The Art of Choosing
Dr. Sheena Iyengar’s presentation on the art of choosing is very illuminating. She points out that, as Americans, we have been raised to believe that it is important that we make our own choices, as this is seen as a “private self-defining act.” (Iyengar, 2010). She also points out that Americans tend to believe that having more options will lead to better choices, and that we should never say no to choice. I very much agree with her assumptions in this regard. Americans are raised believing that individual choice is important, and we seem to be flooded with options. Americans would complain loudly if we were told that our choices are going to be limited.
Cultural Differences
Dr. Iyengar makes clear illustrations of cultural differences in the art of choosing, beginning with her discussion of the difficulty of ordering sugar with her green tea while in a Japanese restaurant. Her action research brought her to understand that there are alternative ideas concerning the art of choosing, and that some cultures see choosing as a collective act that creates a sense of community and harmony.
Effect on Leadership
A leader should find these insights to be very useful, because a large part of being a leader is building highly-effective teams who will work together for the good of the organization, or in other words for the collective good. Team building requires convincing people who value making their own choices that they now need to choose based on a common good. As stated in Leadership: Theory, Application, and Skill Development “the synergistic benefits of teamwork are such that members of a team working cooperatively with one another can achieve more than working independently.” (Lussier /Achua , 2010).
One of the functions of a team is to review the available choices and narrow them down to the best possible alternatives. Here is where the large number of choices desired by Americans can work against the team, as these choices need to be reduced to a manageable number to facilitate an effective decision that works for the common good.
When leading others we should point out the tendency to view making choices as private and self-defining, and have our followers consider making choices as a collective act that fulfills the goals of the organization.
References
Iyengar, S. (2010). The art of choosing [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/sheena_iyengar_on_the_art_of_choosing.html
Lussier /Achua. (2010). Leadership: Leadership: Theory, application, and skill development. (4th ed., p. 280). Mason, OH 45050: Cengage Learning
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