Comparison
There are good types of comparison.
Examining data between distinct performances, analyzing emerging trends in a well-known subject, or even considering factors that enable or limit performance in competitors can all be useful.
Basic innovation theory reinforces the need to think and learn beyond your immediate context.
There are bad types of comparison.
Lamenting about someone else’s perceived success, over-analyzing a decision with mostly good outcomes, or fixating on what went wrong to the point of halting progress can all cause stagnation or misdirected action.
Comparison with the goal of establishing personal or team efficacy risks becoming a never-ending egg hunt.
Your brain seeks comparison for practical means: it enables you to make sense of a complex and ambiguous reality.
The risk in comparison is that your brain will continue to compare well beyond the useful data points because affective processes take over.
As a leader, your job is to help your team distinguish between effective comparison and spiralling into affective rumination.
Easter latt-egg hunt,
- Morning Cup