concise but there is much here for a leader to explore. Highly recommend!
September 24, 2021
چقدر داده در اطراف ما زیاد هست؟ خیلی
اما ما توانایی پردازش این داده ها رو داریم؟ خیر، خب چه میکنیم، یه سری ترفند پیاده سازی میکنیم که بخشی از این همه داده رو ببینیم و یه بخش عمده رو نه
آیا این اتفاق بده؟ نه لزوما، چون اگر این کارها رو نمیکردیم هیچ تصمیمی نمیگرفتیم
پس آیا این اتفاق خوبه؟ اون هم نه لزوما چون باعث میشه که خیلی جاها این ترفندها جواب ندند و اشتباه تصمیم بگیرم
پس چه باید کرد؟
میشه این ترفند ها رو شناخت و در موردش آگاهی داشت تا جاهایی که این ترفندهای فکری یه جور حکم تله رو برای ما دارند ازشون پرهیز کنیم
این کتاب دقیقا در مورد همین موضوع صحبت میکنه، تله هایی که ما رو در تصمیم گیری گیر میندازه و البته همراه با راه حل هایی برای گریز از این تله ها
پ.ن: عنوان رشته ی نویسنده ی این کتاب بسیار جذاب بود: آموزش بزرگسالان
اما ما توانایی پردازش این داده ها رو داریم؟ خیر، خب چه میکنیم، یه سری ترفند پیاده سازی میکنیم که بخشی از این همه داده رو ببینیم و یه بخش عمده رو نه
آیا این اتفاق بده؟ نه لزوما، چون اگر این کارها رو نمیکردیم هیچ تصمیمی نمیگرفتیم
پس آیا این اتفاق خوبه؟ اون هم نه لزوما چون باعث میشه که خیلی جاها این ترفندها جواب ندند و اشتباه تصمیم بگیرم
پس چه باید کرد؟
میشه این ترفند ها رو شناخت و در موردش آگاهی داشت تا جاهایی که این ترفندهای فکری یه جور حکم تله رو برای ما دارند ازشون پرهیز کنیم
این کتاب دقیقا در مورد همین موضوع صحبت میکنه، تله هایی که ما رو در تصمیم گیری گیر میندازه و البته همراه با راه حل هایی برای گریز از این تله ها
پ.ن: عنوان رشته ی نویسنده ی این کتاب بسیار جذاب بود: آموزش بزرگسالان
March 22, 2019
A weave between narrative, analysis and advice. This book follows the story of a highly successful and entrepreneurial woman and her husband as they learn from a mutual friend 5 key traps the mind falls into when dealing with complex life and business situations. The alternating style of narrative and breakdown let's a common story and characters grow alongside the advice of the book showing the value and progress of it's teachings.
Of particular value is a breakdown later in the book about phases of development we go through, well.. in regards to how we develop. This relates to openness to change and how we handle perspectives and is delivered as on of multiple strategies for strengthening yourself to not fall into said mindtraps.
It's a short read and incredibly well crafted, with many highly quotable lines.
Of particular value is a breakdown later in the book about phases of development we go through, well.. in regards to how we develop. This relates to openness to change and how we handle perspectives and is delivered as on of multiple strategies for strengthening yourself to not fall into said mindtraps.
It's a short read and incredibly well crafted, with many highly quotable lines.
June 27, 2023
This book takes time some used to, but is a goldmine.
February 16, 2024
4 ⭐️ A good read for work - all about the traps that hold us as leaders. Really good insight on building a ladder to help us deal with simple stories, rightness, agreement, control, & our ego.
May 24, 2021
I would have found more real life stories helpful versus the fictional story woven throughout. Interesting approach, but it didn’t click as well for me.
May 11, 2020
This work is pop-psychology drawn primarily from secondary sources and printed in pamphlet form. What would have made an excellent Harvard Business Review article is instead a mildly interesting booklet consisting of some leadership lessons wrapped in a protracted fictional story. This is a disappointing offering from an author/scholar who made her marks by translating Robert Kegan’s min-numbing theory of constructive development ("The Evolving Self") into understandable terms and applicable techniques.
December 20, 2019
Some good nuggets here, but I felt distracted by the running "story" narrative woven in.
Read
August 5, 2020Very timely and helpful book. I thought the section on people's preference for "Simple Stories" was particularly relevant.
