A black cat crossing your path, signifies that the animal is going somewhere.” Groucho Marx
To some people a black cat crossing their path carries a similar outcome to breaking a mirror. Superstitions are illogical. People do, however, knock on wood. Superstitions in the modern-day are generally harmless. We don’t burn witches any more.
Giving inaccurate meaning to observations, however, is unfortunately not uncommon and not harmless. Decide that Mary is a superstar or that Joe is a bum and the tendency is only to see that which validates what we already believe.
Stereotypes exemplify my point, but what I’m thinking goes beyond that and is equally or more harmful. We have mental filters that cause errors in perception. Everything we experience passes through those filters which are in may cases subconscious.
Mom was sure that all band majorettes had low morals. She was unable to say why, but she believed it to be true. Religious beliefs, childhood experiences, negative interactions with a person of a different nationality, management, labor etc. cause subconscious filters that result in us giving inaccurate meaning to situations that occur.
There is a tendency towards intellectual laziness. Life is easier if we can divide things into black or white, yes or no, good or bad, profit or loss. The reality, however, is that the world around is increasingly gray.
High performing leaders are intellectually curious. We are aware of and challenge our personal filters. We apply logic but understand that reality may be illogical. Today’s metaphorical better mousetrap for a high performance leader is skill at transforming illogical into something that works. I’m the Outsider and that’s what I think.