Adam Grant, organizational psychologist and bestselling author, recently sat down with ISACA member and moderator R.V. Raghu for ISACA’s Member-Exclusive Speaker Series. Grant is best known for his #1 New York Times bestselling books “Think Again” and “Hidden Potential,” and is a host for the TED podcasts Re:Thinking and WorkLife. He has been recognized as the world’s #2 most influential management thinker, is one of Fortune’s 40 under 40, and has more than 10 million followers on social media.
The session explored how to find your hidden potential, and build the character skills, structures, and systems that accelerate learning and elevate excellence. Below are five of the key takeaways from the session, and ISACA members can access the recorded webinar from October for free here until Friday, 8 November.
1. Don’t underestimate humans’ unique capabilities
During the session, Raghu posed a question to Grant about his emphasis on humans’ values and character as more and more cognitive skills become automated through technology.
“In an age of advancing technology, it’s unclear whether humans are going to have anything left to contribute, in some people’s eyes,” said Grant. “As a psychologist, I’m a great believer in people. I think human potential is something we should never overlook or underestimate. So, I’ve been trying to figure out, where do we add value in a world where machines can simulate thinking, even if we don’t agree on whether they can actually think?”
Grant expresses that the one thing a machine can’t do, and can’t necessarily be taught to do, is to exercise moral judgment. Computers can be trained to do that reasoning, but ultimately, humans will help decide what matters.
2. Approach artificial intelligence like a scientist
Grant discusses how very few leaders understand artificial intelligence and can often experience an analysis paralysis with it, where they end up choosing not to do anything about it. In order to avoid getting stuck in a mindset that makes it hard to embrace AI, Grant recommends thinking like a scientist: follow the scientific method when making decisions, by recognizing that every strategy you roll out is a hypothesis waiting to be tested, and every commitment you make and decision you execute, is an experiment.
“This is the lens we need to apply to AI: run lots of experiments by having people across the organization test ideas and report back on what they learned,” Grant said. “Using those small experiments, we can become more confident in which hypotheses are right, which ones are wrong, and how this is going to transform our world.”
Being risk-averse can sometimes stand in the way of creativity, change and learning. Expect a certain number of your trials to fail. “Never taking risks is a risky way to build an organization,” he said
3. Seek advice, not feedback
When Grant was early in his career and had just finished his PhD, he was asked by the US Air Force to teach a leadership class to military generals and colonels. After receiving critical feedback on his class, he quickly learned that when you’re seeking input on your performance, you should turn your critics into coaches.
“When you ask people for feedback, they’ll tell you what you did wrong yesterday,” said Grant. “When you ask for advice, they tell you what you can improve tomorrow.”
Grant shared that by seeking advice rather than feedback, you’ll receive specific, actionable suggestions for adjustments you can make, instead of hearing things that you did wrong. Start by asking for one thing you can do better next time.
4. Focus on standing out instead of fitting in
When employees are first hired, leaders will often highlight to them how they can fit in at the organization so the new employees can adapt and adjust. But what if leaders chose to invite new hires to stand out, instead of fitting in?
Grant shared how a large organization in India took this approach, asking employees to share a highlight reel with their teams of the proudest moments from their career.
“Their new teams were suddenly aware of the employees’ strengths that were not built into their job descriptions,” said Grant. “This is a great way to make sure you’re not overlooking hidden potential.”
5. Learning should be fun
As lifelong learners, making learning fun and easy is a key to enjoying it. Grant suggested using deliberate play to keep learning interesting. He shared the example of how one of his goals as a writer is to be more vivid, as he tends to be very abstract, logical and data-driven. To avoid becoming bored when practicing his writing, Grant thought of a new approach.
“I try to re-write sentences in the voices of some of my favorite fiction authors and poets,” said Grant. “It’s a fun way to hone the skill, and take something that was boring and frustrating, and make it enjoyable.”
To participate in the next Member-Exclusive Speaker Series event, join the ISACA community today and sign up in advance to attend the next session.
Editor’s note: ISACA members can access full videos of recent Member-Exclusive Speaker Series events here.