April 4, 2019
The increasing complexity of the modern business world presents leaders with the bane of risk management – the known unknown. In layperson’s terms, it’s the challenge of needing to know what to do to prepare when you can’t know what’s coming.
In her new book Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps: How to Thrive in Complexity, Jennifer Garvey Berger argues that we are often woefully unprepared for that known unknown. She outlines the dichotomy that: “we humans are brilliantly designed for an older, less connected, and more predictable version of the world.” On that premise, she leverages her background in adult development and complexity theory to map out a way to purposefully reshape some of that original design.
From Quirks to Mindtraps
Using a combination of a single narrative case study supported by smaller examples, the author outlines five hard-wired behavioral quirks that have become second nature to us over the centuries. In a modern world of increasing complexity, those quirks now have the potential to trap us into misguided thinking:
* We prefer simple stories that often blind us to the complexities of a real one.
* We are drawn to a perceived rightness, but just because something feels right doesn’t mean it is right.
* We desire agreement for any proposal but longing for that alignment often robs us of good ideas.
* We are trapped by our need for clearly delineated control that often strips us of the influence needed to truly effect change.
* We are trapped by our ego when we become shackled to who we are now rather than challenging ourselves to embrace who we can be in the future. In the author’s narrative case study, the character Mark, sees himself as no longer having the technical expertise to run the departments under his control.
Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps
Our preference for simple stories, for example, creates the belief that each story will have a beginning, middle and end. The neatness of that narrative facilitates the connection of causes and effects. In reality, we end-up projecting forward into an unknown future based on past information and rely on selective data to fill-in the missing pieces so that the logic and simplicity of the story are maintained.
Breaking the Pattern
Stories have maintained connections and legacies for generations, but the conviction to accept those stories as dogma has a dangerous downside. It frees us from the anxiety and pressure of challenging that dogma in search of a better alternative that is more applicable to our present situation. The key to avoiding this mindtrap is to view simplicity and neatness as red flags and to be prepared to question every element of the narrative, from the basic premise to the highly-selective data being presented.
Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps identifies five pernicious quirks of human behavior that often misguide our decision-making. In today’s fast-paced business world, those quirks can quickly become traps that steer us in the wrong direction if we don’t learn how to break the pattern.
Soundview subscribers get in-depth summaries of the key concepts in best-selling business books (like this one) delivered to them every month! Take your career to new heights by staying up-to-date with the trends and ideas affecting business leaders around the globe.
In her new book Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps: How to Thrive in Complexity, Jennifer Garvey Berger argues that we are often woefully unprepared for that known unknown. She outlines the dichotomy that: “we humans are brilliantly designed for an older, less connected, and more predictable version of the world.” On that premise, she leverages her background in adult development and complexity theory to map out a way to purposefully reshape some of that original design.
From Quirks to Mindtraps
Using a combination of a single narrative case study supported by smaller examples, the author outlines five hard-wired behavioral quirks that have become second nature to us over the centuries. In a modern world of increasing complexity, those quirks now have the potential to trap us into misguided thinking:
* We prefer simple stories that often blind us to the complexities of a real one.
* We are drawn to a perceived rightness, but just because something feels right doesn’t mean it is right.
* We desire agreement for any proposal but longing for that alignment often robs us of good ideas.
* We are trapped by our need for clearly delineated control that often strips us of the influence needed to truly effect change.
* We are trapped by our ego when we become shackled to who we are now rather than challenging ourselves to embrace who we can be in the future. In the author’s narrative case study, the character Mark, sees himself as no longer having the technical expertise to run the departments under his control.
Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps
Our preference for simple stories, for example, creates the belief that each story will have a beginning, middle and end. The neatness of that narrative facilitates the connection of causes and effects. In reality, we end-up projecting forward into an unknown future based on past information and rely on selective data to fill-in the missing pieces so that the logic and simplicity of the story are maintained.
Breaking the Pattern
Stories have maintained connections and legacies for generations, but the conviction to accept those stories as dogma has a dangerous downside. It frees us from the anxiety and pressure of challenging that dogma in search of a better alternative that is more applicable to our present situation. The key to avoiding this mindtrap is to view simplicity and neatness as red flags and to be prepared to question every element of the narrative, from the basic premise to the highly-selective data being presented.
Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps identifies five pernicious quirks of human behavior that often misguide our decision-making. In today’s fast-paced business world, those quirks can quickly become traps that steer us in the wrong direction if we don’t learn how to break the pattern.
Soundview subscribers get in-depth summaries of the key concepts in best-selling business books (like this one) delivered to them every month! Take your career to new heights by staying up-to-date with the trends and ideas affecting business leaders around the globe.
July 23, 2021
از پشت جلد کتاب:
کتاب بودن در عصر پیچیدگی و ابهام باورها و رفتارهای بدیهی ما را زیر سؤال می‌برد و به ما می‌آموزد چگونه برخلاف غریزه و عادت‌های ریشه‌دارمان که در طول تاریخ شکل گرفته‌اند، شکوفاشدن، لذت‌بردن و سبکِ دیگری از بودن در این دنیای پیچیده را تجربه کنیم. این کتاب پاسخی عجیب و دور از انتظار به سؤال‌های زمانه‌ی ماست. کتابی متفاوت و هیجان‌انگیز که یک بار می‌خوانیم و بارها به تأمل درباره‌ی آن می‌نشینیم.
مجله‌ی فوربز این کتاب را یکی از برترین کتاب‌های رهبری در سال 2019 معرفی کرده است. جنیفر گاروی دانش‌آموخته‌ی دانشگاه هاروارد، صاحب شرکت «کالتیویتنگ لیدرشیپ» و استاد سابق دانشگاه جرج میسن است که سال‌ها مشاور و مربی مدیران و شرکت‌های بزرگی مانند گوگل، مایکروسافت، ویکی‌پدیا، نوارتیس و... بوده است.
او در برهه‌ای از زندگی که در فرجامی نامعلوم با سرطان دست‌وپنجه نرم می‌کرده و خودش غرق در پیچیده‌ترین روزهای زندگی‌اش بوده است، به نگارش این کتاب و قلم‌فرسایی درباره‌ی پیچیدگی و همزیستی شاد با آن پرداخت است؛ شاید با این احساس که این کتاب آخرین اثر ماندگار زندگی‌اش باشد.
جنیفر به طرز هنرمندانه‌ای انبوهی از بهترین تئوری‌های رهبری و روانشناسی را در این نوشتار کوتاه جمع کرده و آن‌ها را با یکدیگر تلفیق کرده است. به قول باب کیگان، روانشناس مشهور و استاد برجسته‌ی دانشگاه هاروارد: «نمی‌دانم جنیفر چگونه این حجم از بینش‌های خردمندانه را در این نوشتار مختصر جا داده است.»
کتاب بودن در عصر پیچیدگی و ابهام باورها و رفتارهای بدیهی ما را زیر سؤال می‌برد و به ما می‌آموزد چگونه برخلاف غریزه و عادت‌های ریشه‌دارمان که در طول تاریخ شکل گرفته‌اند، شکوفاشدن، لذت‌بردن و سبکِ دیگری از بودن در این دنیای پیچیده را تجربه کنیم. این کتاب پاسخی عجیب و دور از انتظار به سؤال‌های زمانه‌ی ماست. کتابی متفاوت و هیجان‌انگیز که یک بار می‌خوانیم و بارها به تأمل درباره‌ی آن می‌نشینیم.
مجله‌ی فوربز این کتاب را یکی از برترین کتاب‌های رهبری در سال 2019 معرفی کرده است. جنیفر گاروی دانش‌آموخته‌ی دانشگاه هاروارد، صاحب شرکت «کالتیویتنگ لیدرشیپ» و استاد سابق دانشگاه جرج میسن است که سال‌ها مشاور و مربی مدیران و شرکت‌های بزرگی مانند گوگل، مایکروسافت، ویکی‌پدیا، نوارتیس و... بوده است.
او در برهه‌ای از زندگی که در فرجامی نامعلوم با سرطان دست‌وپنجه نرم می‌کرده و خودش غرق در پیچیده‌ترین روزهای زندگی‌اش بوده است، به نگارش این کتاب و قلم‌فرسایی درباره‌ی پیچیدگی و همزیستی شاد با آن پرداخت است؛ شاید با این احساس که این کتاب آخرین اثر ماندگار زندگی‌اش باشد.
