Running Head: Communication Paper: Conceptual Blocks

Communication Paper: Conceptual Blocks

Siena Heights University
Lamont Bradley
February 27, 2015

Running Head: Communication Paper: Conceptual Blocks

Introduction
Our job in this life is not to shape ourselves into some ideal we imagine we ought to be, but to
find out who we already are and become it.
Steven Pressfield
In a world with as much fraud as authenticity the struggle to exist in space amongst
others has become the new trend. Likes on photos have become the new form of social validity
and the only way to receive them is to do what the others do. The creative space once cut out of
our imaginations that we call art or unique intelligence has been erased and replaced with similar
thoughts, ideas, and ways to attract the next big thing. No one thinks out of the box, its rare now
to see what other creative thinkers see. On a journey such as the one called life one can only
expect to rise as high as their own ambition. Without ambition people tend to get stuck doing the
same things they usually do, unless they are able to think more outside of the box than in; the
ability to think creatively.
The only way to effectively maneuver life's obstacles one must acknowledge four
conceptual blocks that must be understood and used to measure how and if they relate to
personal situations. Conceptual blocks stop people from effectively solving issues in a creative
manner. Teachers in class show that being stuck on a conceptional block wont allow the user to
utilize creative thinking skills to arrive at desired solution. Unfortunately, many of these
conceptual blocks are unconscious (Carlopio, p. 201), and they only rear their head when
problems arise and problem solving becomes pretty difficult to do.
Constancy (becomingfixatedononewayofseeingaproblem), Commitment to a
certain point of view, Compression of ideas (Looking too narrowly at a problem), and
Complacency (lack of questioning and a bias against thinking) are the 4 major conceptual
blocks that organizations and individuals alike encounter. These blocks narrow the scope of

Running Head: Communication Paper: Conceptual Blocks

problem definition, limit the consideration of alternative solutions, and constrain the selection of
an optimal solution (Carlopio, p 39). To move past these blocks in the path one must experience
different types of communication and its effectiveness. Engage in and promote communicationbased activity. Then devise a plan of action to rectify the situation. The first step is always
understanding what block is stopping the progress train from rolling.
To understand how to solve problems creatively, we must always consider
the barriers that enable the creative thought process. One may ask why do these blocks appear in
organizations and the lives of individuals anyway; the answer however is never simple. It has
been stated that conceptual blocks only appear when there is an unsolvable problem being
confronted. The unfamiliarity of the problem and certain biases surrounding the thought process
of those involved in the problem solving process becomes part of the culprit. Its relatively easy
to learn new habits and harder to unlearn the old ones; because of this, individuals struggle with
changing perspective and giving each problem its own space to be solved. Each block has its
own set of characteristics and being able to recognize similarities between a persons thought
process and these characteristics can better prepare those in need of problem solving, block
busting solutions.
Constancy, the first of four blocks, encompasses characteristics of a person/organization
with a one tracked mind. Thoughts of there only being one way to get things done and one way
to see the issue at hand are what embodies the spirit of constancy. At first thought consistency
seems appealing to the masses in that all thats ever taught is to be as consistent as possible. The
cultural paradigms of the past and future all point to being a consistent and dependable being.
However, consistency is said to sometimes do more to push creativity further away than it does
to bring it near. Examples of this type of block thinking are vertical thinking and using only one

Running Head: Communication Paper: Conceptual Blocks

thinking language. Vertical thinking involves problem solving at a steady pace, with one
solution and no other considerations until a verdict is reached. The problem with this type of
thinking is that it tends to cut off any alternative that may prove beneficial to the problem solving
process all because of the consistency of what most encounter, error. Without a lateral outlook
on change and the process of discovery Columbus may have never discovered land, without this
change in perspective the crew of the mayflower may have packed up and headed back over
seas.
Problem solving must include vertical and lateral thinking, two thinking languages
instead of one, to arrive at a desirable solution. While working as an X-ray tech for a busy level
1 trauma facility, I had the privilege of learning this tale of two languages early on in my career.
Apparent diagnosis of our problem at the hospital was that too many STAT portable chest xrays were being left over from midnight into the day shift. The exams were ordered routinely at
midnight and were to be completed during the course of the shift. However, the level of
importance was never changed making a routine chest evaluation just as important as a central
line placement. If every exam were truly stat as ordered then there would be no issue but that
wasn't the case. Management got involved and because of the level of superiority of the doctors
something had to be done immediately.
The ways of old would have us continuing on the same path of missed opportunities to
save a life. We would continue to allow physicians to toss their weight around to fulfill their
routine duties at the expense of destruction of a potentially good system. The way they saw it
was to continue to put stat exams in and it will get done quicker, but by keeping this vertical
point of view it narrowed the view of a bigger problem. After several meetings and of course
heartfelt suggestions to how we could make this easier on those of us actually performing the

Running Head: Communication Paper: Conceptual Blocks

exams, an agreement was arranged to only place stat importance on potential life debilitating
exams. As you would imagine this didn't hold, as everyone in the world knows how arrogant and
self centered some doctors can be. Complaints of rounds being missed due to inadequate
diagnostic imaging and other related excuses surfaced and the way of the old won out; part
reason for my wanting to make a change and be a leader that thinks outside of the box.
Management knew no other way and felt like in order to make it go away we must all see it from
the eyes of those most important; the doctors.
The commitment to ensuring that their part of the job was done with no regard to the task
of others or the patients before them, ultimately drove me away from the hospital and emergency
medicine scene. Commitment, in this sense, can be a scary thing. Falling under the conceptual
block category it houses characteristics of thinkers that commit to one point of view and follow
through on it in its entirety. Even though commitment can sometimes lead to unfounded
decisions its most often seen as an admirable quality to have. I too think of myself as a
committed individual, as to being able to hold my weight when its due. However, I am not a
person that will jeopardize the state of being for others based on my own beliefs or committal
towards a common goal. The residents were committed to satisfying their attending physicians
by any means necessary. The commitment to the attending physician seemed to outweigh the
commitment we all have or had in this case for our patients. There is a fine line between due
diligence and negligence. If fear of job security weren't so prevalent I do believe that the
jocking for position wouldn't be allowed to alter the care of any patient in any healthcare
facility.
Stereotyping based on lessons of the past and ignoring commonalities are two examples
of commitment that produce similar results. Ignoring commonalities is said to be one of the

