A Call To Leadership

EP238: Transformational Leadership - Intellectual Stimulation

• Dr. Nate Salah

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Tired of the same old leadership strategies? Join us as we explore the transformative power of intellectual stimulation in the third installment of our Transformational Leadership Series. Inspired by the iconic Vietnam Veterans Memorial, we’ll reveal how challenging the status quo and embracing unconventional ideas can lead to groundbreaking innovation and lasting impact. Don't miss this episode if you're ready to break free from the ordinary and unlock your full potential.


Key Takeaways To Listen For

  • How embracing unconventional ideas can lead to groundbreaking success and lasting impact
  • Secrets to igniting critical thinking and creativity that fuel your team’s innovation
  • Ways embracing experimentation and turning mistakes into growth opportunities can revolutionize your leadership
  • Why intellectual stimulation is the key to keeping your business, team, or family ahead in a world of constant change
  • The transformative power of shifting from control to collaboration in boosting your leadership impact



Resources Mentioned In This Episode



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[00:00:00] Dr. Nate Salah
In 1982 a competition was announced to design a monument that would honor the soldiers who served and died in the Vietnam War. Oh, the challenge was to create something that would not only commemorate the fallen but also heal a nation still so deeply divided over that conflict. And so entries came in from all over the world, and each offered a different vision of what the monument should represent. And among them was a design by a young architect and a student named Maya Lin, and this concept would later become the iconic Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC. Now Maya Lin's design was revolutionary in its simplicity. Rather than having this traditional heroic statue, these grandiose structures, she proposed a very basic V-shaped black granite wall sunk into the ground and inscribed with the names of over 58,000 Americans who had died or are missing in action.

[00:01:10]
The design was reflective, it was personal, and it challenged the conventional ideas of what a war memorial should be, as you would expect when this design was selected, it was met with lots of controversy. Critics argued it was too unconventional, too somber, even unpatriotic. But the project leaders, including influential veterans and political figures, they saw something very different. They recognized that the design brought something to the table, a design that would invite reflection, provoke thought, it would stimulate deep emotional responses. So instead of dismissing this vision of the young architect, they embraced it. They understood that it was precisely this innovative approach that could bridge the divide and foster healing. It was completed in 1982 and is now known as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. 

[00:02:10]
It's now one of the most visited and revered monuments in the United States. It stands as a testament to the power of something we're going to be talking about on this episode in part three of our journey through transformational leadership, this idea of intellectual stimulation in leadership, it's the ability to embrace bold, unconventional ideas that challenge the status quo would inspire us to have new ways of thinking. And so this story of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial exemplifies how we can create intellectual stimulation to drive innovation to create lasting impact. And so we're gonna embrace this if you're interested in creating stimulating intellectual behavior in your followers to transform. You're in the right place. Now, we talked about two different types of transformational leadership, two other pillars of transformational leadership in the last two episodes. 

[00:03:14]
And if you haven't listened to those or watched those, I would encourage you to do so, because at first we talked about idealized influence, and that's where we focus on your beliefs, your ideals as a leader that attract others. And then we talked through the next stage of creating transformation is this idea of motivation and having inspiration. And so that's through how we communicate and motivate a vision for a better future state, and this third installment is where we think about and we create and encourage thinking that is curious, that questions assumptions, that questions the status quo, that embraces New perspectives so we can inspire our teams to achieve, again, extraordinary results. In this episode, we're going to explore this idea of intellectual stimulation, how we stimulate the mind to achieve greatness in our leadership journey. 

[00:04:18]
So what we need to do is first think about like, Okay, what is intellectual stimulation? Think about your journey, your journey as an individual. You know, when have you been intellectually stimulated? So when is your critical thinking and in your analysis woken up to challenge your ability to think independently and creatively? Interestingly, those are the mechanisms that tend to truly get the brain going so critical thinking analysis, when you're getting in this mode, anytime that your brain starts to turn off or get quiet or get sleepy, you're not critically thinking. You're not going through analysis. Think about, like, the last time that you almost got into a fender bender, and you had to, like, think very critically and analyze in the moment, so that. You could swerve, or you could break, or you could do something to keep you from possibly a tragic situation. Were you like falling asleep in that moment? Oh, maybe you were falling asleep before that moment. 

