Would you like time to think?
Would you like time to think, free from distraction, where you can give attention to what’s important?
In a fast-paced world, it can be hard to find time to think for yourself, to make progress on what matters to you. When life is hectic, dedicating time to do that may seem unproductive.
What if there was a way to think with depth and rigor that could help you reclaim time?
In this blog, I’ll tell you about the difference it can make when you have uninterrupted time to think for yourself. And I’ll also share an approach you can apply with others, so that they can do their finest thinking, individually and collectively.
Do you ever leave a meeting frustrated because people aren’t engaged? Or disheartened if you’re in a meeting where people aren’t paying attention to each other?
I’d like to tell you a way that leads to meetings that are dynamic, energising, and productive. A way to have meetings that matter.
When I first encountered Time to Think, I was working in a role where I had to deal with complex problems and needed to make good decisions. The observation of Nancy Kline (founder of Time to Think) that “the quality of everything we do depends on the quality of thinking we do first” resonated with me. I had noticed that I was often in meetings where the discussions weren’t rigorous, and that people didn’t always listen well to each other. I was witnessing what Nancy Kline had observed, that “the quality of our thinking depends on how we're treated when we're thinking.
As I started to learn about Thinking Environment®, I became fascinated by what happens when we stop interrupting, when we listen to ignite instead of listening to reply, when people are encouraged to think for themselves. I experienced the difference it makes to be in the presence of the Ten Components, behaviours that have reliably been shown to make a difference to how people think, behaviours that enable people to be at their best.
How can a Thinking Environment unlock your finest thinking?
Let’s start with the component of attention.
Do you find that it’s hard to focus on what you need to think about, because of distraction or interruption?
It can seem as if we are destined to be distracted, whether that’s because of interruption from others, or because attention is hijacked by digital distraction.
Being interrupted not only shuts down what you’re saying, it can also derail your thinking. You might have been about to come up with an idea or express an insight.
You might have been about to change your mind about something or follow a new avenue of thought.
Have you ever been in conversation with someone who doesn’t seem interested in what you’re saying? They interrupt you before you’re finished, they talk over you, or they focus elsewhere. What if you’re in a situation where you don’t feel valued or respected? You feel constrained in what you say, less confident about offering your opinion.
When thinking is disrupted or limited in these ways, it results in poorer thinking. Opportunities can be missed.
Apart from external distractions, we can also distract ourselves as we think something through, stopping before we figure it out, before we reach a conclusion. That can happen if there seem to be obstacles in the way, or if options seem limited.
Having time in a thinking environment is a powerful way to counteract those limitations and distractions. It’s an opportunity to think well for yourself in the presence of a listener who promises not to interrupt you, who is interested in what you’ll say, who won’t intervene and start telling you what to do. How often do you get the chance to be listened to in that way?
Dedicating time, even a short time, to be in the presence of non-judgmental, encouraging attention can help you think clearly and purposefully.
When you’re free from distraction, it allows you to think with depth and rigor, enables you to make better decisions. When a decision emerges from your own thinking, you will be more confident to take the next step, to make progress.
What can happen in a Thinking Environment?
I remember the impact of being listened to with that quality of attention when I attended my first Time To Think course in 2018. Having boundaried time to figure out what I wanted to change was empowering. It opened my mind to new possibilities. Being in the presence of generative attention enabled me make decisions for myself. Decisions that I felt secure about and confident to progress.
In 2019, I started training as a Time To Think Coach and Facilitator, and began to work with individuals and groups, creating non-judgmental spaces for fresh thinking, where people could think with courage and clarity. Having progressed from that to qualify as a Time to Think Consultant and teacher of accredited Programmes, I now offer courses where people can have dedicated thinking time and also learn practical ways to create thinking environments in their work and their lives.
What’s different about a Thinking Environment?
I’ve met people who told me that when they think, they go around in circles, not getting anywhere, they can’t make headway. They are frustrated by that, by thinking repeatedly. I’ve met others who are exhausted because they’ve too many things on their mind. They find themselves flitting from one thing to another, not able to focus on what needs their attention. Thinking a lot but not thinking well.
Being in a thinking environment is a way to break free of circular, limiting overthinking. When you are listened to by someone who believes in your own capacity to find an answer, who is fascinated by the richness and depth of your independent thinking, you can access clear, purposeful thinking.
