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Jun 9

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Bibliography for the Biology of Learning

Recently I had the privilege of leading a seminar on the Biology of Learning. My goal was to bring multiple disciplines to bear on the question of the intersection of the research into interpersonal neurobiology and education and organization development. With my background in cell biology and organization development, this is an intersection that I find fascinating. Below is the bibliography that I used for this seminar. I hope those interested in IPNB and education will find this resource useful.

The Biology of Learning 

Buxton, B. 2007. Sketching User Experiences. San Francisco, CA: Elsevier.

Cozolino, L. 2006. The Neuroscience of Human Relationship. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.

Doidge, N. 2007. The Brain that Changes Itself. 2007. New York, NY: Viking.

Gardner, F. L. & Moore, Z. E. The Psychology of Enhancing Human Performance. New York, NY: Springer.

Geake, J. G. 2009. The Brain at School: Educational Neuroscience in the Classroom. New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

Iacoboni, M. 2008. Mirroring People: The New Science of How We Connect with Others. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Johnson, S. & Taylor, K. (Eds.) 2006. The Neuroscience of Adult Learning. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Kegan, R. & Lahey, L. L. 2009. Immunity to Change. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Press.

Kegan, R. 1994. In Over Our Heads. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Press.

Kelley, T. 2005. The Ten Faces of Innovation. New York, NY: Doubleday.

Medina, J. M. 2008. Brain Rules. Seattle, WA: Pear Press.

Pink, D. H. 2009. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. New York, NY: Riverhead Books.

Rock, D. 2010. Your Brian at Work. New York, NY. Harper.

Schwartz, J. M. & Begley, S. 2003. The Mind & The Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force. New York, NY: Harper.

Siegel, D. J. 2010. Mindsight. New York, NY: Bantam.

Siegel, D. J. 2007. The Mindful Brain. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.

Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. 2005. Understanding by Design (2nd Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Jun 8

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Resources for Positive Organization Development

Long-time readers and associates know of my interest in positive organization development. What follows is a short list of organization development resources for those readers who are interested in looking at some of the research supporting positive organization development.

First, a quote from Daniel Goleman, “As new ways of scientifically measuring human development start to bear out these theories and link them directly with performance, the so-called soft side of business begins to look not so soft after all.”

Bad is Stronger than Good
Research from Case Western University and the Free University of Amsterdam says, “Bad emotions, bad parents, and bad feedback have more impact than good ones, and bad information is processed more thoroughly than good.”  The implications are for experiences, interactions, and events at home and work. It takes 5 good interactions over a period of time to overcome 1 bad interaction or experience. The authors discuss extensive research in the positive-negative asymmetry effect. Food for thought: What impact would be felt if people in workplaces and families did their best to eliminate the negative patterns.

Appreciative Inquiry is Not (Just) About the Positive
Research from Simon Fraser University says, “Many people seem to get blinded by the ‘positive stuff’. After years of focusing on problems and deficits and dysfunction they get entranced with “focusing on the positive” and equate this with AI, but I don’t think that is the core of appreciative inquiry. Instead, the core of AI is generativity (Cooperrider & Srivastva,1987).” The implications here are for leaders and consultants who facilitate change in organizations. (Read more G.R. Bushe research here.)

Positive Deviance, and Performance
Research from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan says that the greater the levels of perceived trust and compassion, “the greater the amount of innovation, quality, and customer retention, and the lower the amount of employee turnover.” The Discussion section, which begins on page 33, has a summary of the work being done in Positive Organization Scholarship. The questions here are for those who have the greatest potential to impact an organization’s culture, creating an environment where people and the bottom line thrive. (Read more from UM here.)

Open Hearts Build Open Lives
Research from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and the University of Michigan says, “People’s daily experiences of positive emotions compound over time to build a variety of consequential personal resources.” How can organizations intentionally work to build positive cultures that support the well-being of the organization and the people who create it? (Read more from UNC here.)

Social Intelligence and the Biology of Leadership
Research from Harvard University in summary says, “As we explore the discoveries of neuroscience, we are struck by how closely the best psychological theories of development map to the newly charted hardwiring of the brain. … [it is important to provide] a secure base from which people can strive toward goals, take risks without unwarranted fear, and freely explore new possibilities.” All of this is linked directly to improved performance by both personnel and the bottom line.” A good overview of social intelligence and how awareness impacts organizations. (Read more research from the EI Consortium here.)

