Jan/120
Engaging Employees: Pay Attention to What Really Matters
Engaging Employees: Pay Attention to What Really Matters
From business magazines to HR publications to health and wellness websites, employee engagement is one of the hot topics of the moment.
The Googles and Zappos.com’s of the world are often name-dropped as examples of companies that are doing it right, keeping their employees happy and, well, keeping their employees.
But what makes them happy? Is it the perks like free food and dry cleaning? The financial incentives? The social activities?
Before you install that coffee bar, take a look at what employees say really matters to them.
While Google offers many perks, the research shows that these aren’t actually the primary drivers of job satisfaction. Referring to the results of his study of more than 1,400 US-based companies, Mark Murphy, CEO of Leadership IQ, put it bluntly about what motivates employees:
“What they really need is a workplace that isn’t going to irritate them.”
What actually makes Google so successful, he adds, “is the competition of ideas, the pure meritocracy, whoever has the best idea wins.”
Blessing White’s Employee Engagement Report echoes these findings. In their survey of more than 11,000 people around the globe, they found that “employees worldwide view opportunities to apply their talents, career development and training as top drivers of job satisfaction.”
And managers, they point out, aren’t necessarily focusing on the things that matter most to their employees.
No wonder employees are irritated. And no wonder the high potentials at those organizations are looking for other opportunities.
What motivates one person won’t necessarily motivate another, but applying what we know about the brain makes it easier for leaders to understand how different employees prefer to think and approach their work and what they pay attention to. Because thinking drives behavior, it gives leaders the clues and framework to focus on what will really engage, motivate and retain their employees.
If you’re an HBDI® Certified Practitioner, be sure to register for the January 25th THINC™ Webinar, Don’t Lose Your Top Talent! Engaging Employees With Whole Brain® Leadership, for specific tips and takeaways on how to help your managers take action to engage their employees in a meaningful way.
Dec/110
Leadership in an Age of Information Overload
What does it take to be an effective leader in an age of information overload?
In an HR.com webinar last month, Ann Herrmann-Nehdi showed participants how to develop their leaders’ “mind management skills” so they can successfully navigate in an increasingly noisy and demanding environment. If you missed the session, or if you want to view it again and download the slides, the recording is now available on the HR.com website.
In this webinar, you’ll learn how to align leadership competencies with the type of nimble thinking skills that are critical in an age of smartphones, overflowing email inboxes and continual change. Ann gives you an easy-to-apply approach for helping your leaders get more strategic while getting more done.
Access the recording and handouts here:
From Mind-Full to Mindful: Developing Strategic Leaders in an Age of Information Overload
NOTE: If you are already a member of HR.com, simply log in to access the webinar. If you are not a member, you will need to sign up for a free HR.com membership, which will take only a moment.
Once you have confirmation of your membership, you will be able to access recordings and register for other educational opportunities, including Ann’s upcoming HR.com webinar, Getting Buy-in for Your HR Initiatives: Applying C-Level Thinking for Faster and Better Results.
Sep/110
Q & A on Whole Brain® Thinking
The Whole Brain® Model (shown above), based on 30 years of research, is a validated metaphor for how we think, providing a useful framework to diagnose and describe the different types of thinking involved in any organization. It divides thinking into four quadrants, two on the “left brain” side and two on the “right brain” side. All four of the different thinking modes are in use and available to all of us, but we tend to prefer certain types over others.
In what kinds of situations can Whole Brain® Thinking be used?
Any situation that requires thinking that goes beyond a given quadrant’s specialized mode can benefit from Whole Brain® Thinking. To insure that each quadrant has been explored in a given process, an approach called a Walk-Around™ is used. (The Walk-Around™ pad is a great tool for facilitating this.)
Here are four examples of frequently used applications of Whole Brain® Thinking:
Decision Making
Most decisions benefit from a thought process that includes the review of multiple options and perspectives. A typical example is the purchase of a car. Quadrant A thinkers look at information on the actual performance of the vehicle. Quadrant B thinkers read a consumer report to gather research on the reliability and practical features (trunk size, safety records, etc.) of the vehicle. Quadrant C thinkers test drive the car to see if it “feels” right. And Quadrant D focuses on the aesthetics, color, styling and innovations of each model.
