Unlocking success often requires a shift in perspective. The 'paradox mindset' might just be the key you've been searching for. It's about embracing contradictions and using them as a catalyst for growth and innovation. Let's delve into its intriguing dynamics.
Some counter-intuitive research suggests that these conflicts can actually work in our favor
Over a series of studies, psychologists and organisational scientists have found that people who learn to embrace, rather than reject, opposing demands show greater creativity, flexibility and productivity
- The researchers call this a “paradox mindset” – and there never be a better time to start cultivating it
- In a corporate environment, embracing paradoxes may spark creativity, efficiency and innovation
Creative sparks
One way to capitalize on this knowledge is to note down any paradoxes you encounter and make a point of contemplating them before you set about solving problems.
- The very act of thinking about the possibility of reconciling those issues could still lubricate your mind for greater innovation elsewhere.
Albert Rothenberg was the first to investigate the idea formally
Studying 22 Nobel laureates, and analyzing historical accounts of deceased world-changing scientists, he noted that each revolutionary thinker had spent considerable time “actively conceiving multiple opposites or antitheses simultaneously”
- Einstein contemplated how an object could be both at rest and moving depending on the position of the observer, a consideration that ultimately led to his relativity theory
- Niels Bohrtried tried to reconcile the ways that energy acted like both waves and particles: states that existed simultaneously, even though they could not be observed together
A series of studies have shown that “paradoxical cognition” can also help more average thinkers to solve everyday problems, and organizations to enhance their performance
In one of the early studies, Ella Miron-Spektor, associate professor of organisational behavior at INSEAD, and her research collaborators asked participants to write down three paradoxical statements.
- People who were asked to reflect on the dual (and apparently opposing) requirements of minimising costs and maximizing innovation were subsequently more creative than those who only considered one goal or the other: somehow, the contradictory demands fueled their thinking.
- In a more recent study, published in 2017, has examined the benefits of paradoxical cognition in the real workplace of a large consumer-products manufacturer.
