Rationality has the wrong image

In many organisations, we are quick to call something rational as soon as it looks orderly. As soon as it fits within the familiar structure. As soon as it can be explained well in a meeting. As soon as it provokes little resistance. But that does not always say much about quality. Often, it mainly says something else: this is recognisable, safe and easy to defend. Why staying within the lines feels so logical Staying within the lines often feels rational because it is familiar. People know it. It creates little friction. No one has to ask themselves why you are suddenly choosing a different route. And that is precisely where the problem lies. Because what feels familiar is not automatically wise. In many leadership teams, predictability can effortlessly disguise itself as professionalism. Conversations sound serious, decisions look careful, and yet little shifts.

The same language. The same setting. The same reflexes. People talk about change, but the conversation itself remains trapped in old patterns. The difference between structure and habit True rationality requires awareness. The ability to see when a form is still helpful, and when that form has only remained because no one has questioned it again. Perhaps this also resonates with me because I did not get it from a stranger. My father, Ronald Gerritse, jumped over the gates. Not out of mischief, but because he had little regard for rules that added nothing. That image has always stayed with me. Most people see a gate and immediately adapt. This is how it works here, so this is how we do it. My father looked at it differently. He sensed more quickly when a rule no longer brought order, but only protected habit. For me, there is something essential in that. Some people are good at moving within a system. Other people keep sensing whether that system still serves a purpose. Smart people get stuck here too Many leaders do not get stuck because of a lack of intelligence. They get stuck because for years they have functioned within a framework that is no longer truly questioned. The way of talking. The way of deciding. The need for consensus. The unwritten rules about what sounds professional. Everything feels logical, while it is often mainly familiar. And that very familiarity surprisingly often blocks exactly what organisations say they are looking for: renewal, honesty and movement. Out of the box is mature thinking Out-of-the-box thinking is often dismissed as creative, exciting or unconventional. As if it is something for people who simply like to do things differently. But in reality, it is often a mature way of looking. You acknowledge that context drives behaviour. That every space rewards something. That every system also creates blind spots. Once you see that, it becomes logical to change context if you want to have different conversations.

Why context makes so much visible That is also why we work the way we do. A different environment is not scenery. It is a way of making visible what remains hidden in the standard setting. Take a team out of the familiar space and you often see more quickly what is really going on. Who talks tension away. Who needs control. Who is mainly strong as long as the structure remains intact. Who stays present when things become less predictable. Those are not soft observations. Those are strategic observations. Because the quality of an organisation is closely linked to the quality of conversations at the top. And those conversations are determined by what a team can tolerate, name and truly face. The real question Good leadership, for me, begins with awareness. With people who can separate form and function. With people who sense when a system was once useful, but now mainly offers comfort. With people who dare to look before moving on again. So the question is not only whether you dare to think outside the lines. The more important question is: do you still see when the lines have lost their purpose? Because from that moment on, following is mainly a habit. And habit is not yet proof of sense.

Do you notice that your leadership team is stuck in patterns that seem logical but no longer deliver much? At Nature’s Playground, we design leadership interventions that make visible what often remains hidden in the usual setting. So that teams not only talk differently about change, but can truly carry it. Curious what that could mean for your team?