جنیفر به طرز هنرمندانه‌ای انبوهی از بهترین تئوری‌های رهبری و روانشناسی را در این نوشتار کوتاه جمع کرده و آن‌ها را با یکدیگر تلفیق کرده است. به قول باب کیگان، روانشناس مشهور و استاد برجسته‌ی دانشگاه هاروارد: «نمی‌دانم جنیفر چگونه این حجم از بینش‌های خردمندانه را در این نوشتار مختصر جا داده است.»
April 7, 2020
This was our first book for our 2020 leadership book club, and I really like it. It is clear, concise, to the point, and gives an overview of what these mindtraps are. There is a bit of a storyline in between, which I enjoyed, as it ties it all together, and shows a creative and real-life scenario on how these mindtraps can happen and situations where they do come out and we just do not notice them, or we are not realizing that we are exhibiting these in the moment as we are doing them..
It ultimately makes us more aware of what we think or say, and this awareness leads us to recognize how to change and develop into more mindful and stronger leaders. I recommend this to a lot of our leaders, and anyone in particular, who have the desire to have better personal and professional relationships with others, to have more compassion towards oneself and others, to free oneself from the selfish ways of the ego and the burdensome weight of shame, and to experience the freedom and openness of awareness, mindfulness, and the gift of becoming an overall better person.
It ultimately makes us more aware of what we think or say, and this awareness leads us to recognize how to change and develop into more mindful and stronger leaders. I recommend this to a lot of our leaders, and anyone in particular, who have the desire to have better personal and professional relationships with others, to have more compassion towards oneself and others, to free oneself from the selfish ways of the ego and the burdensome weight of shame, and to experience the freedom and openness of awareness, mindfulness, and the gift of becoming an overall better person.
June 12, 2021
Easy to follow ideas to move oneself forward amidst complexity
Overall good book, with solid tips to pursue one’s purpose in a VUCA world.
I didn’t like the short story examples that began each chapter. They were contrived to fit the content, hard to follow the story line, and consequently I lost interest. You can skip those segments without losing any of the academic content.
I also have mixed opinions on “the traps”, but you know, I don’t think that’s necessarily the central idea in this book, rather, the pursuit of one’s purpose in a VUCA world (the author failed to attribute that by the way)—and this thesis was revealed in the last 2 chapters.
On the traps: overall I think they were new terms for old concepts. Simple stories/rightness = biases; agreement = groupthink; etc. Still useful tips and tricks to confront these problems though.
I thought the last couple chapters on pursuing one’s purpose were pure gold though. If you take anything from this book, screen shot the two tables she’s included here.
3.5 stars
Overall good book, with solid tips to pursue one’s purpose in a VUCA world.
I didn’t like the short story examples that began each chapter. They were contrived to fit the content, hard to follow the story line, and consequently I lost interest. You can skip those segments without losing any of the academic content.
I also have mixed opinions on “the traps”, but you know, I don’t think that’s necessarily the central idea in this book, rather, the pursuit of one’s purpose in a VUCA world (the author failed to attribute that by the way)—and this thesis was revealed in the last 2 chapters.
On the traps: overall I think they were new terms for old concepts. Simple stories/rightness = biases; agreement = groupthink; etc. Still useful tips and tricks to confront these problems though.
I thought the last couple chapters on pursuing one’s purpose were pure gold though. If you take anything from this book, screen shot the two tables she’s included here.
3.5 stars
August 28, 2022
The book puts into simple words what I believe is fundamentally important and true: With our world becoming increasingly complex we fall into a number of mind traps. These are:
- Our desire for simple stories blinds us from the real ones
- Looking for being right and being certain of something prevents us from learning
- Looking for agreement robs us and our teams of good (alternative) ideas
- The need to take control strips us from influence
- Focusing on our ego prevents us from growing
This is well-rounded of with some advice on key connections to thrive in a complex world: to our purpose, to our body, to our emotions, and to compassion for ourselves and others.
The book in a way surely simplifies and is not overly scientific or novel, but I believe it does a great job conveying some key points for living and working in today's world.
- Our desire for simple stories blinds us from the real ones
- Looking for being right and being certain of something prevents us from learning
- Looking for agreement robs us and our teams of good (alternative) ideas
- The need to take control strips us from influence
- Focusing on our ego prevents us from growing
This is well-rounded of with some advice on key connections to thrive in a complex world: to our purpose, to our body, to our emotions, and to compassion for ourselves and others.
