Hour Glass Model

Prejudices, assumptions and judgements are our first line of defence. But they keep us stuck.

How do you find a way to reason beyond this?

The General – This is the surface: the place where labels, assumptions, judgements and theories lie. When we are in The General, we categorise and classify people and events according what we believe to be true, without knowing or checking our ideas. Unfortunately, we tend to understand our environments using this surface point of view and often get things wrong.

The Specific – This is a space we create deliberately for learning. It is when we consider what might actually be happening and take the time to find out. When we are in The Specific, we bring facts, we give examples, we reflect, discuss, and negotiate while checking our assumptions against reality and remain open to seeing things differently. When we spend time here, real learning takes place.

The Universal – This is the site of insight and wisdom. Once we have taken the time to learn and see things for what they are, meaningful insight tends to emerge naturally.

The learn phase, is the most neglected part of leadership. We encourage our clients to make time for learning.