Common Thinking – An Advantage For All Of Us

Shared thinking can be a transforming force for people. Think Tanks are groups where people can share ideas, thoughts and approaches with one common purpose: a common good. Many people believe that this type of mental investment is what companies, institutions and any social scenario need the most.

Working and thinking together for common goals is inspiring. However, you must admit that it is not always easy to achieve them.

Working as a team, for example, presents inherent difficulties and disagreements. In the same way, no one has taught you how to develop a collaborative mentality ; how internal resources such as creativity, motivation and enthusiasm are mobilized towards others to achieve a common harmony where everyone wins.

However, that is the key to the future. We need smarter companies, as well as groups of people who are able to work together without their egos getting in the way. In other words, without friction and deactivation of the rigid thinking that makes you put so many barriers in front of progress and well-being.

People are moving forward with an increasingly complex present and future where we must direct our efforts and our resources in the same direction. How can we do that? Shared thinking can be the key.

The pillars of common thinking

Collective intelligence or common thinking is a topic that has always been of interest to the disciplines of psychology, sociology and the business world. Furthermore, the field of biology has studied this concept for centuries by observing it in the microuniverse of bacteria and others that may be closer and more visible to you.

For example, the collective behavior of animals is undoubtedly the most striking of all. Think of the flocks of birds flying in the same direction and always in perfect synchrony. Think also of the path with fish, the krill swarms, the dolphin groups and of course the ant community that make life parallel to yours in any garden, terrace or park.

What makes all these species symbiotic? Is it just survival? It is possible. In fact, Dr. Dawna Markova, an expert on learning, leadership, and talent processes at MIT, points out some things of great relevance that everyone should read in her book Collaborative Intelligence: Thinking with People Who Think Different .

Learn to think with people who think differently

One of the principles of shared thinking is to know how to be and how to contribute to an environment where other people think differently. It is never easy because according to Dr. Markova, people are used to living in the depths of their own individuality.

One can say that people have learned to be more competitive than cooperative (that means not accepting the opinions of others), which means seeing the other as an enemy to overcome in competition to achieve your goals. How far do you get when you shop individually and competitively? Obviously not that far.

In the same way, things change if you use your talent by using a common mindset because two minds think better than one,  and because when you think differently you can sometimes combine your special perspective with something bigger, more wonderful and inspiring.

Intellectual diversity therefore allows your strengths to grow in a collective setting where all individual strengths work in harmony.

Align your intention with the intention of others

Talents shared for a common goal allow you to go further. Something as inspiring as aligning your goals with the goals of others should be your daily motivation.

However, you should be aware that this is very difficult to achieve because there are still many who want to be “the teacher’s pet”, the smartest, the one who does the most, the one who wants to reach higher than others, and the one who wants to beat others .

Therefore, one of the foundations of common thinking is to encourage you to change. It is time to establish the most appropriate conditions in which this type of competition can develop. Keep reading to find out how.

Keys to common thinking

José Ortega y Gasset said that “ Civilization endures if many only contribute to cooperation. On the other hand, if everyone would much rather enjoy what is harvested, civilization will sink ”. These words are now more relevant than ever because everyone needs a brilliant mind that knows how to work together to meet the challenges we face.

In other words, everyone must contribute their own skill, creativity, experience and special vision to the group to create a much larger unit oriented towards the same goals: progress and common well-being. However, what are the mechanisms for achieving this? Here are the keys.

• Willingness and motivation to share knowledge and resources.
• Create both physical and virtual collaboration spaces.
• Knowing how to build sufficient trust with others  where there is no competition, pride or control.
• The groups must therefore be horizontal and not vertical.
• It is important to understand the dynamics of a group (knowing how to communicate, solve problems, etc.).
• Always be open to new ideas.
• Have the right tools (physical spaces and training, as well as virtual spaces where communication can flourish).

To conclude, attitude is another element that common thinking needs. A committed attitude to change, where individualism and group views weigh much less. A society that knows how to move towards better progress.