Cultivating A Beginner’s Mind

"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few."  Shunryu Suzuki, a Zen monk

Like Ubuntu, the African philosophy that helps steer us here at Stathakis, other cultures and philosophies can offer us examples of how to best lead. Beginner’s Mind is a Buddhist principle that refers to having an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when studying or considering an idea or a problem. As seasoned leaders and business people, it can be all too easy to look at things from the narrowed vision that experience can give us. We can sit atop a mountain assuming the view gives us a complete picture. Yet in doing so, we may miss seeing little details and options or solutions that might otherwise be apparent.

As a leader, we can use this idea of Beginner’s Mind to help remind us to stay open, to stay sharp and to listen to the people working under us. Take for example in my own business with a commercial cleaning company operating over thirty-seven years. In those nealry forty years I have done every job from the most basic to the most complex now functioning as our CEO. When a problem comes up with a front line cleaner, it is easy to assume I know more than they do, that I have no doubt encountered this problem before. It can be all too easy to believe that I don’t need more information to come up with a solution because I am busy and just want to move on to the next issue at hand.

Is it likely that a quickly given “answer” to the problem might be on target? Yes, it might because experience does have value and very likely my first response will be on the mark. But what if there is information the employee has that I do not? What if this information is really important? The reality is I have been operating pretty far from the front line for a while and the employees that have regular, day-to-day, face-to-face interactions with our customers and their facilities have information that I do not have. Additionally, just the act of listening and tuning in to one of my valuable team members has a positive impact whether I needed the information they gave me or not. As a leader, cultivating a Beginner’s Mind can keep us open to many solutions and help our people feel valued and listened to and thus help us lead better.