Jun 7

2 Comments

Generative and Positive

I’ve been hearing people saying that organization development and processes that focus on the positive – on building on what works well – are just a fad. While I don’t believe, think, or feel that this is a fad, I do encounter consultants and managers running “appreciative inquiry” events that are just plain boring or even completely wrong for the organization. In these scenarios, everyone behaves (or wants to behave) like the person in the recent commercial who is calling the airline to get an early flight out to escape the meeting – or perhaps they feel energized and good – but no lasting transformation occurs. What are the key components that distinguish a generative, transformative process from just another fun meeting?

It begins with good planning. If you’re bringing  in an outside advisor or consultant, they need to be a skilled facilitator and someone who has the ability to facilitate a generative process. Then, instead of starting by telling everyone where you want to end up and how to get there, leaders should look for where innovation and creativity are already happening in your organization. Recognize it and get everyone involved in building an agreement about what needs will be met and what you are trying to accomplish.

Be committed to acting. Once the agreement is established, leaders step aside and affirm their permission to act. Ask everyone to create a commitment to act. This can be done by identifying one initial step that will lead forward. Leaders can then continue to bring the focus to what they want more of and fan the fire through focus, recognition, encouragement, and resources. Leaders create accountability and motivation by enabling people to grow and change, allowing autonomy while overseeing the process, and by creating meaning.

None of this alone will allow the process to be generative and transformative. The best predictor of success is the quality of leadership. Trust and transparency, legitimacy and commitment, communication and passion from leaders all increase the potential for success. Engaging people in the organization who are not directly involved, managing the informal networks as well as the formal structure all increase the potential for success.

Creating agreement about what can be accomplished together, building a commitment to action, giving structure to the process, and generating positive energy can mobilize action to meet the needs and reach the goals. Perhaps we’ll discover the courage to end management as we know it.

Jun 6

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Idea for reflection – 11

Among the many things that made the Professor an excellent teacher was the fact that he wasn’t afraid to say, “we don’t know.” For the Professor, there was no shame in admitting you didn’t have the answer, it was a necessary step toward the truth. It was as important to teach us about the unknown or the unknowable as it was to teach us what had already been safely proven.
  – Yoko Ogawa

Idea for reflection – 10

May 30

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Defying the rat race

I’m defying the rat race and stopping to see the world around me, which today is near Hesston, Kansas:

Hesston Friesen Flowers

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Late Spring Hesston Barn

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Late Spring Kansas Wheat II

May 28

2 Comments

Idea for reflection – 10

Kansas Spring Cummulonimbus II

 
Three quotes to ponder for the first long weekend of summer:  

The trouble with the rat race is even if you win, you’re still a rat.
  – Lily Tomlin

—

One of the greatest necessities in America is to discover solitude.
  – Carl Sandburg

—

I have discovered that all human evil comes from this, man’s being unable to sit still in a room.
  – Blaise Pascal

 Idea for reflection – 9

May 25

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Leading through Empathy and Teaching

I’m excerpting a quote from Bob Sutton’s blog, Work Matters because it applies directly to my last several posts about feedback and how to promote learning, growth, and transformation. 

“Life is a lot better when [I] think about my job as one of helping everyone be good, helping everyone learn whatever they need, and teaching where I’ve got experience and expertise. When I think in terms of helping people learn to be even better, it automatically puts me into an empathetic mode (because teaching, fundamentally, is about understanding where the learner is coming from), and that sets up the interaction really well.  I can’t always stay in this teaching mode. Sometimes there are real pressures and things I need to deliver on.  Sometimes external stressors in my life cause me to forget to be empathetic. But usually now I can notice when it’s happening and correct it.”  

Read the entire post and comments here.

May 24

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Feedback: When performance is poor

If feedback when performance is positive or somewhat less than 100% is challenging, giving effective feedback when someone has done poorly or failed is even more difficult. I suspect that the reason for this is that the emotional tension goes up dramatically – for the person delivering the feedback and the one receiving it. In my experience, the difficult work must be done before the encounter by the person delivering the feedback.

Let’s look at what doesn’t work so well first. To immediately access the emotional charge on both sides of the conversation, try starting the conversation with, “Well, why did you do that? What happened?”  Neuroscience tells us that both people will create a physical and mental reaction to the emotional charge. One way of thinking about it is fight, flight, or freeze. The delivering person will be in fight mode, which does not allow for clear thinking let alone good processing of incoming information. The receiver of emotionally charged feedback may fight back directly with anger or frustration, fight back indirectly with self-recrimination, freeze in fear and distress, or run from or avoid the encounter.