Using Whole Brain® Thinking—the thinking of all quadrants—contributes to a better choice and avoids unpleasant surprises. Overlooking even one quadrant can result in a less than ideal outcome.
Problem Solving
Every problem situation can benefit from a Quadrant A review of the data and facts, as well as an analysis of the real problem at hand; the Quadrant D “big-picture” context and possible creative ideas; Quadrant C viewpoint of the “customer” of the problem and how the problem affects others; and Quadrant B step-by-step process to solve the problem and implement the solution.
Improving team interactions and performance
Most teams are formed to make the most of the differences among team members. But very often those differences stand in the way of the team living up to its potential. Whole Brain® Thinking can help a team to acknowledge the differences among team members and then use those differences to make the most of the ideas of each team member. In addition, once a team knows its preferences it can use that knowledge to enhance its communication with other teams and work groups which may have thinking preferences that are quite different.
Communication
The objective of most communication is to convey an idea, transfer information or persuade someone. How many times have you experienced the frustration of delivering a message only to realize that the other person “just didn’t get it.” In order to communicate effectively, it’s important to understand the “language” and mindset of the person(s) you are communicating with. A diagnosis of the thinking preferences of the audience can provide the critical planning information you need to tailor your language and presentation to the audience. When the audience’s preferences are in doubt, taking a Whole Brain® approach to communication ensures that you’ve covered all the “languages.” This reduces the possibility of miscommunication and improves the chance that your message will be successfully received by the audience.
This guest post was contributed by Herrmann International Asia.
In addition to the thinking preferences of people, we can also use the Whole Brain® Model to diagnose processes, organizational cultures, vision and value statements, and a host of other systems we engage with on a daily basis. How are you applying Whole Brain® Thinking to get better results?
Aug/110
Outsourcing your Cognitive Overload
Like many others, I recently took off on vacation for a week. In the process I validated something learned earlier this year, that the most productive day of the year is universally the same day across the world: The day before you leave on vacation.
In order for me to mentally disconnect, I found myself in a very focused way, reviewing all of the short- and long-term projects and goals I have on my plate.
We are all carrying around a much greater “cognitive load” these days, and vacation time, even if it is just a long weekend, provides an opportunity to give ourselves a necessary breather. Our brains need the break to function optimally.
Most people consider their cognitive load in a traditional and linear format—like a to-do list. The challenge is this format does not lend itself to the complex and interdependent work we live in today.
Today’s world creates a lot of cognitive load, where our work and personal lives overlap and create even more complexities. We’re checking e-mails in the evening and on weekends, and making phone calls to resolve personal issues during the day.
One colleague from IBM said it this way: The issue is no longer work-life balance; effective work-life integration is the challenge!
So how can you lighten your load? One solution is to draw out a map of your cognitive load.
1. Take out a blank sheet of paper (or use a Walk-Around Pad), and map your cognitive load against the different thinking styles as depicted in th four quadrants of the Whole Brain® Model:
A Quadrant: Financial, technical issues
B Quadrant: Unfinished projects, plans, organizational issues
C Quadrant: People and interpersonal issues
D Quadrant: Long-term concerns, “big picture” issues
2. “Unload” by writing down the key areas that represent cognitive load for you, those areas that weigh heaviest in your mind, for both work and personal.
3. Now look at the list. Is there anything you can outsource or delegate?
Leaving for a business trip or vacation is the perfect time to do this review since we will be doing it anyway. I went through this process and realized that in some areas, I was holding on to items I could easily outsource to others. Some call this delegation. I do plenty of that, too. However, the concept of outsourcing clearly implies the ownership is actually with the other entity.
On my list I had several items that I could just drop or defer to later in the year. Those were unloaded from the list.
In addition, I had “worrying about the stock market and our position in it” in the A quadrant. We are all struggling with the volatility of the market, overload of information and the worries that can create. My husband usually manages our stocks in our household, yet I was still hanging onto the “worrying.” I realized that by officially outsourcing this to him, I could let go of the worry with it.
What cognitive overload could you drop, outsource or delegate?
Jul/110
Is Information Overload Hindering Today’s Thinkers?
In today’s always-connected world, it seems as if we’re all constantly being bombarded with information. It’s one of the reasons clients have been telling us that their leaders need to build their nimble thinking skills. Living in an age of smartphones, social media and overflowing email inboxes means that having the ability to manage our thinking so we can focus with intention, even if only for a few minutes at a time, is critical.
