Author Archives: Michael Boyes

Feedback, The Breakfast of Champions

The other night I watched two teenage sisters shine. They shined so brightly that their audience beamed with pride at their character and accomplishment. The girls volunteered to make a presentation and be coached in front of roughly fifty adults at a meeting of the Institute for Cultural Communicators (ICC). After diligent preparation and no small amount of creative labor, the girls stood in front of their audience ready to deliver their performance. What happened next reminded me of a paper my wife wrote entitled “Feedback: The Breakfast of Champions.” The girls confidently delivered their presentation. Then they consumed enough “breakfast” for a team of champions. Again and again, they performed and consumed, performed, and consumed. It was beautiful– and so were they.

With each cycle, their presentation improved. The girls listened carefully and graciously, though it was no doubt trying to be jostled around by such direct feedback– don’t do that, try this, now this… In the end, the performance was greatly improved and so was, I believe, the audience. We, the audience, witnessed two young ladies gracefully accept and respond to a public critique of something they personally created and performed. The contrast with the adult workplace was glaring, at least to me.

As I reflect on the contrast and draw on my years of experience, here is what I see.

ICC Workplace
Interdependence Autonomy
Feedback is expected and wanted by both parties Feedback is threatening to both parties
Feedback is essential to the process Feedback is an exception to the process
Critics are viewed as partners Critics are viewed as rivals
Accepting feedback is a sign of character Accepting feedback is a sign of weakness

I doubt that these girls have always taken feedback so well.  Most people don’t.  But I am pretty sure I know how they got to this point:  Their goal is to improve, and their learning process is collaborative. Twice a month they gather with other students and adults to work on their communication skills.  In those sessions, they routinely give and get feedback just like breathing– in and out, give and get—and the results are exceptional.

…I wonder what would happen if adults in the workplace did the same thing

What is Common Sense Anyway?

It’s common sense, anyone can do it.

That’s what the mechanic told me when I asked him what special skills it took to keep a 40-yard long bohemeth of a machine running. The machine made GE light bulbs and had thousands upon thousands of moving parts.  His job was to keep the machine tuned and running in perfect order – plain and simple. Except, it really wasn’t simple at all.

One Man’s Trash is…

My job was to figure out what skills were needed to do the job so GE could hire more people like him. But he wasn’t of much help. Common sense my foot! This expert mechanic had mastered so much, but he was aware of so little of of it. He just knew it, and it seemed all so simple. I didn’t know “it,” but I wanted to, and GE was counting on me.  One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.

The mechanic is not alone. Workplaces are filled with people who don’t know what they know. As result, organizations often have a difficult time developing younger, less experienced workers. And right now, experienced people are walking out the company door to retirement and taking their common sense with them.  One man’s trash is a company’s treasure.

Developing Common Sense

When I met this mechanic in the back  in the 80’s, I was convinced that he was wrong. I was convinced that he possessed inherent abilities that made him so good at his job.  But now, I can appreciate his perspective.  I still believe that he had a certain set of natural intelligences that “funded” his performance, but I also know a little more about what he called “common sense.”   Now this topic is one my favorite things to talk about. So, when I had the chance to make a series of training videos for my alma mater, West Chester University, I decided to make them about “Developing Good Judgement” otherwise known as common sense.

Developing a Camera Sense

The link below will take you to my first video, shot in one take back at West Chester University. I am looking forward to making several more, and to developing more “camera sense” as I do.

A Six Million Dollar Employee

What would you do if you lost both your legs?

Bounce Back

When teenage rock climbing phenom Hug Herr lost his legs in 1982, he used the “tragedy” as a springboard into an exceptional life.

In 1982 Herr was an average student and world-class rock climber. That was before he got caught in a blizzard that took one friend’s life and the lower part of his two legs.  A few months later, he was ascending the rock face with his homemade prosthetic legs.  Soon, he was modifying his prosthetics to do things human legs couldn’t. He made those early devices of wood using the rudimentary skills he learned in shop class. Now, Professor Herr leads the Biometrics Research group at the MIT Media Lab where they design Star War’s style prosthetics. These new, sleek robotics are made of alloys, powered by batteries and biodynamics, and are guided by sophisticated software. Herr now says he feels bad for people who have to make do with their human legs.

