Integrative thinking: A practical guide for leaders

What do you do when you feel forced to choose between two mutually exclusive and sub-optimal options? How do you react when dealing with a colleague whose understanding of the world seems to be fundamentally at odds with your own? How can you resolve the kinds of problems that seem to change as you work through them? And how can you truly leverage the diverse perspectives of your team to generate better answers than you can alone? Integrative thinking can help.

Integrative thinking is the ability to creatively overcome trade-offs to build new, better choices. Instead of starting with a blank piece of paper, we use the tension of opposing models as the raw materials to help spur creative alternatives. This course will introduce you to the theory and the practice of integrative thinking, helping you create great choices of your own.

   425 students completed this course

   93% recommend it to other students

   Teacher: Jennifer Riel


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93% of students recommend

  “This is a fresh and fascinating look on the everlasting issue of understanding the real problem and validating its possible solutions to find the best option before rushing into implementation.”

  “Really well put together. Simple yet powerful.”

  “Clear explanation and great examples; good idea to build in some interactivity with our own problem. I felt I understood the process and could start implementing it with some success, understanding I’d improve with practice.”


Course plan

Lesson 1. Introduction to Integrative thinking
Lesson 2. Metacognition: Part 1
Lesson 3. Metacognition: Part 2
Lesson 4. Empathy
Lesson 5. Creativity
Lesson 6. Articulating Opposing Models
Lesson 7. Examining Opposing Models
Lesson 8. Exploring Possibilities
Lesson 9. Testing Prototypes
Lesson 10. Bringing Theory into Practice
+ Quiz










  • Format
    One lesson delivered via email daily
  • Duration
    10 days
  • Time
    5 minutes reading a day

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