Running Head: Communication Paper: Conceptual Blocks

most identifiable conceptual blocks that serve as a barrier to creativity. It involves a person
becoming so committed to a certain point of view that they become unable to make rational
connections, pinpoint themes, or become aware of commonalities in the area of interest. All of
which seem to be stemming from the hospital cess pool of common logic thoughts. This
narrowing of thoughts go hand in hand with another conceptual block entitled compression of
ideas. This type of thought blocking includes the same narrow viewing of a problem that
eventually leads to loss of important information that wouldn't go unnoticed with a wider
perspective lens.
Compression of ideas involves a lot of assumption making that inevitably slows down
and sometimes bring problem solving to a halt. When people place boundaries that may not exist
on problems, they inhibit themselves from even getting started with finding a solution. Ive found
myself guilty of such acts on numerous occasions in my life especially in my career
campaigning. I attribute this only to the experiences in my life that have become part of the
memory I have stored to solve similar situations. An example of this type of forced artificial
boundary would be the thousands of times Ive wanted to ask a question regarding career
advancement and description but felt it may be inappropriate because of my position to the
intended target or the level of respect that I thought I had to carry to even be able to question
authority. All boundaries that I later found out that didn't exist but because I was ignorant to the
fact that good inquiry is healthy, I went along for so long without asking the questions that could
have ultimately made things a lot clearer for me on my path to success. By allowing myself to
hide behind this thinking block I began to screen out much needed information. This is not a
characteristic of driven, motivated, leaders so I had to realize what was blocking me and move
away from it using different approaches at busting up my conceptual blocks.

Running Head: Communication Paper: Conceptual Blocks

My own fear and insecurities lead me down a path of complacency. I began to be ok with
my position and never really questioned my predicament. It wasn't because I didn't want to thrive
in my career, but because I failed to evoke the unbiased thinking necessary to gain the
knowledge I needed to move on. This block, the complacency block, taught me the importance
of questioning things to redefine a problem. If something is unclear or the position you are in is
vaguely depreciated then one must find the courage and dignity to separated themselves from
such naive ways of thinking. Expressing your thoughts and your ideas has to be welcomed and
encouraged in the organization you are in if this block is to be conquered. Companies and
leaders alike must continue to promote communication - based activity in efforts to encourage
individuals to become more proactive in their search for self knowledge and creative problem
solving skills.
The only way to help members of an organization become aware of the conceptual blocks
that occur throughout their tenor in any organization is by challenging them to solve issues that
demand them to overcome these thinking blocks. Setting up an action plan chocked full of
different ways of communicating such as advocacy, inquiry, and other forms that promote the
reasoning and effective listening aspects of communication. An open door policy must be
established as part of the action plan as well, mainly because the masses cant trust whom they
cant reach. High-inquiry and high advocacy was mentioned in a post from a discussion week in
class, and is said to be a very effective approach to promoting open communication within an
organization. This would be great to add to the action plan because when everyone can be
comfortable with each other, this type of approach allows all parties in on what each other is
thinking and provides the space for differing opinions and views. (Senge, Ross, Smith,
Roberts, Kleiner 1994)

Running Head: Communication Paper: Conceptual Blocks

This type of dialogue also unveils different ways for all involved parties to express what
they are thinking and better inquire to understand others thinking as well (Senge p 40).
Although believers of the top to bottom style of leadership may think this is the wrong way to
effectively operate, I do believe that a conscious effort to include ancillary and other subordinate
team members would benefit from them as well. A top down leadership style has little room for
error and a lot of accountability at the top. This action plan, along with effective communication
activities that engage members of the organization in developing problem solving skills will
ultimately be proven to be the best solution. Top down lead organizations suffer from many of
the conceptual blocks discussed in this paper. Giving a person a chance to see that there is more
than one way to solve a problem via strategically planned seminars, groupthink scenarios, etc..
will drastically change the organizational culture of any establishment. A conscious effort to
improve from within ultimately will win over any team of competent, hard working, individuals.
Research has shown that individuals who have developed creative problem-solving
skills are far more effective with complex problems that require a search for alternative solutions
than others who are conceptually blocked. (Carlopio, p 202). With all of the support given to
back the many different ways to attack a problem, I feel its sufficient to say that not all
conceptual blocks offer bad results but not all problems are created equal so we must work better
and harder at being open to change and new ideas. Not all problems can be solved with creative
problem solving and realizing this is what makes the exploration of new techniques that more
intriguing. In a world of so many unknowns I will never be closed minded. I will forever yearn to
improve and motivate others to think creatively; sometimes outside of the box.

Running Head: Communication Paper: Conceptual Blocks

Reference
Carlopio, J., Andrewartha, G., Whetten, D., Cameron, K. Developing Management Skills 5th
edition. 2012. Pearson. Frenches Forest. p 201-202.

Pressfield, S. The War of Art: Break through the blocks and win your inner creative battles. 2003.
Warner Bros. New York. p 19.

Running Head: Communication Paper: Conceptual Blocks

10

Senge, P., Ross, R., Smith, B., Roberts, C., Kleiner, A. The fifth discipline fieldlbook. 1994.
Doubleday. New York. p 39-40.