Insight

• Does the person make appropriate links between facts, ideas and situations and step back to pull things together into a coherent picture?

 

Definition:  Insight is the capacity to identify links between facts, ideas and situations which have no obvious connection with one another and to assemble them into a useful explanation.  At a highly developed level, insight manifests itself by the creation of new ideas or the development of a long term vision. 

CONTEXT:

This behavior is developed in organizations where:

-      Information is freely available

-      People are  encouraged to express their point of view

-      People are exposed to “the bigger picture” and objectives are clearly linked to the business objectives

On the contrary, it is difficult to exercise it in places where:

-      There is a lot of pressure in favor of short term solutions

-      Conformity is the norm (ex: a firm which has been in a dominant position for a long period of time)

Level	Standard	Developed	Highly developed
Summary	Sees beyond the immediate problem	Clarifies complexity	Gives a personal and original view to solve a problem, explain a given situation or create an opportunity
Behavioral Indicators	Sifts relevant information from irrelevant data Tries to look at things from different perspectives Places issues in a broader perspective Spot patterns, trends or discrepancies in information and apply this insight to provide immediate (business) improvements Uses concepts and personal knowledge as well as analogies with other similar situations to better understand a problem Identifies the root cause of problems	Breaks down complex events or situations into simpler or more comprehensible issues Is able to identify the potential impacts of a problem on all areas of the operation Rapidly recognises symptoms of familiar problems Explores the suitability of a range of potential solutions or alternative options Gives a clear and useful explanation to a number of ideas, questions or facts Mentions various scenarios and explains the consequences of each one	Builds a new representation of the problem or situation Suggests a new model or a new conceptual framework to explain a given issue or situation Thinks laterally (to identify new opportunities) Asks “why not?” to break existing patterns of working Actively searches for solutions to address ongoing problems and issues, and capitalise on opportunities Develops comprehensive balanced solutions to cross-functional problems based on a thorough evaluation of the likely organizational impact

Behaviors which are not representative include*

Seeing the details without the whole Having trouble finding the central issue of a complex problem or situation Treating situations one after the other without establishing any link between them or with other known situations Favoring a simplistic approach of any situation Sticking to all purposes generalities