Latest / Real STRength with Sarah Draper / Make Better Decisions by Taking a Walk | #2
Transcript
- Sarah Draper: They're starting to tell you what they think you want to hear instead of what's really going on and create the conditions for more breakthrough coaching conversations. When you're coaching or mentoring someone, the physical environment and positioning matter more than you would realize. 100 % of those who walked outside generated high quality, creating the conditions to think differently. Welcome to the Future Walk podcast. I'm your host, Sarah Draper. Each week on the podcast, I explore tools to help you lead your best now and into the future. And I talk with top leaders to see how they stay focused when life gets cluttered. It's time to stop reacting to your life and start leading it. Welcome to Future Watch. Welcome to the Future Walk podcast. I'm Sarah Draper and I'm so glad you're here. And if you're new to the podcast and especially warm welcome, a little bit about me as we get started. I spent three decades in the army and the FBI leading national security programs and running high stakes operations. During that time, I learned that all leaders, even the very best ones face three consistent challenges. These are making complex decisions under pressure, seeing their own blind spots and helping the people they lead perform at their best. This is where the feature walk comes in. It's a simple practice to help with better decisions, clearer thinking and more effective leadership. Today, we're gonna cover the strategic feature walk, which is a 20 to 30 minute practice solo or with one key person. focus on your next month or quarter. This walk helps you reduce your cognitive bias, improve decision quality under pressure, and enhance your coaching effectiveness. I'll walk you through the science, then show you three ways you can use it for solo strategic decisions, for decision making under pressure, and for coaching conversations. And by the end, You'll know exactly how you can use this practice to make better decisions and help others perform at their best. So as a quick overview, the strategic future walk is 20 to 30 minutes. You do it solo or with one key collaborator. Focus on the next month or quarter. It's longer than the daily walk because you're thinking further out and working through more complex challenges. It helps solve three key problems. One is cognitive bias and strategic decisions. So when you're making a strategic decision, whether you're hiring or firing or pivoting or investing, or just kind of thinking through something pretty complicated, you know, like you start with a plan, but sometimes you realize there's something you're not seeing. And what's happening is that your brain's making mental shortcuts that create blind spots. You're missing something critical, but you don't know what, or you might not even realize you're missing something critical because you've been relying on these shortcuts. Problem number two is trying to make decisions under pressure. And so this is when you're making a complex decision, it's got multiple variables or competing priorities and real consequences. So that pressure narrows your focus. And you want to be there spinning in circles. or stuck in unproductive meetings or rehashing the same conversations again and again. The third problem is when coaching conversations don't break through. So this could be when you're coaching someone who's stuck. Maybe you've had a conversation across a desk with them, but they're not really seeing their own pathway forward. And you figure out that they're starting to tell you what they think you want to hear instead of what's really going on. These are all where the strategic future walk can help. It gives you 20 to 30 minutes to step back, actually literally step forward and see what you're missing in strategic decisions. Help you think more clearly under pressure and create the conditions for more breakthrough coaching conversations. It's not about working harder. It's really about creating the conditions to think better. And I want to share a little bit of the science behind strategic thinking. In the first episode, episode one, we talked about how walking increases creative output by around 60 % and also improves executive functioning. But there's something special that happens when you walk for 20 to 30 minutes. It's really critical for strategic decision-making and leadership. First, it helps you override cognitive bias. When you were making a strategic decision. Your brain relies on mental short cults these are called heuristics. These help you decide quickly, but they can also create some cognitive biases, which are systematic tendencies that make your decision making vulnerable to inaccurate outcomes. Research published in Frontiers in Psychology identifies several common biases. First, you've got this thing called hindsight bias. So once you know the outcome, You think you knew it all along, right? Like that benefit of the rear view mirror, 20-20 vision and looking in the rear view mirror. That's the hindsight bias. Tunnel vision is another one. When you're under pressure, you over-focus on that goal and ignore everything else. And the third is the confirmation bias, where you only see the information that confirms what you already believe. The biggest challenge with these is that we're often blind to our own biases. Biased decision making feels natural and self-evident because that's how