The Thinking Environment

The Thinking Environment fosters the highest quality of both independent and collaborative thinking and communication within individuals and groups.

Based upon a central observation (and decades of field work) that the quality of everything we do depends on the quality of the thinking we do first, it creates, intentionally, the best possible conditions in which people will think well, for themselves, and as themselves.

In so doing they become more creative, courageous, and collaborative. They become more confident in their own judgement, more likely to initiate and deliver without needing constant guidance, yet genuinely interested in others’ ideas. It is an approach that can be applied in coaching, mentoring, meetings, appraisals, workshops, learning circles and more.

Years of experience and plenty of credible research (for example, the Aristotle Project at Google) tell us that if you want to get the best thinking from everyone and get that vital trust then creating the best conditions for independent thinking will inevitably help it to happen.  Where people think for themselves, and as themselves.

So why is thinking for yourself so important?

• If you don't think for yourself, others just might try and do it for you! There are plenty of people who will happily tell you what to think, who want to direct and control you, and make decisions for you, rather than you making your own decisions based on your values, or what you want, or what you need. 

• If you're not thinking for yourself, might also not be speaking for yourself - so others might step in and speak for you or interpret your thoughts, intentions and actions, and make assumptions about you, which could be wrong.

• If you’re not neither thinking for yourself nor sharing your unique thinking then you’re probably not contributing the value you could, nor feeling fully satisfied or engaged. And when you don’t have a voice, others can assume you don't matter.

• Because, to quote Nancy Kline, “The quality of everything we do depends on the quality of the thinking we do first”.

So what does this mean?

Over many years of observing the best conditions for people to think, Nancy Kline discovered that the quality of our thinking depends on the way we treat each other while we are thinking - which is independent of our age, IQ, experience or prior knowledge.

She also observed that there are ten aspects or “Components” that together form a system for independent thinking which Nancy called a Thinking Environment®.

At its heart is the observation that giving someone sustained, fascinated Attention by listening intently, with a promise of no interruptions - at all - has a generative effect.

What’s the impact of a Thinking Environment?

People regularly tell us that in a Thinking Environment they:

• Experience greater courage in their own thinking, increased creativity, and much more clarity of thought than ever before

• Don’t automatically jump to solutions because their thinking and decisions are more fully considered and wiser

• Feel more valued, equal, engaged and are more likely to speak up and participate in meetings than ever before

• Have a shared sense of responsibility for the success of relationships and meetings

• Welcome differences of opinion being voiced instead of pushing for agreement or avoiding dissent

• Use valuable time more efficiently, productively and enjoyably.

Services

As global faculty at Time to Think, personally trained by Nancy Kline over many years, I offer a range of ways to access the Thinking Environment, from the simplest to becoming a fully qualified Time to Think Facilitator, Consultant and Coach.

• 1:1 Time to Think sessions - 1.5 hours of thinking with me, in a completely new way, with a guarantee from me that I won’t interrrupt you - at all. You can ask for input anytime, but I won’t speak until you invite me. You will be astonished at what you can accomplish for yourself! Click here to read more.

• Time to Think Workshops (1.5 hours to full days): I can design for you an interactive event to introduce the principles, benefits and practices of the Thinking Environment to your team, group or whole organisation. Click here to download a sample of a short session.

• Transforming Meetings (1 day): For boards, groups and teams on using the structure of a Thinking Environment for significantly better meetings with better outcomes. Click here to download an info sheet and session outline.

• Bespoke consultancy and events: Partnering with you to integrate Thinking Environment principles into your own company workshops, leadership programmes, offsites, conferences and more.

• Time to think training programmes: From open programmes (see here for current course calendar) and in house organisational programmes, on demand, from introductory to professional qualified level. The first level programmes include the Thinking Partnership and the Time to Think Foundation, and the next next level qualifying programmes the Time to Think Coach, the Time to Think Facilitator and the Time to Think Consultant.

 “The principles of The Thinking Environment seem so simple, yet they support the complex. The simplicity means that you might not notice them at first, which happened to me. On Linda’s courses, taking time to dive deeper into the ideas and concept helped me to understand how powerful the simple can be beyond the complex - on the surface it is about listening, but so much more lies beneath. The Thinking Environment has been a gift, and one that keeps on giving!” Elizabeth, Executive Coach, qualified Time to Think Facilitator