Put on a New Pair of Glasses

Everyone gets their share of lemons in life – some get a boatload, and some get a just a bushel. But, as Mr. Herr’s story illustrates, it’s not how many lemons you get – it’s how you use them that counts. What happens in our lives often matters less than how we interpret our experiences.  Experiences in themselves are not always inherently positive or negative. Researcher Barbara Frederickson found that people with a 3/1 ratio of positive to negative experiences a day feel a sense of well-being. On average, Americans’ positivity ratio is somewhere around 2/1, which may account for the level of discontent in American organizations. Like many researchers before her, Frederickson emphasizes that whether a person experiences a ratio of 2/1 or 5/1 actually depends on what they notice and how they interpret it.

Debbie Versus Harry

Various streams of research suggest that discontent has as much to do with personality and personal expectations as it does with reality.  Some personalities believe that “bad” things are just bound to happen to them, and despite how hard they try, they can’t affect their outcomes. People like this learn less, overcome fewer challenges, and are in poorer health than their more optimistic peers. Besides that, these Debbie Downers are just hard to be around. In contrast, Happy Harries see failures as learning opportunities – as obstacles to overcome. To these folks, problems are temporary, situational, and solvable. That’s how they explain things to themselves. Consequently, they learn more, overcome greater challenges, and get things done. People enjoy being around them too.  So one big reason why some people “fail” and flounder interminably is their explanatory style – they see themselves either as strong protagonists in their world or as backstage hands.

Be Realistic

Negative emotions can also be rooted in unrealistic expectations. When life events match our expectations, we tend to feel satisfied.  When our life goals are met, we tend to feel positive about ourselves. But when life doesn’t match up, look out!

Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman and his colleagues linked Americans’ “happiness” to three things:

  • A positive life evaluation, which is largely based on whether a person has met his long-term goals,
  • A sense of emotional well-being, which comes primarily from strong relationships, and
  • A $60,000 salary, regardless of the local cost of living.

Organizational leaders need to be concerned with positivity and “happiness” because it affects team productivity and ultimate success. Attitudes, both positive and negative, are quite literally contagious.  Happy Harries are more resilient and accomplish more and continually improve.  As they succeed, so does the organization.

So, what can managers do to drive their teams’ positivity ratio closer to 6/1 where high-performing teams hang-out?  One solution is to hire teams full of people like Hugh Herr – smart, positive, resilient problem solvers who work hard.  He is a Six Million Dollar Man!  Given a huge budget, an exceptional recruiting program, and a strong personnel assessment process, you just might find another “six million dollar man.” Realistically though, there are few people exactly like Hugh Herr out there to found. But there are million-dollar people to be found, and here is what you can do to find and keep them.

  • Invest wisely in your candidate assessment and selection process. Psychologists have refined tools for determining the fit between a person and the workplace. Personality assessments cut through the masks people wear to distinguish the real Happy Harries from the pretenders.
  • Build relationships with your team members, and encourage them to build relationships in the workplace.
  • Frame situations for employees to help them see opportunities and the big picture.  Of course, this will require you to develop a positive perspective yourself as well.
  • Set challenging, realistic goals with people based on their talents and the situation.
  • Ensure that people have positive experiences at work, especially success in completing their work duties.
  •  Communicate clearly what people can and should expect in and from their workplace.
  •  Learn to genuinely appreciate people, and be generous in how you show your appreciation.

Managers who make a habit of doing these things find their team members acting a lot more like Hugh Herr than a huge mistake.

Easier said than done though, isn’t it? Most managers are everyday folks who struggle to get through the challenges of the day – putting out fires and responding to whatever is thrown at them. Leadership is very demanding; don’t toil away all by yourself!  If you’re striving to do more with your leadership or your team, reach out to your fellow leaders and to Credo Consulting for some support. Wise managers know that leadership is not a solo sport: it’s a team sport.

Research References

Diener, E., Kahneman, D., Tov, W., & Arora, R. (2009). Income’s Differential Influence on Judgments of Life Versus Affective Wellbeing. Assessing Wellbeing. Oxford, UK: Springer

Positive Affect and the Complex Dynamics of Human Flourishing. Fredrickson, Barbara L.; Losada, Marcial F. American Psychologist, Vol 60(7), Oct 2005, 678-686. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.60.7.678

Happiness is Within Reach!

It’s a great time of year!  It’s a happy time of year – if you can see and count your blessings.