we think. Here's what's fascinating and why the Future Walk helps. Walking creates the conditions to override these automatic patterns. When you walk, especially in nature, you shift out of fight or flight mode, your stress hormones drop, your prefrontal cortex which is responsible for complex reasoning and overriding these automatic responses, becomes more active. Wharton executive education research showed that walking physically alters the brain, improving its plasticity and promoting the creation of more brain cells. It sharpens the mind, dispels doubt and procrastination, and releases beneficial endorphins. So what this means is when you take a strategic future walk and ask yourself, what am I missing? You're creating the neurological conditions by taking that future walk. You're creating the neurological conditions that help you see past your blind spots. Something you might not have even seen before. Second is walking is the condition of best thinking under pressure. Leading CEOs and decision makers have recognized something really important. What is not just compatible with their work is the condition of their best work. Philosopher Frederick Row in a philosophy of walking noted that leaders are following in the footsteps of some of the great thinkers and creators, Aristotle, Freud, Darwin, Beethoven. For all of these folks, it was not just that walking was a distraction for them. It was that walking was really their element. It was the condition of their work, he says. Sanford research found that 100%, 100 % of those who walked outside generated at least one novel, high quality analogy compared to 50 % of those seated inside faced with the same challenge. So when you're facing a complex decision, multiple variables and real consequences. Walking doesn't just give you time to think, it enhances your brain's capacity to handle complexity. And when you're walking with a colleague, you are moving in the same direction, which changes the psychological dynamic. You're not defending positions across a conference table or in a meeting room or an office. You're thinking together while moving forward. So Future Walk, the strategic Future Walk specifically, creates the conditions for breakthrough thinking. You're not taking a break. You're optimizing your brain for the challenge you're facing. And the third thing is that walking side by side will transform your coaching and leadership conversations. When you're coaching or mentoring someone, the physical environment and positioning matter more than you would realize. Research published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology found that employees who participated in walk-in talk coaching in nature reported nearly twice as many positive changes in mental health, satisfaction, and self-esteem compared to the control group. The side-by-side positioning creates a different psychological dynamic than sitting across a desk. Walking meetings create a more informal atmosphere and break down hierarchical barriers. When you're face to face with someone, there's an inherent power dynamic. Maybe someone's performing or managing up or telling you what they think you want to hear. But when you're side by side with that same person, you're both looking ahead. This reduces defensiveness and creates psychological safety. Psychological safety is a key predictor of the workplace coaching. you're trying to do. And when psychological safety is high, found that coaching occurs earlier with less defensiveness and much better outcomes. So when you take a strategic future walk with someone you're coaching or leading, you're creating both the neurological conditions, that enhanced brain function you get from walking and the psychological conditions that reduce defensiveness from side by side. positioning. This helps them see their own pathway forward more clearly. So the strategic future walk is a tool that helps you override that cognitive bias, creates the conditions for your best thinking under pressure, and enhances coaching conversations by improving both brain function and psychological safety. And we're going to look today at how to use it in three specific scenarios. And these are just examples. There's certainly other ways to do this strategic feature walk, but today we'll go through these three examples. The first is a solo strategic decision walk. This is a, am I missing walk? When you're making a decision and you need to identify your blind spots. The second is decision-making under pressure. And this is when you're facing a complex problem. You can do this one alone or with a colleague. And the third is coaching or mentoring someone you lead. This is when someone you lead is stuck and really needs some breakthrough thinking. We're gonna dig into each one. But first, if you are finding this helpful, please follow the show. And I would love it if you would share it with another leader who needs to hear this. Okay, here we go. Let's dig into each one of these. The first one is that solo strategic walk. What am I missing? This is what you do when you're making this big decision and you need to identify your blind spots, those cognitive biases that keep you from seeing something. Again, you can use it during a major strategic decision like ⁓ hiring someone, changing team configuration, investing in something. You can use it when you've got a gut feeling something's off, but you can't quite name it. Or when you're getting advice from multiple people and