Narrating some of my personal experiences:
When I used to study and opt for a specialization, if I do not foresaw my future, I would not opt for it. During MBA, when I tried to visualize me in a Finance role, I could not see it. However, when I visualized Human Resources, Marketing & Entrepreneurship, I could see myself clearly taking up that route.
Whenever I could foresee myself in a particular role and company, I always went for it. The minute I could no longer see myself within a role / organization, I used to look out for more options.
On another occasion, during recruiting people, if I am able to foresee the person within the organizational structure, I used to hire that person.
Over a period of time, when I looked back as how my profiles in Corporate was shaping up, I realized that sub-consciously, my career is being mapped on the lines of Coaching & Training.
In case you are wondering what just happened, allow me to explain. During my MBA days, I had chosen a thesis topic on "Pitfalls of Coaching & Mentoring". From the list of 50-odd topics, this was the topic that "pulled" me. However, I had realized very early that this career route would take me many years to establish and I had lost conscious interest in it. But my sub-conscious did not. Without consciously aware of how things were moving, I had started making a career transition in Coaching & Training. All my experiences, exposures, and ventures kept me on this route, which I had dismissed years past.
Now I realize that this is the POWER of MENTAL MAPPING.
Mental mapping is our brain's positioning system. It is how our brain navigates our world mentally. It is important to note that our brain uses this information in a cognitive manner from our experiences, temperament, education and physiology. The brain then landscapes this information and forms its own routes towards achieving our goals.
When I learned Neuro-Linguistic programming, I came to more about this phenomenon. What so ever was happening unconsciously before, I now had the control to do this more frequently and consciously.
With time and more practice, I started having more control over my thoughts and internal dialogues. My decision making powers improved drastically and I became more efficient in getting results.
When I reflect back to my MBA days and working as an employee, I realize that on so many occasions I had taken decisions based on cognitive mental mapping, all of those borne more precise and accurate results. We usually term these things as being "intuitive" and "lucky". However, psychology terms this as cognitive positioning system a.k.a mental mapping. As per psychology, our brain prefers clarity to ambiguity. Our brain seeks to have closure. Closure are usually of two types:
a) Urgency based
Urgency based closures refer to closures attaining now. This inspires us seeking early information.
b) Permanence based
Permanence based closures are about "freezing" or maintaining closure for as long as possible. That is, one I have taken a decision, I stick to it and do not second guess.
These are further divided into sub-scales:
- Preference for structure
- Preference for predictability
- Discomfort for ambiguity
- Decisiveness
- Being close minded
A higher need of closure in an event results in quick decisions, before taking full consideration. This anchors in taking early decisions and then we look for things that support this position. This creates a bias in our confirmation judgement. Here, the thinking tends to be more superficial. This produces fewer options for any given scenarios, especially during a more complex situation. This type of closure is usually found in people who are the Leaders or Teachers or anyone who lays down "clear rules to follow".
In contrast, there exists a lower need of closure which is generally found in people who enjoy complex and are "Thinkers". These refer to people who want all information at hand and tend to re-examine initial notions in light of new information. As these people are more on theoretical information seekers, their decision making abilities are much longer or some times, a decision just never happens.
Mental mapping is tool that can be used to overcome challenges faced by both sects. This art can be learned and mastered regardless of the profession or management strata you are in. It is useful for students to make a decision in their lives or for anyone who wants help in taking a stand or be in more control of their lives.
As an entrepreneur now and a top level executive, I have found mental mapping one of the predominant tools to help with my decisions and relationships with other people. It helped me by providing more clarity in my thought process and charter my next move towards progress.
If I can learn it, you can learn it too!
Article contributed by Entrenador Shruti, a Neuro-Leadership & Business Coach
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