Once while riding in an Uber in Mumbai, both the driver and I had our google maps open. When he took a right at a crossing instead of going straight (as per google), I asked him why. He smiled in his wisdom and informed me that the road ahead was dug up. His way was the fastest way. And so it was.
Or take for example the case of a map showing a bridge across the river which does not tell you the weight it can carry. When you find that you are stuck and can’t get across, you blame the map and curse the cartographer.
There is a strong element of trust when you read a map. After all, you are in a new environment and the map is your guide. It’s worked for others or maybe even for you in the past. Maps are by their very nature, tools to help us get to our destination faster. But they can slow us down or worse, derail us. This may sound counter intuitive, but business leaders sometimes get misled by maps. Not so much by the physical ones but the maps in their minds.
These mental maps sound like “this is the way things are done here” or “this has worked for the past five years so let’s give it another try” or “Get on with it, let’s not overthink this”. My favourite one is “this is a no-brainer”. If these maps in our mind are followed blindly, we can go off-track. That product launch could bomb at the marketplace, or the new breed of young managers could become uncomfortable (rebel?) with a leaders’ management style that has worked so well in the past.
What stops us from questioning the mental maps that we use? Why do we make it our default option?
Everyone doesn’t. The Indian Army does it differently.
An Army officer will look at the map and either do a recce (reconnaissance) or recheck the accuracy through other sources. Satellite imagery for example. He will want to understand the actual lay of the land: the reality. Only then will he take action. An Army officer does not take the physical map for granted; he discovers the reality for himself. After all, lives are at stake. This new information is then fed back to the Survey of India so that the maps can be modified. This modus operandi is in the SOP (Standard Operating Procedure).
It’s amazing that the Indian Army which is the classical command and control organization has such flexible systems hardwired into its DNA.
Business leaders can take a cue from the army. Leaders can check their mental maps frequently for validity and in the process discover reality.
But a recheck is often associated with slowing down, delaying or worse – seeming indecisive. That’s anathema to a modern leader’s ear where speed, efficiency and meeting targets is all. And then there is hubris. After all the old map with its known efficiencies has worked so well in the past. Why waste time re-checking?
Today, it just might make sense to choose discovery instead, because today’s environment is very dynamic. This does not necessarily have to translate into delay or indecisiveness if it is done seamlessly. Rechecking old mental maps should become the SOP.
And this is where a Leadership Coach can help.
Originally published June 2021