you need to cut through the noise, or you've already made a decision, but you feel like something doesn't feel right. So this one, you and all of these future walks, you're gonna leave your phone behind or put it on, do not disturb if you need to take it for safety. But please don't look at your phone while you're walking. Not even to make a note. You can jot those down when you get back. So ideally leave your phone behind or put it on, do not disturb. and you just walk outside at an easy pace for 20 to 30 minutes. Start this walk by naming the decision you're facing. Say it out loud if you're alone. Get clear on what you're actually deciding. What am I missing in this decision? Or what am I not seeing? Or what assumption am I making that might be wrong? Or if I'm wrong about this. What else could I be wrong about? Just say that question out loud. Then walk for 20 to 30 minutes while holding that question. Don't force the answer. Just let your brain do the work. The movement, the environment, and the time will help you see past those automatic thinking patterns. When you finish, this is when you get to take your notes. You're write down, pen to paper, two things. One, what you were missing. and two, what you're gonna do differently because of it. This works because cognitive bias is strongest when you're standing still, under pressure and relying on the automatic thinking. Walking disrupts that pattern. Remember that research, walking activates your prefrontal cortex, the part that helps you override these automatic biases. It reduces the stress hormones so you can think more clearly. And it gives you that time and space to see what you couldn't see before. You're not just thinking harder, you're thinking differently. So as an example from my life, when I first started teaching at the FBI's National Academy, this is a ⁓ residential education program for the top law enforcement leaders in the world that come and spend 10 weeks with us. I inherited a partial curriculum for a course I'd been teaching and the course was good and time tested, but it wasn't me. Right. It didn't bring in my personality and areas of expertise. And my initial thinking was to just fill in the gaps and deliver what had been done before with those gaps filled in. It was proven, it worked. Why mess with A's? There's so many other things I needed to learn and focus on as a new instructor. Yet I still felt like something was missing. So I started taking these strategic future walks while redesigning the course. What became clear was that I was defaulting to what was safe and proven instead of asking what these leaders actually needed from me. Like why was I there teaching them? What was my unique perspective and expertise? And that really opened things up for me. I started bringing in things like meditation and yoga. Now not everything worked. I had my idea for a three day backpacking, experiential learning, didn't quite make the cut, but I was able to think more creatively. because I took the time to let walking and movement do that work. The blind spot I had, I was operating from a place of don't get too extreme or mess this thing up instead of what can I uniquely contribute. This confirmation bias and risk aversion that we're working together. I couldn't see it until I stepped outside and asked myself, what am I missing? So this solo strategic decision walk isn't about thinking harder. It's about creating the conditions to think differently. When you ask, what am I missing or what else is possible while you're walking? You're giving your brain permission to override its automatic patterns and see what you couldn't see before. That's the difference between a good decision and a great one. Okay. The second way to use this is when you're making decisions under pressure. So this is a walk you take either alone or with a colleague when you're facing a complex problem and feeling the pressure to solve it. And you can use this when you're stuck and you feel like you're spinning in circles or you need to weigh multiple trade-offs and see second or third order consequences or you and your colleague are kind of misaligned on the solution or the pathway forward. When you need something that's like a breakthrough, not just an incremental improvement. You really need to think about something in a different way. There are two ways you can use this walk, one by yourself and the other when you're collaborating with someone. So I'll go through both of them here. Option, this first option is this solo walk. Again, same thing. Leave your phone or put it on, do not disturb. Walk outside at an easy pace, 20 to 30 minutes. Again, start by naming the problem. and the pressure. Say it out loud. I need to decide X and the stakes are Y. Then ask yourself, this is a real problem I'm solving and what's one thing I can do about it? Or again, awesome alternates, depending upon your situation, what am I not seeing? What would solving this problem actually look like? If I could only solve one part of this, what would move the needle the most? Walk for 20 to 30 minutes. Let that movement, your movement and the environment help you see that problem more clearly or completely differently. When you get back, write down the real problem, which might very well be different from what you thought it was before your walk and the one thing you're committed to doing about it. This works because remember that research, walking is the condition, that's quoted, of best