A world of possibility is contained within the listener’s promise not to interrupt, as outlined by Nancy Kline in her book “The Promise that Changes Everything: I Won’t Interrupt You”. Knowing that you won't be interrupted creates ease, and gives you space to sift through your thoughts, to examine what needs attention.
Our thoughts are real but they’re not always true. Having time to explore what’s in the shadows of your mind, you may uncover what’s holding you back. Maybe you’re assuming something that’s not true, and that assumption is limiting you.
Knowing you won’t be interrupted means you can be at ease if you fall silent. In silence, answers can reveal themselves, truth can be found. Something may shift you as you hear yourself verbalise what you’ve thought. Sometimes it's only when you can hear yourself say what you think that you realise the truth .
The possible is always present but possibilities can be hidden from view. If you’re stuck, if your thinking is blocked for some reason, being asked an incisive question can help you break free, break through the wall of doubt to see what's possible.
If you want time to think for yourself, in an encouraging, non-judgmental environment, free from distraction, if you’d like to know more about what can happen in a Coaching Thinking Session, book a Discovery Call.
If you’d like to experience thinking in this way and also learn how you can generate the best thinking of others, join me on my next Foundation Programme or email me for information about future Programmes or other opportunities.
Can a Thinking Environment be created for a group or a team?
I love the fact that this way of being can be applied in any setting and that these behaviours can be embodied by anyone. The Ten Components are behaviours that can unlock higher quality collective thinking for a group or team. Using this approach is an uncomplicated way to create interactions where people can feel energised, enthusiastic, and empowered.
If you’re frustrated by meetings that don’t deliver results, creating a thinking environment will help you have productive meetings. If you’re tired of mediocre thinking and meetings that don’t seem to matter, this is a way to change that.
The principles behind Time To Think are supported by neuroscience, and by evidence that the quality of one person’s attention determines the quality of another’s thinking. When the right conditions are in place, when people are at ease, encouraged, appreciated, they are more likely to think well. When they feel their thinking matters, fresh thinking and new possibilities can surface.
Do you ever find that if you’re put on the spot, if you’re under pressure, it can be hard to think clearly, to come up with your best ideas? Feeling threatened can trigger a response, pumping stress hormones of cortisol and adrenaline and slowing down the creative part of the brain, the part that enables strategic thinking and decision making. Being in a negative environment can inhibit our ability to think laterally, can limit potential and lead to poorer quality decisions. Creating a positive environment keeps those thought-disturbing hormones at bay and allows for higher quality thinking, imaginative thinking.
If you’re concerned that I’m talking about an unstructured free-form discussion, let me reassure I’m not. This is an approach that results in an exquisite balance of structure and ease, that enables robust discussion and rigorous thinking. It’s a dependable way to reliably produce results and to save time.
Have you been at meetings where a few people dominate the discussion? You may have noticed that when a few people monopolise a meeting, quieter people can’t get a word in, they have to fight for space to speak. When that happens, the quality of thinking in the room is weaker. Valuable ideas or information may never be shared. People may never realise the information or knowledge that others have to offer.
If you're in a meeting where not all voices are heard, it means that not all the wisdom and intelligence available is gathered. When that happens, opportunities are missed for creative, collective thinking. Collaboration is weaker.
Some people believe that in a fast-paced world, there isn’t time to allow everyone be heard in a meeting, that to do would hinder progress. Using the Thinking Environment framework with boundaried time is a way to structure a meeting that enables constructive, engaged and inclusive discussion. Hearing all voices, not only those who speak loudest or longest, enhances the quality of thinking and discussion and delivers better results. The thinking will be richer and so will the work. On my Foundation course, you can learn how to structure and focus meetings, with an approach to dialogue and discussion that enables you hear from everyone in the room, encouraging their finest thinking.
In a Thinking Environment, people think so well in the time they have, that the time they have increases. As Nancy Kline has said “ finding time to think is not the point. Changing the way we treat each other while we are thinking is the point”.
What are the benefits of creating a Thinking Environment for a group or a team?
I’m fascinated by what happens when we stop interrupting, when we listen to ignite instead of listening to reply. When people listen well and dialogue respectfully, when they let go of unhelpful behaviours, they can build on each other’s thinking. Accessing everyone’s expertise and knowledge broadens the options available to the group , and sharing information in this way leads to collaboration.
