Tensions at work and in life are not problems to eliminate but paradoxes to navigate. In this video, you will learn how to shift from either or choices to both and thinking so you can innovate, lead change and handle complexity with more clarity and confidence.

Exploring everyday tensions
The video introduces tensions as a natural part of strategy, leadership and everyday life. Wendy Smith outlines tensions of time, obligation, coordination and identity, showing how we juggle today and tomorrow, profit and purpose, collaboration and competition, the individual and the collective across our work and personal lives.

From either or traps to both and
She explains how either or thinking leads to three vicious cycles. We double down on one choice and miss alternatives, then overcorrect to the opposite, or end up in polarized trench warfare with others. Viewers are invited to see these patterns in their own organisations and relationships.

Practising both and thinking
Finally, the video reframes dilemmas as paradoxes and offers four tool sets for both and thinking. You will hear about shifting assumptions, creating helpful boundaries, building emotional comfort with discomfort and using dynamic practices, including asking both and questions, to handle complexity with more creativity and resilience.