work for leading decision makers. It physically alters your brain, improving its plasticity and capacity to handle complexity. And when you're under pressure, your brain narrows its focus, that tunnel vision you got. Walking counter axis by reducing stress hormones and enhancing your ability to see a bigger picture and weigh those trade-offs. Another way you can do this one is with a colleague, right? Someone who's part of that decision-making with you. So in this case, you would invite your colleague along with you, same rules. So leave your phone books behind or do not disturb and just walk at an easy pace for 20 to 30 minutes. Start with, in this case, since you've got someone else with you, start with just a couple of minutes of catching up or talking or whatever is going on, just to get any mental chatter or clutter out there so that you can really, once you begin to talk about what's what you're there to talk about, that other stuff. You've kind of cleared the air on whatever else is happening. Then ask, what's the real problem we're solving? And what's one thing we can do about it? Or those same types of questions. What are we not seeing? Or if we could only solve one part of this, what's going to make the most impact on our bigger problem? And you walk side by side. This is collaborative thinking. building on each other's ideas. You're not defending positions. When you finish, both of you should write down the real problem and the one thing you're committed to do about it. This works, especially with a colleague who's facing the same problem. And part of this with you is when you're sitting across from each other, you've been there, you're in a conference room or an office, you're under pressure. Even if you don't want to, You end up at times performing or defending, but when you're walking side by side with someone that dynamic shifts, you're moving in the same direction. You're thinking together, not competing. And both of you are benefiting from that enhanced brain plasticity and cognitive clarity that walking provides. Remember, 100, 100 % of those who walked outside generated high quality, at least one high quality novel solution compared to 50 % of those seated inside trying to tackle the same problem. So the decision making under pressure walk rate, this is whether you're doing it by yourself or with a colleague, again, isn't about working harder, it's about creating the conditions to think better. Walking enhances your brain's capacity to handle complexity. It helps you see past tunnel vision. and transforms the dynamic from defending to collaborating. And that's really creating the conditions for breakthrough solutions to emerge. Okay, last way here, now that the third way for today is when you're coaching or mentoring someone you lead. This is when someone you lead is stuck and needs their own breakthrough thinking. You can use it during your regular one-on-ones with your direct reports. or where you're specifically mentoring someone who's stuck or you're coaching someone through a challenge or where you recognize that someone needs to see a situation differently, but they can't because of their perspective hasn't shifted. You know, they can't literally see their challenge differently or situation differently from where they're sitting. Once again, you invite that person to walk with you, you leave your phones behind or put them on, do not disturb. walk at an easy pace for 20 to 30 minutes. This one again, you start with a couple minutes of light conversation, let the kind of things open up naturally, a little icebreaker and just start casually talking. Don't force a question immediately. Create a space of comfort and psychological safety for them. And then you can ask something like, hey, where are you stuck on this? What might it look like if you weren't? Or what's feeling hardest for you right now? Or what do you think feel like you're just like, where do you feel in your life? Like you're just getting through instead of leading or what would this look like? It was working the way you wanted it to just create like this. What if potential scenario and, and allow them to start thinking out loud as you walk and talk, you walk side by side and listen more than you talk. The side-by-side positioning reduces defensiveness. It creates psychological safety. Make sure you keep supporting that by listening more than you talk. When they're not looking at you, they're looking ahead. It's gonna make it easier for them to be honest with themselves. And when you finish, ask them to write down the insight they had. So whatever it was that they realized and their action, what they're committed to do. This works because coaching conversations across a desk create a power dynamic. They might be performing or managing up or maybe telling you what they think you want to hear. But when you're side by side, that dynamic shifts. You're literally moving in the same direction. You're both looking ahead and you're side by side positioning create psychological safety. Remember that research. Walk and talk coaching in nature produce nearly twice as many positive changes in mental health, job satisfaction, and self-esteem compared to traditional coaching. And psychological safety is a key predictor for effectiveness of workplace coaching. When they're walking with you side by side, they're more likely to access genuine insights rather than rehearsed responses or just completely clam up. You know, for me, I used