The book in a way surely simplifies and is not overly scientific or novel, but I believe it does a great job conveying some key points for living and working in today's world.
May 8, 2020
Few books would qualify as a "must-read"but this one absolutely is. For those people who are interested in understanding what complexity means on a practical level, this book is a must-have. What Jennifer Garvey Berger has done is create the arguments for how to understand and work with complexity in a way that is understandable and plainspoken enough that it will allow those experienced with complexity to communicate better with others. For those new to this way of thinking, it's a great introduction. For someone who has a lot of knowledge about this, it is a lesson in how to speak about complexity in a way that is understandable and usable. This is a short book it is also very accessible and is something that I cannot recommend enough.
July 17, 2019
Don't make it a "simple story'
After 35 years in operational management, and three masters, management/leadership books are a staple in my reading diet. Barber's book has nailed it- for business and our everyday world. Read to become a better leader- inside and outside of business. It reads simple, and I truly think that irony is profound as making everything into a simple story is a mind trap. Berger has used this "device" perfectly. The concepts fit the neuroscience research and our cultural/emotional evolution. Read it once to be introduced. Read it twice to unlock its gems. Practice it to find your freedom.
After 35 years in operational management, and three masters, management/leadership books are a staple in my reading diet. Barber's book has nailed it- for business and our everyday world. Read to become a better leader- inside and outside of business. It reads simple, and I truly think that irony is profound as making everything into a simple story is a mind trap. Berger has used this "device" perfectly. The concepts fit the neuroscience research and our cultural/emotional evolution. Read it once to be introduced. Read it twice to unlock its gems. Practice it to find your freedom.
March 3, 2023
Berger, J. G. (2019). Unlocking leadership mindtraps: How to thrive in complexity. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Interactions of unpredictabilities create complexity, which makes 5-year predictions hard. - p. 8
The five mindtraps:
1. Simple stories: It wasn’t so simple and it won’t work in the future
2. Rightness: Thinking erring happens to everyone but not us, resulting in missed data, poor listening and a made-up world
3. Agreement: Too much alignment narrows our solution space whereas we need diversity to harness conflict
4. Control: When complex outcomes are hard to measure, we settle for simplistic targets; instead, just focus on creating good conditions
5. Ego: We tend to preserve reputations, present best selves, and hide inadequacies
- p. 9, 17-20
Simple-story trap:
•Stories have starts, middles, & ends and we connect causes & effects, though some mightn’t be real
•We project from past to future, filling in consistent information into coherence
•We create simple characters & select data to support beliefs
1. Those closer to us are harder to describe.
2. Halo effect: Forming a first opinion quickly and selecting information that supports our hypothesis (confirmation bias).
- p. 25-32
Try to portray an antagonist three ways, especially as a hero. - p. 36-39
Our sense of being right is not a thought process, but an emotion. Explanations for why we feel that way are usually post-decision justifications. - p. 43
Rightness trap:
•Daniel Kahneman: We think we’re right most of the time, but our ‘excessive confidence in what we believe we know, and our apparent inability to acknowledge the full extent of our ignorance and the uncertainty of the world we live in’ is probably adaptive & good. - p. 45
•It kills curiosity and openness to contrarian data. - p. 47
•It affects how we accept contrarian views, defensive & annoyed instead of open & curious. - p. 48
•State what we believe and how we could be wrong. - p. 52-53
•Listen to learn not win or fix. - p. 54-55
A conflict could deepen a relationship through resolution rather than winning. - p. 69-70
Self-efficacy, our belief that we control our lives’ circumstances, is widely linked to happiness. But its erroneous pursuit makes us unhappy. - p. 79-80
Fallacy of target setting: Our desire to control uncontrollable outcomes often leads us away from larger goals and toward smaller ones, as we substitute a larger unmeasurable care for something measurable. - p. 80-81
We believe someone higher up has control over important things, when in fact they feel less in control, as myriad forces combine to create the future. We have influence but not control. - p. 82-83
Instead of craving control in complexity, we’ve to think about influence. We’ll not be able to make things happen, but we can support their emergence. A direction is better than a narrow target; increasing options while knowing what’s important gives us room for influence as it relinquishes our false sense of control over outcomes. - p. 85-86
How to get teams to collaborate:
•communal eating spaces
•asking people out to lunch
•working nearer possible collaborators
•exchanging personal information (e.g. children)
- p. 87
When we think about direction rather than destination, and influence over control, we can start to experiment - trying something where we don’t know what might happen next to see if it goes in our sought direction.
