View the TED video by Sheena Iyengar on the art
of choosing. Dr. Iyengar assumes that Americans believe the following when it
comes to making choices:
- Make your own choices,
- More options leads to better
choices, and
- Never say no to choice.
Reflect on
these assumptions in your Leadership blog. Do you agree with Dr. Iyengar? What
is the implication of her comments on leadership? Make sure to stay tuned
through the end to see Dr. Iyengar's Action Research on pink nail
polish.
What makes America so special and
different? Some might say that America is definitely different but not special,
some dislike our American ways but I like to think that my country and people
are the best. We are special and we are different from a large portion of the
world. When we think about what makes America special we think about how
innovative this country has been throughout its history. We came up with a new
way of government first and foremost which allows us this freedom, and we
created the ideal that everyone should be free to pursue whatever they want to
in life.
To me the most interesting study which Dr.
Lyengar did was with the children and the options which they were given. I
found it very interesting that the most successful kids were the kids who were
given their own choice. This is interesting because I see children as a window
into the future of what is to come. I feel that because we are so free with our
thoughts that this is the reason for our success in this country. You can find
dozens of studies which say that Americans are nowhere near the top performers
in math and science yet for now we are still the number one economy in the
world. Many people around the world might ask themselves how this is possible.
After seeing this presentation I am convinced that our ability to be creative
and have so many choices in life has led us to become one of the best nations
ever.
As I try to reflect on how this
presentation applies to leadership I think about what type of leader creates
the top performers. Certainly the best leader cannot be the one who lays
everything out in front of you like a mother would. It is a leader who can give
their employees enough space to get those creative juices flowing. A leader
which can give their team the most options will have the most successful team.
Dr. Lyengar said something almost mind blowing to me which has actually crossed
my mind many times. As Americans we have the unique ability to perceive the differences
between options, as Americans we practice this so much that we believe everyone
should be born with this ability. This is amazing because I felt a deep
connection with this statement.
In my short life I was lucky enough
to travel to the Middle East and some parts of Asia, it was interesting how
choice is hard to find in many countries in this world. If you go to a
restaurant the menu is very slim and usually applies to what time of the day it
is. When you are walking about in some countries many people wear the same
styling of clothes. You do not find many people with different styling in
certain countries, everyone dresses and acts in a very similar manor when out
in public. And last but not least when I was in Thailand my green tea did not
come with sugar either.
As a nation we are leaders across the
globe, I can almost say because of our abilities to understand choice and
freedom we as Americans are made to stand out in a crowd. Nothing stands out
more like a sore thumb in foreign countries than an American. Some might call
it arrogance or ignorance but the one thing that we can all admit is our
ability to be unique and understand the differences in things which others
might find to be the same thing. Our ability to find preferences in our choices
derives from all of the different experiences which we might have had throughout
our lives, in some ways our choices also define who we are. This is why you
might get someone who would pick the ballet slippers pink over the adorable
pink. Many might people might think it is the same thing but to a ballerina,
ballet slippers pink might just be the best shade of pink she has ever seen.
In this blog I would like to thank
my parents for migrating to this country and seeing the difference in choices.
They never once forced me to see things in black and white, they let me gain
many different experiences in life which has led me to be the person I am
today. Without their open mindedness and ability to see that there are
different flavors of soda I might be lost in today’s world of many different
choices.