to be a peer in my organization's employee assistance program and people would regularly schedule time with me to talk about sensitive life matters. ⁓ After some time, like years of sitting and talking with people about these things, I decided to ask if they'd like to do a walk and talk outdoors instead. I had started doing this in my leadership with some of the people who reported to me. And so I decided to give this a try in this employee assistance program way. ⁓ and so many people chose to do this and what I noticed was really remarkable. The insights they had were much deeper than when we used to sit and talk. I myself feel free to listen and they gave themselves more space and grace to think out loud. So even after incredibly difficult conversations, people would often share how much better they felt and I believed them and it was easier on me too. There were no awkward silences because that time was filled with movement and reflection. You know, when even you're sitting with someone, it's a conversation can sometimes feel when it stalls out as if you're handing something back and forth. And when it gets past, the baton gets past you and it's your turn after the person is something you feel like you need to say it. That's not the case when you're walking because movement is filling that space and that gives you that. mental space and psychological space for reflection. And when we are both looking ahead, moving forward together, instead of sitting across from each other, all those like feelings or worries of pressure and performance just dissipate. Then realized like side by side positioning isn't just more comfortable. It's really creating that is creating the conditions for these, this deeper level of thinking in some cases, breakthrough thinking. people aren't managing or performing, they're processing, reflecting and figuring out their path forward. So as a high level takeaway, the coaching or mentoring walk is not about giving advice or solving problems, it's creating the conditions for someone to see clearly and figure out their own path forward. When you walk side by side, you're not managing them, you're walking with them, supporting, partnering. with them and that is when they can begin to have real breakthrough thinking. Okay, so we've gone through three ways that you can use this. Now I wanna take a minute or two here at the end to talk about why this time, why 20 to 30 minutes instead of the 10 or 15 minutes of a daily future work. It's okay, strategic thinking takes time. You need to move past the surface level noise to get to real insight. You need time to let your brain shift from reactive thinking to strategic thinking. You need time to override your cognitive biases and see what you're missing. Research shows that 20 to 30 minutes is optimal for the kind of cognitive shifts we've been talking about. Again, reducing bias, enhancing decision-making capacity, and creating psychological safety. It's long enough to go deep but not so long that you lose focus. However, if you can't do 20 to 30 minutes, do what you can. Even 15 minutes is better than nothing. But if you can protect 20 to 30 minutes just once a month or once a quarter for strategic decisions, do it. It's one of the highest leverage investments you can make in your leadership. So this is how I think about the rhythm of these three different big types of future walks. You've got your daily future walks, 10 to 15 minutes that keep you from reacting to day to day. Strategic ones, this one we've talked about today, 20 to 30 minutes, help you make better decisions and lead more effectively month to month or quarter to quarter. Envisioning future walks, which we're gonna get to, 30 to 50 minutes keep you. from drifting year to year. Together, these create a rhythm of intentional leadership on every time horizon. Okay, we looked at three ways today, we looked at three ways to use this strategic feature walk. The solo, what am I missing walk? The paired or solo decision-making under pressure walk. And then the coaching and mentoring someone you lead walk. This month, Try one of these three walks, one of these three ways to do a strategic future walk. If you're making a big decision, take that solo walk and ask yourself, what am I missing? If you're stuck in a complex problem, take a walk alone or with a colleague and say, what's the real problem we're solving? Or if you're coaching someone who's struggling, invite them to walk and ask, where do you think you might be stuck? what would it look like or what could it look like if you weren't? Pick one, 20 to 30 minutes and see what becomes clear. Okay, in the next episode, we're gonna dive into that visioning future walk, your antidote to drift. 30 to 50 minutes focused on a few years away and it's designed to help you reconnect to your long-term vision. So you're not just busy, but you're building towards something that really matters. If you haven't listened to episode one yet, please go back and give it a listen because it has a full overview of all three types of future walks and how they work together. The strategic future walks change how I make decisions, solve problems and lead and coach others. We can do the same for you. So this month, step outside, leave your phone, take 20 to 30 minutes and see what you've been missing. Thanks for joining me on the Future Walk podcast. I'm Sarah Draper. I'll see you soon when we dive into that next walk. Until then, enjoy your walk.