Experiment at the edges, as the centre’s most resistant to change. E.G. finding commonalities to encourage teammates to collaborate rather than go to a manager for problem solving
- p. 89-91
The ego trap is how we want to seem to ourselves and others. We’ve cultivated a particular way of being that works for us. We’ve changed enormously through our lives to grow into our current person. We’ve invested surprising and unseen amounts of energy into showing that person to the world and defending him from it. - p. 95
Our relationship to our vulnerability is differently to others’. When a leader admits something icky to him, he feels terrible, but others are admiring and empathetic of his courage; the paradox is that we’re ashamed of our humanity, but others are drawn to it. - p. 96
We starkly differentiate our earlier, evolving selves from our current grown ones. We always think we’ve settled into ourselves after earlier turbulence; we feel we’re done with our evolution. As a result, we invest energy into protecting who we’ve become, rather than growing into who we might become next. - p. 96-98
Listen to learn from yourselves when frustrated/confused:
1. What’s at stake for me here?
2. What’s hardest about this?
3. What’s best about this?
4. How do I know it’s true?
- p. 109
Unlock new possibilities in uncertainty & complexity:
1. Don’t oversimplify some simple heroic story; have 3 different explanations
2. Listen to learn not win/fix
3. Conflicts can deepen relationships
4. Experiment at the edges rather than control with insufficient influence
5. Listen to learn from yourself to be who you are next
- p. 115
Pursuing a greater life purpose (not money, ego/fame, nor being fully achievable) = lower mortality, especially if you start earlier. - p. 118
Rungs of ladder to escape mindtraps require us to connect to:
1. Purpose: where my gladness meets the world’s hunger
2. Body: what shapes my sensations
3. Emotions: naming them avoid oversimplification & need for control
4. Compassion for self & others: appreciating our greatness & failings
- p. 130
Snack bar: Please eat me here and not at your desk. = common kitchens that become social gatherings - p. 132
Interactions of unpredictabilities create complexity, which makes 5-year predictions hard. - p. 8
The five mindtraps:
1. Simple stories: It wasn’t so simple and it won’t work in the future
2. Rightness: Thinking erring happens to everyone but not us, resulting in missed data, poor listening and a made-up world
3. Agreement: Too much alignment narrows our solution space whereas we need diversity to harness conflict
4. Control: When complex outcomes are hard to measure, we settle for simplistic targets; instead, just focus on creating good conditions
5. Ego: We tend to preserve reputations, present best selves, and hide inadequacies
- p. 9, 17-20
Simple-story trap:
•Stories have starts, middles, & ends and we connect causes & effects, though some mightn’t be real
•We project from past to future, filling in consistent information into coherence
•We create simple characters & select data to support beliefs
1. Those closer to us are harder to describe.
2. Halo effect: Forming a first opinion quickly and selecting information that supports our hypothesis (confirmation bias).
- p. 25-32
Try to portray an antagonist three ways, especially as a hero. - p. 36-39
Our sense of being right is not a thought process, but an emotion. Explanations for why we feel that way are usually post-decision justifications. - p. 43
Rightness trap:
•Daniel Kahneman: We think we’re right most of the time, but our ‘excessive confidence in what we believe we know, and our apparent inability to acknowledge the full extent of our ignorance and the uncertainty of the world we live in’ is probably adaptive & good. - p. 45
•It kills curiosity and openness to contrarian data. - p. 47
•It affects how we accept contrarian views, defensive & annoyed instead of open & curious. - p. 48
•State what we believe and how we could be wrong. - p. 52-53
•Listen to learn not win or fix. - p. 54-55
A conflict could deepen a relationship through resolution rather than winning. - p. 69-70
Self-efficacy, our belief that we control our lives’ circumstances, is widely linked to happiness. But its erroneous pursuit makes us unhappy. - p. 79-80
Fallacy of target setting: Our desire to control uncontrollable outcomes often leads us away from larger goals and toward smaller ones, as we substitute a larger unmeasurable care for something measurable. - p. 80-81
We believe someone higher up has control over important things, when in fact they feel less in control, as myriad forces combine to create the future. We have influence but not control. - p. 82-83
Instead of craving control in complexity, we’ve to think about influence. We’ll not be able to make things happen, but we can support their emergence. A direction is better than a narrow target; increasing options while knowing what’s important gives us room for influence as it relinquishes our false sense of control over outcomes. - p. 85-86
How to get teams to collaborate:
•communal eating spaces
•asking people out to lunch
•working nearer possible collaborators
•exchanging personal information (e.g. children)
- p. 87
When we think about direction rather than destination, and influence over control, we can start to experiment - trying something where we don’t know what might happen next to see if it goes in our sought direction.
