Renowned thinker, psychologist and pioneer of creative thinking, Edward de Bono often said, “You cannot dig a hole in a different place by digging the same hole deeper.”

Similarly, Nobel Prize–winning physicist and master explainer of complex ideas, Richard Feynman, repeatedly said “There’s a lot of ways to do things, and some are better than others.”

What both were getting at—and what many great thinkers, philosophers, and leaders often remind us, is that “there is always more than one way to do something.”

And I am sure would agree there is too and I bet you’ve experienced this in some capacity. Perhaps you’ve been part of a group problem-solving moment where someone offers a genius, out-of-the-box idea that suddenly cracks things open and fixes the thing you have spent hours trying to solve.

Or maybe you were given the opportunity to try something out your way and you were able to convince your leader, your peers or team members that it’s an approach that works too.

However, research indicates that many people—especially in larger organisations—don’t feel they have the autonomy to approach tasks in their own way. In fact, a study by Effectory found that only 34% of employees in such environments feel a true sense of autonomy in their work – 34 % that is under half!!

But I’d argue this isn’t just a “big organisation” issue. It happens in smaller ones too—because most of us, without meaning to, tend to sway toward our own biases and default ways of doing things. Various studies actually show that many of us—often with the best of intentions—encourage others to take the same route we would when it comes to decision-making and problem-solving.

I’m sure you’ve heard the line “So what you need to do is…” a million times and you’ve probably said it a million times too – I know I have!

But your way isn’t always the right way—especially for people who think differently and need to solve problems in a way that works for them.

So what do you do when you realise you might be leaning into your own biases—and potentially overriding others’ ways of thinking and decision-making?

Here are two things I often encourage:

1. Learn your own thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making biases. Tools like HBDI (Whole Brain Thinking) are brilliant for this. They help you understand your natural preferences and blind spots.

2. Challenge your biases by asking your people – “Is there another way you’d approach this?” It’s a simple question but it can be a powerful one. It will also give you insight into how those you lead solve problems and make sense of things.

When we give others the chance to approach things in a way that works for them, we inspire action, initiative and ownership. We also open ourselves (and our organisations) to better ways of doing things.

I trust this has got you thinking and has been helpful in some, way shape or form.

Until next week, be well and lead well

Kylie