Resources

Explore curated guides, articles, and videos designed to support teaching, research, and learning in paradox theory—find what you need, whether you're an educator, researcher, or lifelong learner

Teach

Materials intended to help you learn or teach others — useful for classroom instruction or educational settings.

Research

Materials designed to support scholarly study or in-depth exploration of topics like paradox theory.

Coaching

Materials designed to help individuals or teams apply concepts in practice—ideal for personal development, leadership, or coaching conversations.

Wendy K. Smith screenshot of LinkedIn Learning course
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LinkedIn Learning

Navigating Leadership Ambiguity with Both/And Thinking

We all face dilemmas and challenges, yet in most cases, the default approach is to apply either/or thinking to choose between options. In this course, learn how to apply Both/And Thinking as an alternative to either/or thinking to enable more creative, novel, and sustainable solutions to complex problems.

Take the Course on LinkedIn →
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Self-Assessment

Paradox Mindset Inventory

Colorful digital artwork featuring four stylized figures holding guns, with a split background of black and vibrant red, surrounded by an intricate maze-like pattern of yellow lines. The bottom right corner includes a signature written in cursive.

Image Credit © La Distance by Russ Vince

As our world becomes increasingly global, fast-paced and complex, we face mounting competing demands, goals and expectations.

You may face pressure, for example, to reach globally while addressing local demands, to plan and schedule while being flexible and adaptive, and more. This survey explores how you view and manage tensions arising from these multiple demands.

This survey was created and validated with over 1,600 people from the United States, Singapore, China and Israel and has been used since with thousands of people around the globe. You can read more information about the science behind the survey here.

This survey asks you to answer questions about your experience of tensions, as well as general demographic questions about yourself, which will eventually allow us to provide you with more specific feedback that compares your scores to other people similar to you.

Guides

Both/And Thinking Resources

These resources serve as valuable companions to the book.

Infographic titled 'Both / And Thinking: Top 10 Tools for a Paradox Conversation' with a diagram of intertwined circles, and a list of tools.
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Top 10 Tools for a Paradox Conversation

A coaching toolkit infographic titled 'Both / And Thinking Coach Toolkit'.
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Coaching Guide

An infographic titled 'Both / And Thinking: The Paradox System' describes tools for adopting both/and approaches.
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The Paradox System for Leadership Practices

Diagram of the ABCD Paradox System for decision making, showing four interconnected concepts: Boundaries, Assumptions, Dynamics, and Comfort, with descriptions about creating boundaries, shifting assumptions, enabling dynamics, and finding comfort in discomfort.
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Decision Making Framework

Cover page of a discussion guide titled 'Both / And Thinking Discussion Guide' with a quote about facing problems, and chapter 1 titled 'Experiencing Tensions'
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Book Club Discussion Guide

"Both / And Thinking Additional Resources" with a graphic of a yin-yang symbol in the top left corner and wave-like design elements.
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Additional Paradox Resources

Articles

Additional Resources on Both/And Thinking

Side-by-side headshots of two women.
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I BY IMD

Embrace the paradox to become a better leader

Cover page of an article titled 'Both/And Leadership' with colorful abstract geometric design in the background.
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HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW

“Both/And” Leadership: Don’t worry so much about being consistent.

Magazine cover with a photograph of an elevated highway over a dry, barren landscape under an overcast sky. The title reads 'The Ambidextrous CEO' with a subtitle in blue and author names listed below.
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HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW

The Ambidextrous CEO

Videos

Video Resources on Both/And Thinking

Wendy K. Smith in an office or conference room.
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Both/And: A Different Approach to Navigating Tensions with Wendy K. Smith & Marianne W. Lewis

Wendy K. Smith and Marianne W. Lewis sitting side by side.
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Both/And: From Scarce to Abundant Resources with Wendy K. Smith and Marianne W. Lewis

Wendy K. Smith and Marianne W. Lewis in a professional interview setting, one with blonde hair in a blazer and the other with gray hair and a scarf, engaged in conversation, with a blurred background and a lamp visible.
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Both/And: Finding Comfort in the Discomfort with Wendy K. Smith and Marianne W. Lewis

Wendy K. Smith with a neutral background and a framed artwork behind her.
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Both/And: Change the Question to Inspire Creativity with Wendy K. Smith and Marianne W. Lewis