Experiment at the edges, as the centre’s most resistant to change. E.G. finding commonalities to encourage teammates to collaborate rather than go to a manager for problem solving
- p. 89-91
The ego trap is how we want to seem to ourselves and others. We’ve cultivated a particular way of being that works for us. We’ve changed enormously through our lives to grow into our current person. We’ve invested surprising and unseen amounts of energy into showing that person to the world and defending him from it. - p. 95
Our relationship to our vulnerability is differently to others’. When a leader admits something icky to him, he feels terrible, but others are admiring and empathetic of his courage; the paradox is that we’re ashamed of our humanity, but others are drawn to it. - p. 96
We starkly differentiate our earlier, evolving selves from our current grown ones. We always think we’ve settled into ourselves after earlier turbulence; we feel we’re done with our evolution. As a result, we invest energy into protecting who we’ve become, rather than growing into who we might become next. - p. 96-98
Listen to learn from yourselves when frustrated/confused:
1. What’s at stake for me here?
2. What’s hardest about this?
3. What’s best about this?
4. How do I know it’s true?
- p. 109
Unlock new possibilities in uncertainty & complexity:
1. Don’t oversimplify some simple heroic story; have 3 different explanations
2. Listen to learn not win/fix
3. Conflicts can deepen relationships
4. Experiment at the edges rather than control with insufficient influence
5. Listen to learn from yourself to be who you are next
- p. 115
Pursuing a greater life purpose (not money, ego/fame, nor being fully achievable) = lower mortality, especially if you start earlier. - p. 118
Rungs of ladder to escape mindtraps require us to connect to:
1. Purpose: where my gladness meets the world’s hunger
2. Body: what shapes my sensations
3. Emotions: naming them avoid oversimplification & need for control
4. Compassion for self & others: appreciating our greatness & failings
- p. 130
Snack bar: Please eat me here and not at your desk. = common kitchens that become social gatherings - p. 132
September 26, 2020
I read this for class (accelerating and learning performance) and got so much out of it. It’s very short and can be read in one sitting.
They focus on mind traps that we all fall in to and how to both recognize them and get yourself out of them. I’ve already used this framework in my life (trapped by my ego) to see how I am doing things that protect my current / past self versus creating space for the future.
I also used the trapped by simple stories in a conversation with a friend and helped them uncovered some insight. Definitely recommend it!
They focus on mind traps that we all fall in to and how to both recognize them and get yourself out of them. I’ve already used this framework in my life (trapped by my ego) to see how I am doing things that protect my current / past self versus creating space for the future.
I also used the trapped by simple stories in a conversation with a friend and helped them uncovered some insight. Definitely recommend it!
August 19, 2022
Great book to read. All 5 mind traps are applicable to me. 1) Simple story is true. I will start to build 3 stories for each person. 2) Righteousness is so true. Listen to learn. Listen to win and listen to fix have been with me for a while. 3) Control Vs influence is a less issue to me. 4) agreement is a big one. Disagreement will expand the solution. True. Listen to learn 5) ego is big one. It sounds like I try to defend a beautiful myself somehow. Is self beautiful true? Not true. Then why do I need to defend? Let us grow. What a mind blowing book?
June 3, 2024
I've read a lot of business books due to my profound interest, and this one felt short. There weren't a lot of references, not a single how-to, or come on this web page to download your infographic on the seven mindtraps. Nothing, really.