I am starting to receive Christmas cards from friends and relatives.  Like the greetings I will soon send, many of the notes I receive contain reflections on the year past.  Hearts are warmed by the love of friends and family. In light of the blessings experienced in those relationships, most worries fade into the shadows.  That’s what I see, and it’s what Angus Deaton, Ph.D., a renowned economist, and Daniel Kahneman, Ph.D., a Nobel prize-winning psychologist found in their research.  People who meet realistic life goals, who have enriching friendships, and who earn a “reasonable” income experience happiness.

Though life may not be all you hoped it would be – yet,  you can experience happiness if you manage to see that you have been blessed by what counts the most.  Contentment arrives wrapped in relationships – relationships with friends, family, and your creator.  That’s a gift available to all who care to open it.

Let’s Make Pretend

My young daughter sometimes reminds me, “This is just for pretend, Daddy.”  Although play is very serious business, she is clear that we are operating by make-believe rules. We suspend the realities that govern our actual existence so she can be a mommy, a kitty, or render me powerless with the magic word “abracadabra.”  My favorite part is when she kisses me to make me strong again. That is because, in reality, I crave affection from my little girl. I sometimes find that people in the workplace lack this same clarity about what is make-believe, what is real, what people crave, and what people loathe.

Make-believe rules govern our lives everywhere we go.  Sheldon, the super-science nerd in the show “The Big Bang Theory,” refuses to give his best friend a birthday gift until Penny explains that gift giving is a “non-optional social convention.”  Our made-up social “rules” are essential for holding society and companies together. We need these rules, but they are not always a positive force in our world.  When we make-up rules that are contrary to our design, we create a mess.

One of my least favorite make-believe games at work is called: “It’s not personal; it’s work.” This game is played by a set pattern of complex, often contradictory rules.  Here are a few of them:

  • Do not take how I treat you personally.
  • Do not bring emotions into your work (because they make me anxious).
  • Be very likeable and reliable so people will like you and want to work with you.
  • Be passionate about your work and put in extra hours.
  • Give us your best, creative ideas. But do not be upset if we do not use them.
  • Take pride in your work; make quality products.

The problem, of course, is that these rules contradict each other and reality.  Unlike computers, people cannot partition their “hard drive” to operate their “rationale work being” separately from their “emotional personal being.”  Work is an intensely personal activity. We are made to work, and we need to work. Like our creator, we express our very nature in our work. That nature is rational and emotional, artistic and scientific, playful and serious…  People cannot be deconstructed in the workplace and maintain the integrity of their full personhood.  As I have worked with companies whose employee surveys revealed deep dissatisfaction, I noticed that employees are not just unsatisfied with the situation. No, they are angry and feel that their very personhood is under assault. Consequently, they protest this treatment in ways that disrupt the effective operation of the business.

People crave the opportunity to bring their whole selves to work.  In the pretend world, I am rejuvenated and reenergized when my daughter kisses me. In the real world, employees are motivated and engaged when their employer embraces their whole person.

If you want motivated, engaged people in your business, embrace them as whole people. Here are a few ways you can do that:

  • Notice what people enjoy doing and find out what people do best. Then make sure they get to do it every day!
  • Invite people to do more than what their job description includes.  As they take on more, adjust their compensation.
  • Demonstrate that you personally care about them.
  • Encourage supervisors to use their judgment when they apply policies, e.g., scheduling rules; time-off; and allow consideration of the employee’s performance, commitment, and life circumstances.
  • Make sure job requirements do not contain needless formal education standards that bar otherwise qualified people from advancing.
  • Provide supervisors with “human relations” training including topics such as interpersonal communications and conflict resolution.
  • Reward high performers and genuinely treat them differently than lower performers.
  • Deal with the hard personal stuff.  Stop avoiding conversations because it might hurt people’s feelings.

Leaders in Sandboxes

As a young consulting pyschologist I worked for a consulting firm that specialized in executive assessments.  In other words we tested, poked, and prodded candidates for high level positions to see if they were a good fit for the prospective employer.   For some years, I didn’t truly “get” the idea of “Emotional Stability,” which was one of the personality qualities we looked for. Now I do, but I see it as part of a larger cluster of qualities that center around the character of the person.

In this article, Richard Davis touches upon that issues and correctly connects it with the character of our society.

How do your leaders play?

http://linkd.in/simwF