by Janus Boye
Are you good at doing things for the first time? There has certainly been a fair share of that this year and you might call that a beginner’s mind, but when I spoke to Copenhagen-based consultant Mathias Jakobsen, it quickly became clear that being good at doing new things is extremely valuable, takes special skills and that this whole ‘beginner's mind’ is a misunderstood concept.
Usually, an expert has done things thousands of times and has the experience to predict how things will pan out. Doing something for the first time is different. It clearly requires additional attention to what’s actually happening. Unlike a traditional expert, say an experienced accountant or HR professional, you can’t to the same degree predict the outcome. Observing and adjusting along the way is key.
Mathias on stage at the Women’s Museum in November 2019 as a keynote speaker at the Boye 19 Aarhus conference. His keynote was aptly titled: Leading Into The Unknown. Photo: Ib Sørensen
Mathias runs a boutique consulting firm called Think Clearly, which focuses on just that. Thinking clearly. Given what’s happened this year, where few predicted the pandemic, it only seems fitting to have Mathias Jakobsen as our final expert of the month for 2020.
Becoming world-class at doing things for the first time
You may like it or not, but 2020 has clearly made a strong case for a different approach and different skills. So how do you become a beginner again?
Surely, you could take on a new career in an entirely different field, but if you are staying in your field and your current position, how do you become really good at the necessary trade of new things?
For the past several years, Mathias has been working with corporate leaders to try to help them see the familiar as if they see it for the first time. In my conversation with Mathias, he started by debunking the ‘beginner’s mind’ as often mention on seminars. He compared it to the call to ‘be innovative’. It’s not really mentioned as a discipline, but more like a call to action. The problem according to Mathias is when it becomes a simple imperative. It’s actually more than that as Mathias shared.
Mathias led a member conference call on reflections earlier this year - read more: Reflections Are Not Only A Tool To Change Yourself
Mathias started his explanation by offering insights into how our human brain works. Mathias called it “the ultimate human prediction machine”. Always sensing and constantly trying to predict what happens next. How might it feel if I sit here, if I touch this how does it feel, how does liquid taste? A never-ending stream of impressions.
That’s also key in a work context. If you want to be good at beginning, you can’t just see it as an imperative, but in Mathias’ words, you need to treat it as a discipline.
Asking Mathias to dive deeper into his expertise and the specifics of his area of expertise, he shared two tracks with different steps. Don’t consider them a polished guide, but shared below to showcase Mathias recent thinking and perhaps you can use them the next time you are doing something new. Let’s start with the analytical track.
Using your analytical power to become a good beginner
You can do it in just 4 easy steps. Sounds too good to be true? All you need is some curiosity. Here’s an example for your analytical mind as shared by Mathias:
1) Pick something specific to investigate. It can be at home or at work, but try to narrow it down. It's impractical to question everything at the same time. Something well known as a daily ritual such as breakfast can be a good place to practice, before going into a work context.
2) Write out all the assumptions you have about it. For breakfast, I might write assumptions such as "It's an important meal to start the day" or "breakfast includes certain types of food, for example, milk, cereals and coffee". The hardest things to write are usually the most obvious.
3) Question and challenge each assumption and see what assumptions are underneath. Ask yourself "why is breakfast an important meal to start the day?"—for example, "after a night of sleep the body needs energy"—keep questioning and unfolding the assumptions underneath. You can do it alone or with others. If you do it with others, you may not have the same assumptions. That's a good thing, so no need to argue about what's right or wrong. Just write all of them. You are not trying to get to a certain result. This is never really 'complete'—it's about being curious.
4) Once you've unfolded a lot of assumptions, you can imagine how different the situation might be if you could change some of the assumptions. What if breakfast wasn't at all an important meal? What if breakfast typically consists of spicy meats and red wine?
Give it try. Once ready, there’s also the emotional aspect as shared earlier. You can’t just analyse and predict, there are also emotions, how you’ll respond and the need to act with courage. Let’s take a closer look.
The emotional dimension and the need to act with courage
It's important to acknowledge that working with assumptions will yield an emotional response and pay attention to it. Even if you believe it has potential for innovation and new ideas, it's like any other creative pursuit which involves uncertainty. For people who are used to a very rational-analytical kind of thinking and analysis, this can easily feel frivolous or even pointless. These aren't bad reactions. I still experience worry and confusion along the way, wondering if it will ever lead to anything useful. It's essential to learn to notice these reactions along the way. Otherwise, they will get in the way. Try writing down your reactions, doubts and inner resistance. This might be more so once you start doing it with others in a work context. What will they think? How am I going to explain the rationale behind this? Whenever you notice fear it's a strong indicator that something is at stake. Anything that challenges social status and recognition is strong triggers. In the face of this fear, you will need to act with courage.
Mathias generously shared these three steps on how you can act with courage, even when you're afraid:
1) Acknowledge that you are afraid. It sounds simple, but while we all feel fear, we often don't like to see ourselves as the kind of person who is afraid. Easier to just brush it off and keep going. This might work at times but you are depriving yourself of the self-awareness of understanding your own fear. Try instead to accurately and precisely locate what it is that is triggering the fear reaction. It could be a presentation in front of a critical audience or a meeting with an important stakeholder. When we challenge long-held assumptions in a company it can feel like blasphemy and trigger strong responses. If you are a part of the company culture you already know this deep in your bones.
2) Once you know what is causing it, you can begin preparing for it. A dear friend realized he was afraid of speaking up on certain sensitive topics around gender with the group of partners in his firm, even though he had strong opinions and felt it was a very important thing. Instead of speaking up, he found himself staying silent and feeling like a coward. This isn't helpful. If you can instead accept that the situation actually IS SCARY TO YOU, then you can prepare. You can write a script for what you want to say and bring it to the next meeting. Most people don't feel that it looks cool to have a written script. We expect ourselves to speak freely and fluidly from the heart. But this is stupid because it assumes that our fear isn't legitimate.
3) Bring your script or whatever you've decided to prepare. Maybe you will manage to do it. Maybe you will still remain silent. But instead of berating yourself for being "a coward who couldn't do it" try to acknowledge that you are up against something that is difficult and that you came prepared and that you will come prepared again next time.
Learn more about Mathias, new beginnings, reflections and more
On the Think Clearly website, you can read about the method. Jump to How does it actually work?
One of my favorite drawings from Mathias’ wonderful hand-written newsletter.
Mathias also his very own hand-written newsletter. It’s a hand-written page around one specific thought or question. It's around creative business, intentions and more clarity.
Finally, there’s also Mathias’ wonderful decade long tradition of creating a personal annual report. A worthwhile read not only to get to know Mathias better but also an insiders perspective on living and working in New York City, moving back to Denmark. Personal yes, but also plenty of interesting work-life insights.