[00:05:11]
But in the moment where you're trying to avoid the accident, you're intellectually stimulated. You're thinking very high level right now, how do I use my brain to get out of the situation. Critical thinking, analysis, it fires the brain up. And the opposite is true. Anytime Have you ever been to a seminar or a workshop? Maybe, you know, for those of us in the tax world, the IRS seminar, oh so intellectually stimulating. Sometimes it is actually, but sometimes, and if you've been to any of them at some kind of a workshop or even listening to a speech, and it's just doesn't seem intellectually stimulated, not relevant. What happens? You might start to doze off, you might start to feel sleepy, or why? Because the brain is an efficient tool. It's an efficient organ, and when it's not being used, it's not critically thinking, it's not analyzing, it's not being intellectually stimulated. 

[00:06:04]
Well, it's gonna lose interest. And so the same thing happens in the university. When I taught at the University at night, I taught a class adult accelerated education. I taught in the evenings, from six o'clock to 10 o'clock at night, people were already tired from working. They were all day. They were just ready to shut down. And we had to find ways to stimulate them intellectually, to get their critical thinking analysis going, so that they could really continue to be engaged. And so when you're thinking about your journey as a leader, number one, are you intellectually stimulated? And are you intellectually stimulating those who you are called to lead, whether they're in business, whether they're in family, whether they're in your community. And so this idea of intellectual stimulation, if you're a leader who desires to be more transformational and not just transactional, you have to encourage your followers to question assumptions. 

[00:07:01]
You have to encourage your followers to seek out new perspectives, to approach problems from different angles, and so you're giving them permission to do that. You're giving them authority, you're giving them autonomy, you're delegating. And so it's not about providing all the answers, because as leaders, that's not our role. Our role isn't to provide all the answers. Our role is to foster an environment. We're questioning, we're curiosity, we're learning, are valued and promoted so that people can find the answers and bring them to you. I want to bring people on, whether it's in a business environment or any other around me who can help me solve problems I didn't know I had that takes intellectual stimulation to do that. So when we create a culture, again, whether it's a business or a family, where experimentation is encouraged. Now, of course, you want to experiment in a way that does not lead to reducing the quality of the experience. 

[00:07:57]
So sometimes experimentation is done in a lab, if you will. It's done on work that's not ready for prime time. And I know companies like Pixar did this very much, and the initial design of their story, they would do a lot of experimentation until they were able to master that. We call that research and development. That's before it gets to the customer. Or if you have a test or a pilot system that you're researching and developing experimenting with certain clients or customers, you let them know that, hey, look, we are in a situation to where we are experimenting, and when we make a mistake, it's going to be viewed as learning opportunity, because it's not detrimental to the entire experience of whatever it Is that we're promising. So then what happens? Innovation becomes like a natural part of the organizational process. So we recently launched a new program, a new product, and we had a lot of experimentation up until the launch. 

[00:08:53]
Then we encourage people to participate in this experimentation so that we could work out the kinks in the process. And so what we do is we're creating a lot of intellectually stimulating work. People are like, Okay, this didn't work, that worked. This didn't work, that work. Okay, great, let's add it to the playbook. And so we as leaders have to communicate that this is a process of experimenting, and it's okay to make a mistake, even in the aspect of the journey after it moves to prime time, or if it moves to development or beyond development into application, we must still this idea of better problem solving even after it gets to prime time. So if you've got a situation where you've got a new product or a new service that's developed, Hey, how can we make sure that we are continually improving on this idea. Again, back to intellectual stimulation. So you know what we're doing is we're getting people to employ their cognitive development. 

[00:09:53]
We want to challenge the existing structures. We want to promote growth and learning. And if growth and learning friend isn't. A part of your leadership journey, if it's not a part of how you've created your organization, whether it's business or family or community, we need to, like hit a hard stop and make sure that we are encouraging education, because when we don't have education, we have stagnation, and stagnation leads to destruction. Stagnation leads to misery. Stagnation leads to us getting left behind and no longer being relevant. So we must encourage followers and give them a pathway and give them the resources to move beyond their current way and thinking of new and exploring new ideas and perspectives has to happen. Has to happen. We have to continue to innovate, and we can't do it on our own, no matter what it is any business. 

[00:10:51]
Our business has been in the advisory in the tax world, and we do a lot of leadership development for our business owners and things like that. We're always thinking about creative problem-solving. We want divergent thinking, anything that creates multiple solutions to a problem so that we can create true innovation. We have to promote this, because what's going to happen is we have a wider range of possibilities. And so if you think about that, we must have also self-efficacy. We must have people and teach them that you can be a difference maker. And so I'll give you an example. In our organizations, we've always said, Hey, give us ideas. No, there's no bad ideas, until we've implemented those ideas, and if they don't work, then we just move on. But encourage people to share, especially on the front line. Say you have a bookkeeper and you've got, hey, they're managing the books for your company. And you say, hey, look, I want you to tell me if we're not doing everything the way that is the most efficient. Help me to do that. 

