Dogmatic versus Expansive Thinking

Dogmatism is defined as “inclined to lay down principles as incontrovertibly true, without consideration of evidence or the opinions of others.”

We might consider:

Where is dogmatism taking over our societal structures or narratives?
Where am I falling into dogmatic thinking, in my leadership or my life?

We can peer into various corners of our society to uncover examples of dogmatism.

In politics: where we follow the directives of a particular person or party as absolute truth.
In culture: where a single book by a single author becomes the holy text on a certain topic, where anyone who asks questions or offers alternative perspectives is said to be the very problem outlined within.
In society: where a particular path forward is packaged as the absolute truth, without room for conversation, questions, or respectful discourse.

We can practice spotting dogmatic thinking by looking for the following clues:

Narratives that are based on absolute belief, rather than facts, data, or new information
Distancing ourselves or perhaps even grow to despise members of “other groups” whose thinking does not align with ours
Statements such as “this is just how it is” or “this is what we must do”
Questions about the idea or the narrative are met with defensiveness, broad or “canned” answers, and even condescension
In extreme cases, those who don’t follow along with a particular flavor of dogmatism are shamed, bullied, canceled, attacked, or even disowned by their friends and family

As leaders, our opportunity is to create something different. We can do this by catching ourselves in moments of dogmatic thinking and, instead, stepping into expansive thinking - which allows us to see multiple perspectives; points of view; and possible paths forward. We can practice this with our team members, our colleagues, our friends, and our family members.

Expansive thinking requires us to be brave, as it might lead us to realize we’ve been wrong.

It opens us up to allowing our mind to be changed.

It allows us to see the world — and each other — in a bigger way.

What do you think?

Are you witnessing any instances of dogmatic thinking in your sphere?

Or, perhaps any inspiring examples of expansive thinking?

Thank you for reading, and for leading.