Post by Marie Sabatino on Feb 12, 2016 4:15:33 GMT
This is an interesting assignment because often we are asked to share our "success stories" and how we were able to create a path which may have led to our achievements in life. Yet what tends to generate more learning and opportunities for growth, and what the "Critical Thinking for Managers...." article asserts, is that it is equally important to "learn from your mistakes and your triumphs." When things go awry, or not as we had hoped and planned and intended, what is it that can be learned? Where had the all the planning, and strategizing, and researching, and all the critical thinking gone?
When I think of an example from my own life, it struck me that the very essence of the "Critical Thinking for Managers..." article that touched me most deeply, also happened to be an area that I neglected when it mattered the very most, that is to: THINK BROADLY AND ADVENTUROUSLY. A number of years ago, I was working for a multi-service organization directing several mental health programs which aimed to help people create a more meaningful life in the community. It also so happened that I have a great love for the creative arts and have personal connections to a number of people actively engaged in the arts, from making it, to curating it, to exhibiting a range of works. One thing led to another and I did some research, wrote a concept paper, which then led to the development of an arts program, a top name in the arts who agreed to curate a show, which ended with a major body of artwork created by the participants of my organization, which exhibited at a prominent gallery in NYC. I even ended up landing an interview with Dana Tyler of CBS 2 News to talk about the show. Then the five minute clip ended, and some artwork was sold, and the exhibit closed. And I suddenly realized there was not much else. Why had everything suddenly come to a screeching halt??
While I truly believed I was thinking BROADLY AND ADVENTRUOUSLY, it turned out it wasn't broad enough. How on earth could I have overlooked the details of a long-term plan that could have led to our ability to sustain and advance what we were doing in the arts? Not only was I not thinking critically enough, I was not able to get past my own excitement in the moment. In retrospect, it seems my passion for adventure and excitement did not allow me to get to the point of organizing a long-term plan more clearly.
The video on "Critical Thinking" reminds me that emotion and intuition must not come at the expense of reason. Thus, if I had integrated more of all these key pieces of the puzzle together, I might have been able to create even more opportunities for our artists, our programs and the organization as a whole, as well as to provide enrichment for the larger world. Nevertheless, it was a remarkable opportunity and I was able to learn more about myself as a result of this endeavor.