[00:11:54]
Don't expect people to do that, because they may just do things the same way, until you tell them and give them permission. Hey, I want you to help me and the company to find new ways and better ways. You say, pushback is, people say, Oh no, I don't want to Always Be Changing. I don't want to always be trying new things. I'm not saying that, like every day is change, because most change is incremental, but I'm saying is this is that we have to innovate, we have to adapt, because that's the difference between success and failure, no matter what it is, and so we have to stay ahead, and that's part of being and having vision. We have to rethink existing processes, because doing it the same way or the old way forever isn't necessarily going to yield the best possible results, because the world is changing. Life is changing. Same thing with families. You know, the way we raised kids back in the 80s and the 90s is different than today. 

[00:12:53]
It just is. We can lament and say, Oh, I wish kids were as respectful as I was to my family, my parents. And you know nowadays, you know they're not respectful, and they don't get off the sofa and all this and that. You know what? Our generation was different, and the generation before that, they could have said things about us. It isn't necessarily that the generations are getting worse. Now, there's an argument for that, and some people might make that argument. It's changing, and we've got to learn to work and adapt in the new environment. So we've got to have that mindset. Okay, let's get intellectually stimulated. Let's challenge ourselves and our teams to come up with new ideas for the changing context, for the changing situation. And so say it's an organization. How about new products, new processes, new strategies for marketing? Brainstorming sessions. I love brainstorming sessions, whether it's an annual I love having an annual brainstorming where we have the teams come together or every quarter, or every however you do it, every idea is considered, no matter how unconventional it may seem, and inspire that this may be in your business, in your family. 

[00:14:02]
You say, hey, let's have a brainstorming session on next year's vacations, or the next year of giving. Say, Well, we want to be more of a giving family. We want to have more generosity. Let's have a brainstorming session. And the holidays might be coming soon. You say, you know, what a great time to be generous during the holidays. Let's get together as a family, no matter how unconventional the idea, let's throw it on a giant post-it board, and let's throw all the ideas for generosity on there. And then let's see what we can agree on that has a way to give us meaning and value and significance that's intellectually stimulating for your family, you're gonna get lots of engagement, because everyone is a part of the process, no matter what it is. So by engaging at the same thing with like, vacation, hey, let's talk about this year's vacations. Here's our total budget for vacations, and here's where we've been. Where else would we like to. Go dinners. Let's talk about all kinds of dinners we could eat together. Who wants to cook on Thursday? You know, Taco Tuesday?

[00:15:06]
Whatever it is, get engagement on the activities that you're wanting to do as a family. What's working, what's not. You know, these suggestions, perhaps, you know, some people might dismiss them, but support them and look through viability of different ideas, some might not make it through the past the test of viability, but they're valuable learning experiences that ultimately lead to some kind of new way and some kind of new breakthrough on the experience that we're creating, because that's what leadership is. So much of leadership is designing experiences. Because if we still utilize the idea that leadership is the discovery of influence toward an achievement of shared purpose, it's all related to experience. So through stimulating the mind, we create a culture, again, whether it's a business, a family or in community where innovation is thriving. 

[00:16:05]
So our followers feel empowered. They feel empowered to take kind of risk that propose new ideas. And also it helps us as leaders to communicate and recognize the value and a contribution of creative thinking and continuous improvement in each individual contributor. So what happens is with the result, whether it's in a business that we stay relevant in a changing market, if it's in a family, that we stay connected in ways that help us to truly embrace one another, in either context, people feel more engaged, they're more motivated, and we're able to begin this transformational process of how they're growing so critical thinking, lifelong learning. Those are all aspect this goal. And so you we have to be passionate about that. We have to create a place for that, and you can have an Innovation Day once a week or once a month, and where people step out of their comfort zones and apply their knowledge from different areas, even collaborate with other people peers to create these innovative solutions. 

