Blindspot!
From Issue: 739 [Read full issue]
Openness
Openness is vital to integrity. It takes both humility and courage - humility to acknowledge that there are principles out there you may not currently be aware of, and courage to follow them once you discover them. Throughout history, most paradigm shifts in science have been shifts from traditional thinking - shifts that took this kind of humility and courage. A good way to increase integrity, then, is to work on being open.
As you evaluate your own openness, you might ask yourself:
- Do I believe that the way I see the world is totally accurate and complete - or am I honestly willing to listen to and consider new viewpoints and ideas?
- Do I seriously consider differing points of view (from a boss, direct report, team member, spouse, or child), and am I willing to be influenced by them?
- Do I believe there may be principles that I have not yet discovered? Am I determined to live in harmony with them, even if it means developing new thinking patterns and habits?
- Do I value - and am I involved in - continual learning?
To the degree to which you remain open to new ideas, possibilities, and growth, you create a trust dividend; to the degree you do not, you create a trust tax that impacts both your current and future performance.
Compiled From:
"The Speed of Trust" - Stephen M. R. Covey, pp. 71, 72