#140: The Mental Model Keeping Your Team Stuck

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In this episode, Drs. Derek and Laura Cabrera  deconstruct a familiar phrase: “That’s just the way it is.”

They explore the difference between accepting reality and surrendering to an outdated mental model. Sometimes “that’s the way it is” means acknowledging a real constraint. Other times, it means accepting a pattern, policy, culture, or way of working simply because it has existed for a long time. 

The conversation examines how individual and collective mental models shape behavior, why successful old patterns can become difficult to challenge, and how organizations can uncover the thinking that sits underneath entrenched processes. They also explain why changing culture is ultimately about changing shared mental models—not simply trying to force different behavior.

If you hear “that’s just the way it is” in your team, organization, family, or even your own thinking, Derek and Laura argue that it should be a signal to stop, define what “it” actually is, and ask whether you are dealing with an unchangeable reality—or a mental model that can be rebuilt.