Creating these conditions will build trust and connection in a team and will lead to better performance.
When people trust each other, when they feel psychologically safe, they are more likely to admit mistakes, to call out risks. They are more likely to challenge limiting assumptions that may be untrue but could lead to a problem if unchecked.
As people listen well to each other, it can lead to unexpected connections, to innovative solutions. The richness of their different perspectives can spark creative thinking. When people shift to a “Yes, And” mindset from a“ No, But” mindset, they can move from competition to collaboration.
Introducing these conditions and practices and developing people’s skills to interact more effectively can help you make fundamental change.
Independent thinking is a critical skill to develop
The thinking environment framework enables rigorous independent thinking and helps prevent groupthink. Giving people the opportunity to think for themselves is how creative ideas can flourish. This is an approach that encourages sharing of knowledge and wisdom while also building people’s capacity to think well for themselves. An approach that elevates everybody’s thinking.
Listening to inspire builds the capacity of people to solve their own problems.
Have you noticed that in a meeting or conversation, some people seem to be waiting for the speaker to stop, they’re planning what they’ll say as soon as they get a chance. They’re not really listening. Their attention is more on what they’re thinking than on what the speaking is saying. They’re listening to reply.
In a Thinking Environment, we’re interested in what a person is saying, and in what they will say next. In a group meeting, where each person has a turn to speak, we listen with interest and promise not to interrupt in their boundaried time. We give a quality of attention that’s generative, that encourages and ignites their thinking.
Listening in this way can be challenging, especially for people who have become conditioned to default to problem-solving, to diagnose as they listen, to be ready to fix.
When someone comes to you for help, do you find that you automatically start coming up with an answer as you’re listening to them? The risk is that in the drive to get things done, responding in that way may mean you miss an opportunity to encourage them to find their own answer. Defaulting to “fixing” may mean that you miss a chance to empower them to handle it themselves. Listening to ignite someone’s thinking can restore their power for independent thinking. When people think well for themselves, it elevates the quality of the discussion and enhances what they can create collectively.
What do you think?
When were you last asked that, listened to by someone who was interested in what you had to say?
We’re hard wired to answer questions. Creating a thinking environment and offering good questions is the most effective way to encourage people to think creatively, to find the best solutions to problems.
In my experience of working with groups and teams, there is real value in figuring out, as you plan a meeting, what question can we invite people to think about during the meeting?
Questions drive discovery. As people consider and answer a question, it can move them to purposeful action. Asking and answering a question can lead to a shift in opinions, to fresh thinking. A question may prompt thinking that continues after the meeting has ended.
Considering and answering a question can inspire ownership and engagement. If you want people to be involved, to take on responsibility for what needs to be done, asking “what do you think?” will help them feel part of the solution. Answering a question can help generate a feeling of ownership and accountability.
Think of an important meeting you’re planning. What’s the purpose of the meeting: do you need to solve a problem, or is it arranged to discuss something that requires a decision? Do you want people to engage with a strategy, do you need them to be involved in implementation? What outcome you want or need from the meeting? What question could people think about during the meeting, to serve that outcome, to help make progress on the issue?
The mind that opens to a new idea never returns to its original size (Albert Einstein)
Asking a question can excite imagination about the future. It can encourage people to think about what needs to change. Listening to others as they answer questions can spark new perspectives and new insights. Offerring people a question that challenges assumptions can lead to breakthrough thinking.
Would you like meetings that generate thinking, that produce results?
Creating these conditions in a meeting, and allocating time for Rounds, Pairs, etc (the Building Blocks of a Thinking Environment) will save you time and make a meeting more productive. Having time to focus on key questions will make the meeting dynamic and enable constructive discussion. The thinking environment is a way to be with each other that can improve the quality of thinking, of listening, of understanding and of collaboration. It’s a way to ignite thinking and produce better results.
If you’d like to learn how to use this simple framework so that meetings are run efficiently, are dynamic and productive, and deliver better outcomes, join me on my next Foundation course. You can learn, experience and practice the conditions and behaviours that create this kind of an environment. You can learn practical ways to apply them in your meetings, in your conversations, in your life.
Give yourself the gift of time to think and time to learn, it will help you reclaim time in the long run.
Give yourself time to see what’s possible.