As with challenging feedback, the question I ask is, “What am I trying to accomplish here?” As I suggested in a recent post, if the answer is learning, growth, and change, then a frustrated, critical response will not provide success. This requires planning for meeting when both people are fresh and less likely to be reactive. Again, it is important to begin by acknowledging that the conversation might be uncomfortable and that you appreciate the person’s willingness to take time out to talk. Be clear that your goal isn’t to dissect what happened, analyze the problem, or put their job in jeopardy. State that your goal is to help them do their best, learn, and build their potential.

Follow with a good opening question that asks them to reflect, “How can we discuss what happened in a solutions-focused way?” Or, “I’m interested in how you think you did in this situation. On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate work?” You can follow with some other questions and statements, making certain to keep the conversation at the learning level – not in the details. Remember, avoid the impulse to suggest a solution, give advice, or tell your own story. Your role is to lead the person to their own “aha” moment of insight.

Some example questions and statements were listed in the recent post. Here are a few more that can help guide the conversation:

  • What is the biggest insight you’ve had about yourself from what’s happened? About your team?
  • What have you learned overall from the situation?
  • How committed are you to working to create a new approach?
  • Are you clear about what needs to happen next?
  • What resources or training will assist you in creating the new approach?

The bigger the emotional charge for both people, the more important it is for the person delivering the feedback to allow the other person to discover their own solutions and answers. Not only does learning take place, but the potential for ongoing growth and transformation increases. It’s time to consider eliminating “constructive feedback” and begin intentionally creating a climate of open communication and learning by asking people what they are thinking and discovering. This shift has the potential to deliver value to the organization and to the persons involved in the difficult feedback scenario.

May 23

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Idea for reflection – 9

Time to Reflect

It is a short step from leaving a question unasked to forgetting that it can be asked at all.
   – Jeff Koeze 

Idea for reflection – 8

May 22

3 Comments

Feedback: When things are less than 100%

Giving positive feedback when things go well seems logical and reasonable. When things are less than 100%, providing effective feedback is more challenging. The first thing many of us do is to say the first things that come to our minds, which often reflect frustration or anger. As always, the first person that needs to be considered in any situation is ourselves and our own behavior.

The question I ask is, “What am I trying to accomplish here?” If the answer is learning, growth, and change, then a frustrated, critical response will not provide success. What considerations go into my thinking on this issue?

First, the fact is that most of us are our own worst critics. We usually don’t need help to identify our failings. Secondly, neuroscience shows that it is just about impossible to change  our mental and behavioral wiring when we focus on what we don’t want to do. If we think about what we did wrong, we’re only reinforcing the circuits that create that behavior. It’s much more effective to create new circuits. Thirdly, negative interactions can send someone, and the entire work group or team, into distress and anxiety; which leads to bad morale and long-term performance issues.

I propose a different approach, one that will bring insight and learning.  Begin by taking time to plan for the conversation. Do what you need to do to calm your emotional response by taking a walk or whatever you do to release negative energy. Remind yourself that your goal is to focus on the work behavior in the project or incident, not on the individual. Then schedule a time to talk one-on-one when you both have energy and privacy for the conversation.

Begin by acknowledging that the conversation might be uncomfortable and that you appreciate the person’s willingness to take time out to talk. Be clear that your goal isn’t to dissect what happened, analyze the problem, or put their job in jeopardy. State that your goal is to help them do their best, learn, and build their potential. Follow with a good opening question that asks them to reflect, “I’m interested in how you think you did in this situation. On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate work?” You can follow with some other questions and statements, making certain to keep the conversation at the learning level – not in the details. Remember, avoid the impulse to suggest a solution, give advice, or tell your own story. Your role is to lead the person to their own “aha” moment of insight.

Here are some example questions that can help guide the conversation:

  • What did you learn?
  • What did you observe about how you worked? About how you worked with the team?
  • Tell me more about that . . .
  • What insights are coming into your mind?
  • What resources, knowledge, or skills would have been helpful in this situation?

Conclude by asking how you can support them in developing the new behaviors or skills they’ve identified. Plan to meet regularly to discuss how they are going about carrying out their intentions to create new behaviors or learn new skills.

By allowing the person to reflect, gain insight, and learn, this process has the potential to develop increased trust, better communication, and foster change. It still may not be comfortable for everyone, but the outcomes will be significantly different from the old “calling on the carpet for discipline” process.

I encourage my readers to try this feedback process with your team members or family members or whatever organization you find yourself in. Reflect on how it makes a difference for you and the people around you.

Read about giving feedback when things are going well.

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