Are You Trying to Be Right or Are You Trying to Get It Right? Part One

This is a three-part series on judgment, leadership and the danger of being too certain.

Part One – The Mindset

We are often more interested in being right than in getting it right.

I’ve been listening to Steven Pinker’s Think with Pinker, and one idea has stayed with me that made me think about how often this pressure shows up in leadership, and, if I’m honest, in my own thinking.

As leaders, we have to make decisions with incomplete information, under pressure and with significant consequences. We rely on experience, intuition and pattern recognition. All are valuable. But they can also make us remarkably good at defending a view we have already formed.

As Pinker puts it, “Being right is about defending a position. And getting it right is about testing, challenging it.”

When we want to be right, we look for evidence that confirms our view. We explain away contradictory information. We may even surround ourselves with people who reinforce our thinking.

When we want to get it right, something different happens. We become curious. We ask: What might I be missing? What evidence would challenge my view? What would make me change my mind?

Adam Grant explores a similar idea in Think Again: good judgment requires the willingness to rethink what we believe. The distinction may sound subtle. But in leadership, it can fundamentally change the quality of a decision.

The goal isn’t to have the right answer.
It’s to create the conditions to discover the right answer.