Paradoxes are everywhere and natural and part of living a nuanced life. Often we limit ourselves by trying to fix paradoxes with Either/Or thinking. With Both/And Thinking we can move beyond duality into innovative, creative, and integrative solutions by reframing our questions and rethinking outcomes. In this episode, Dr. Diana Hill and Dr. Marianne Lewis explore paradoxes in our relationships, organizations, health behaviors, and careers. Learn how your conflicts and tensions hold opportunities for growth and flexibility. It’s how we approach them that matters.

Listen and Learn:

  1. What is a paradox
  2. The three elements of a paradox
  3. 4 types of paradoxes
  4. 3 key steps in entering a paradox
  5. What is both/and thinking
  6. Paradoxes of acceptance and change in couples therapy
  7. What are creative integration and consistent inconsistency
  8. Why you shouldn’t stop at Pros and Cons Lists
  9. The S curve of achievement
  10. The innovation of Lego and other successful companies that enter the paradox
  11. Vicious downward spirals of either or thinking
  12. How to use a mission statement to create a boundary and purpose
  13. The paradox of simplicity and complexity
  14. Paradoxes in daily life like exercise

About Dr. Marianne Lewis

Marianne W. Lewis is dean of the University of Cincinnati’s Lindner College of Business. Renowned for her research on organizational paradoxes surrounding innovation and leadership, her latest book Both/And Thinking: Embracing Creative Tensions to Solve Your Toughest Problems, co-authored with Wendy Smith, is published by Harvard Business Review. Lewis has been recognized among the world’s most-cited researchers in her field (Web of Science) and received the Decade Award (2021) from the Academy of Management Review. Her work also appears in such media outlets as Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Newsweek, and MarketWatch.

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Thank you for listening to Your Life in Process! Subscribe to the podcast for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts. If you have any questions or feedback you can submit feedback for the show, email podcast at yourlifeinprocess dot com or leave Diana an audio message at (805) 457-2776. Follow Diana at YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Diana’s website.

Thank you to the team Craig, Angela Stubbs, and Ashley Hiatt. Thank you to Benjamin Gould of Bell & Branch for your beautiful music.

Remember when you become psychologically flexible, you become free.

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