[00:17:17]
I'm telling you that the vibrance friend that happens where this is is met. It's transformational. It's just that. So you will engage people, you will end their curiosity will increase, of course, as curiosity increases, so does the potential for progress. And here's the other thing, it prepares us. It prepares us and our those who were called to walk alongside of to really prepare for challenges in the future. I love intellectual stimulation. I love to be intellectually stimulated, whether it's in an academic environment, whether it's simply solving problems and doing something new. That is exciting, because it's progress. And the thing about progress is it keeps us from burning out. If we are losing intellectual stimulation, we have more of an opportunity to burn out. We don't want that. We want people to feel as though they're part of the significance and the value that creates more meaning because they're involved. 

[00:18:17]
And so any type of environment that gives a new way of thinking. Don't be scared of challenging yourself and others to rethink your approaches, no matter what it is, if it's a product or service, rethink the approach to product development, engagement with our customers, our organizational structure. Look question the existing assumptions even about the market exploring me AI, a lot of people have negative talks about it, but here you know what AI could be integrated into different aspects of the business so that you can utilize that resource to create more intellectual stimulation and reach all levels of your leadership and your influence, really. So ask open ended questions, encourage some difference and diverse perspectives, and you're going to find that you will be more evolved as a leader and intellectually stimulating your followers so that they can really become more transformed and more engaged in whatever it is. And here's the other thing, as we, as individuals, as organizations, that society continues to evolve in a way that gives us greater significance. 

[00:19:34]
We're going to find that this idea of intellectual stimulation is so incredibly valuable, we're moving away from simply authority and control. We're moving away from leaders just making decisions and followers executing decisions. We're not doing that so much anymore. We're becoming more complex. We're becoming more interdependent. And so we have to find new ways, and it's less about giving orders and more about fostering this idea of. Collaboration, of innovation, and we're shifting away from command. We're shifting away from control. We're moving toward collaboration. We're moving toward participation. Don't ever discount the value of stimulating the mind and engaging the mind. The best ideas often come from the collective individuals in the team, especially if you've got like frontline people who are interacting directly with the end user, their perspectives are so important and their ideas are critical, we have to invite those without any type of negativity and tell them that, hey, look, you know what? It's safe space.

[00:20:37]
And no matter what the industry is, you will find that it's not only important, but it's truly necessary, so that your business, your family, your influence, doesn't die. It's such a powerful place to be. Think about companies that have gone away. Think about companies who were or the pinnacle at the time, Xerox or Kodak. I mean, not that Woolworths was, but these were companies that were well known, and they unfortunately got left behind because they were not able to adapt and overcome, because they did not have the intellectual stimulation to question enough of the status quo as leaders to guide and support that innovation necessary to stay relevant. And so without that, they died. Companies die. In fact, you may say, well, Walmart's never gonna die. Well, it's quite possible that that company as well Amazon, eBay, right? You say, Wow, what those names are so well known. So are the others. 

[00:21:40]
This is a cornerstone, because we have to be transformed. We have to be transformed as leaders. We have to be transformed as organizations. We have to stay relevant, and it plays such a crucial role in driving that innovation. Because what is innovation? Innovation are ideas, and ideas are necessary. New ideas, change is necessary. If we don't need change, we don't need leaders. Let me repeat that. If we don't need change, we don't need leaders. Of course, we need change, because change is continuous learning. When I learn something, I change. That's not a bad thing. I don't change a lot of things in my core, my beliefs, but I change some of my patterns and my behaviors. I challenge the current status quo, whether it's in a design of a monument like the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, or the operation of a small business, or the way we approach holidays and giving in a family. This intellectual stimulation is such a powerful tool for leaders who want to inspire their followers to achieve extraordinary results. It's a complex world. 

[00:22:43]
It's a dynamic world, and I encourage you to embrace this aspect of transformational leadership, to be better equipped to lead those who you are called to steward through change, through innovation and to truly build a legacy of success. Well, my friend, thank you for joining me on this episode of A Call to Leadership. If you've been listening, you've probably heard me talk about our accounting and advisory business, and this show was actually born out of that business, those relationships, I found that entrepreneurs and professionals were missing aspects of their leadership that fed into their bottom line and help their businesses be successful. So I'm so thankful that I've had all those years in that area to feed into this. And the truth is that so many people still need Accounting and Advisory help, and they don't know where to go if you're in that place where you feel, oh my goodness, my tax person, or my accountant. 

[00:23:43]
I can't find them, or maybe the service wasn't up to my expectations. Did not despair. I'll leave how you can find us in the show notes, and one of my team members can do some discovery and help you along your journey. You're not alone, my friend, you always have help. I'm Dr. Nate Salah. Can't wait to see you on the next show of A Call to Leadership.

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