In Sheena Iyengar’s video The art of choosing, she assumes that Americans believe that when it
comes to making choices:
- You should make your own choices,
- More options lead to better choices, and
- Never say no to choice.
Is Dr. Iyengar right?
Do we as a society when confronted with choices assume the above to be
true? As I reflected on these
assumptions I took another look at what I learned from the text. Nosich (2012) says “Whenever you reason
through something, you always have to begin somewhere. You can’t ‘begin at the beginning’ because
there is no beginning. What you begin
with are your assumptions, everything you take for granted when you think
through something.” (p. 52). I gave
thought as to whether or not I agreed with Dr. Iyengar.
I do agree with the assumption that we like to make our choices. Dr. Iyengar reflected on the study she did with Anglo-American and Asian children where different groups were given the same anagrams and colored markers. She concluded the Anglo-American children that were given the option to choose did the best with their anagrams as opposed to having the choice made for them. But the way we choose can be influenced by so many factors. Are we making a choice because it is popular? Are we choosing based on experiences? Or do we make choices that reflect our values? Personally speaking I have made choices based on all of these factors. I feel fortunate to have the freedom to make my own choices. As a kid I was able to choose what I wanted to wear to school. In retrospect maybe somebody should have stepped in and helped me because the 80’s had some pretty bad fashions.
Do more options lead to better choices? For me not necessarily. I find it troubling actually. More choices for me means more research, more
comparisons, more time out of my day wasted.
When I purchased my car a few years ago the process was agonizing. Not only did I want to find something
affordable but it had to meet certain criteria. The vehicle had to be safe, reliable, and fuel
efficient. I researched reviews from
different sources on about 10 different model vehicles. I had to research different borrowers to see
who would offer me the best rates. I had
to research the various dealerships in my area to see who would offer me the
best prices. I had so many choices that
thinking back on it I do not know how I didn’t pull out all of my hair! And when it comes to clothes... forget about
it. I could look at sneakers all day
long and be lucky to find that “perfect” pair.
With so many choices I run into the same problem. Price comparison, time spent looking,
frustrating my wife because I can’t make a decision.
Sometimes I don’t make choices out of laziness. Mostly when it comes to choosing a place to
eat with my wife. And she hates
that! She’ll ask “Where do you want to
eat at?” And I will say, “I don’t know
hon, wherever you want to eat is fine.
You choose.” Drives her bonkers! She wants my input but honestly I just never
want to choose. I am fine with whatever
she wants to eat since she is the picky one (hopefully she will not read this
blog). Why? Mainly because I don’t want to make a
suggestion and then have her not agree then 30 minutes later we are still
trying to figure out where we are going to eat just to wind up in the Taco Bell
drive thru. We probably should never say
no to choice because we live in a society where we have more freedoms allowed
than in some other countries. We should
embrace the fact we are so fortunate. I
think to take choice out of our hands completely would be to relinquish some of
the freedom we are afforded in our country.
One could draw the conclusion from our video that there are
many choices we can make as leaders. How
we make those choices and the process we use to come to conclusions can be very
personal. Leaders need to be able to
make decisions based on not just what is best for themselves but for their
teams. They need to look at the part
that make the whole and truly reflect on their choices and the ripple effect those
choices can make. I am fortunate to live
in a country where I can have the choice.
The choice to be the type of leader that inspires others and strives to
make a positive influence on those that share in my visions.
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