Instead, the author focused on a fable. But unlike Lencioni's fable, the characters seemed too hyper and spoke to their leader in a way that was borderline rude at times. They just didn't seem real. You are better off reading Lenconi's five dysfunctions of a team that carried many of these mindtraps with Coyle's Culture Code.
Instead, the author focused on a fable. But unlike Lencioni's fable, the characters seemed too hyper and spoke to their leader in a way that was borderline rude at times. They just didn't seem real. You are better off reading Lenconi's five dysfunctions of a team that carried many of these mindtraps with Coyle's Culture Code.
December 1, 2024
This book, like Jennifer Garvey Berger’s other books, is like therapy for leaders! Berger points out that the world has become increasingly more complex recently, but our bodies are still wired for a less complex world. This means that we struggle to deal with complexity and end up falling into mindtraps.
In this book, Berger explains these mindtraps, how they served humans in the past, how they hold us back in complex situations, and things to practice in order to overcome them. Like Berger’s other books, it’s a relatively quick, clear, and practical read.
In this book, Berger explains these mindtraps, how they served humans in the past, how they hold us back in complex situations, and things to practice in order to overcome them. Like Berger’s other books, it’s a relatively quick, clear, and practical read.
September 16, 2019
Short concise read, very helpful, noticed myself even reacting to the suggestions. So it must be hitting something deep down, if that's what I'm feeling as I read this. Somethings have a slight air of politicizing, but if you can get around that then you might still be able to get something out of it. The overall take away is that while once these 'mindtraps' served a purpose in simpler time, they no longer can.
September 20, 2019
I was assigned this by my leadership team for our Exec retreat. Jennifer has a real talent for unpacking the challenges facing leaders of people in complex organizations. She tries to super simplify the message into a really short book to make her points as clear as possible. She succeeds in this goal I think and each of the five points are inciteful and thought-provoking. If you find yourself locked in a personality conflict, check your biases and push through the complexity.
December 27, 2019
How to foster direction in complex and uncertain environments?
The short narrative highlights a few of the failures to positive leadership in today’s more complex scenarios. These are the mind traps. They author frames these across simple stories, ego, consensus, control, and rightness. The leadership is being able to identify these in the mix of the challenge and nudging past them.
The short narrative highlights a few of the failures to positive leadership in today’s more complex scenarios. These are the mind traps. They author frames these across simple stories, ego, consensus, control, and rightness. The leadership is being able to identify these in the mix of the challenge and nudging past them.
December 25, 2023
It's the formula for achieving stage 5, which I still wonder if my misunderstanding is evidence that I'm nowhere close, or just that I haven't read enough to understand it. I like how the mindtraps suffer their own advice, i.e. be sceptical of simple stories in complexity. I appreciate how brief it was, and that the novelization was woven in to appease people who are becoming more used to that style of business writing.
May 30, 2021
Great insights into the leadership mindset that explores pitfalls and how to avoid them. Listen to learn, not listen to fix or win.
The stories the book used for examples felt too fictional and made it hard for me to use them to support her points.
A short read...so worth the time, even if the stories are strange.
The stories the book used for examples felt too fictional and made it hard for me to use them to support her points.
A short read...so worth the time, even if the stories are strange.
March 6, 2023
Good overview of mindtraps. I actually liked the story woven throughout- while perhaps a little ironically simple- still a good example of the theories in action. I did find it more of an overview than a how to- each mindtrap could have been it’s own short book. Overall helpful and introduces ideas that keeps you alert to areas to deepen your leadership skills.
February 27, 2020
I liked this small, but well written book on complexities of the modern world and mind traps we encounter. Still in order to benefit from the book you need to remember about the traps and recognize them in yourself
April 13, 2020
Excellent insight into mind traps
I highly recommend this book as the world is increasingly complex. Each page is packed with insights that will make you a better leader and a better human.
I highly recommend this book as the world is increasingly complex. Each page is packed with insights that will make you a better leader and a better human.
January 21, 2021
Beautiful practical book.
The way we think, stress control, attention and focus control, change the automatic mind state from fear to enjoyment and learning something new. 150-200 simultaneously opened tabs from todo list that brain is constantly running on its own.
The way we think, stress control, attention and focus control, change the automatic mind state from fear to enjoyment and learning something new. 150-200 simultaneously opened tabs from todo list that brain is constantly running on its own.
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