“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”
This is one of the most repeated phrases I hear in coaching conversations. It often surfaces when people feel stuck – when effort and action are high, yet outcomes remain unchanged. It captures something important: the limits of doing without thinking.
Thinking – real, deliberate thinking – is becoming a lost art. Ironically, we think more than ever, but much of it is circular – overthinking, replaying, ruminating, predicting, worrying. We confuse mental activity with meaningful reflection. In a world that prizes productivity and speed, slowing down to think can seem indulgent or inefficient. Yet it is precisely this kind of deliberate thinking that allows progress to occur.
Thinking is not the same as having thoughts; it is the deliberate act of working with our thoughts – questioning, connecting and expanding them. It is the process of deconstructing and constructing – dismantling assumptions and rebuilding understanding with fresh perspective.
We see the erosion of this skill everywhere. Consider, for instance, a box of LEGO. As a child, I would spend hours with my brother on the floor building anything our imaginations allowed, castles, towers, spaceships, entire worlds – no limits, and if what you built collapsed, you learnt from it and tried a different way, challenging yourself all of the time. Today, LEGO sets come with numbered bags and step by-step instructions designed to produce exactly what’s pictured on the box. The joy of exploration has been replaced by the satisfaction of accuracy, getting it right – and with it the loss of thinking for ourselves.
This shift mirrors what often happens in organisational life. Many professionals are adept at following the plan – executing efficiently and delivering against clear expectations – but less practised at questioning whether the plan itself remains relevant. The result can be a culture that values compliance over curiosity.
When it comes to change, the pattern continues. We leap quickly to action: drafting strategies, forming committees, launching initiatives. But meaningful change rarely begins with action alone. Without pausing to think – to examine what’s really driving the need for change, or what mindsets must evolve, the same issues tend to resurface.
What we think about also directs our focus. If we spend time analysing problems and challenges, we will see more of them. Conversations that centre on what’s wrong often conclude without resolution. Conversely, when thinking shifts towards potential, purpose and what’s working, different solutions emerge.
When it comes to thinking as a skill, coaching is one of the few disciplines that deliberately cultivates this capacity. Whether through one-to-one partnerships, team sessions, or the development of a coaching culture, it creates the rare space where people stop, reflect and challenge the familiar. It’s where individuals and organisations learn to deconstruct old narratives and construct new ways of seeing and leading.
In times of rapid change, the ability to think critically, creatively, and independently is not a luxury – it’s a strategic necessity. Because the quality of our thinking determines the quality of our decisions. And in the end, every transformation – personal or organisational – begins not with what we do, but with how we think.
Check in the next issue of The Hardware Journal as we explore the ‘Lost Art of Listening’.
Claire Kelly is an Executive and Leadership Coach and Trainer, previously spending 10 years as Senior Manager and Marketing Manager with Etex Ireland and UK.
Check out Claire’s “Core Coaching Skills for Managers and Leaders” programme on page 51.
For more on Claire’s coaching and training services visit www.clairekelly.ie or email hello@clairekelly.ie