We know that more and more of us are engaging in “hyper-thinking.” And we know that multi-tasking doesn’t work. New research and discussions pop up every day (naturally!) showing how our brains are being affected by this data deluge.
A recent article by Tim Harford of the Financial Times makes a compelling point that this proliferation of knowledge is getting in the way of our thinking to such a degree that we may never see another Leonardo da Vinci. According to Harford, today’s thinkers have the brainpower but not the bandwidth to process so much information and see the big picture.
As this post on the MarketingProfs website explains:
With so much knowledge available, and more produced every day, Harford questions whether there will ever be another person with the ability to learn, understand, and then forge the necessary connections to produce new insights. In short, he claims there will never be another Leonardo, not because the individuals alive today are sans the requisite brainpower, but instead because there just aren’t enough hours in the day to acquire the knowledge necessary to make significant—i.e. non-incremental—contributions.
What’s your take? Is Harford overreacting? Can we take steps to refocus our thinking to avoid this?
And how is information overload affecting you? Are you using the Whole Brain® Model to help manage the data deluge? Share your comments below.
In the meantime, here are some Whole Brain® Tips for helping your brain become more time literate and a few suggestions for taking control of your thinking.
If social networking is taking too much of your attention, check out the post Managing Your Attention Makes Social Networking More Manageable for a free downloadable article that discusses how you can put what we know about the brain and thinking styles to work to better manage your attention.
Feb/111
Time Management the Whole Brain® Way
Recently over in our LinkedIn Group, someone asked how people tend to manage time according to their HBDI® Profile.
With so many of us being asked to do more with less and manage multiple streams of information and tasks, effective time management has become a necessity, and your HBDI® Profile gives you insights into how your thinking preferences impact the way you manage time.
In this video, Time Management the Whole Brain® Way, you’ll learn some tips for managing time based on your thinking styles.
If you’re an HBDI® Certified Practitioner, be sure to also visit the Practitioners Area of our website to download the slides, “Time Orientation and Time Management The Whole Brain® Way.” Go to the Practitioner Resources section and look under “General Information.”
What are some of your best time management tips? How are you using what we know about the brain to get a better handle on time?
Oct/100
Can Your Brain Be Time Literate? Only If You Use Your Whole Brain®!
Karen Leland’s recent article in Chief Learning Office Magazine entitled The Time-Literate Organization is relevant to anyone who touches digital media today. In previous posts I have described how multi-tasking is actually a brain productivity killer. As a serial processing system, the brain is not designed to do two things at once. In the article, Karen cites some important statistics:
- On average workers spend only 10.5 minutes on a task before being interrupted.
- It takes an average of 23 minutes to return to the original task – not to mention the time required to mentally re-engage with the task to be effective.
- We are attempting to manage 15 projects a day (vs. 5 in the past).
- 50% of us are either handling too many tasks at one time or are frequently interrupted in the workday, or both.
- The typical executive spends 4.5 hours a week looking for lost papers.
The demands now placed on all of us are not only increasing the number of things we need to attend to, shortening the time we have available, but also increasing the complexity of the work, as the breadth of task types has exploded often beyond our “normal” scope and preferences. We are indeed living in The Era of And, but I believe we can make our brains more time literate by paying attention to our natural preferences and energy level.
I have started applying our research on Whole Brain® Thinking to better manage and deal with the never ending onslaught of items that hits my virtual desk. If you apply Archimedes Principle of Displacement, which states that when you choose to do something you are by default choosing to not do something else, you need to make intentional mental choices about where your time and mental energy will go.
Often we find ourselves doing things that we would rather do as opposed to what we have to do as part of our criteria in prioritization. For example, I know from my HBDI® Profile that I really prefer not to do administrative tasks, and they will often be those tasks that get relegated to the next day, later on or never.
Using the Whole Brain® Walk-Around, I sort my tasks into the types of mental requirements demanded by them. Next, from my HBDI® data, I know that my energy level is greatest late at night. My experience has shown me that I’m better off doing low-preference tasks (B) in the early morning timeframe and “rewarding myself” with high-preference tasks late in the day. I can use the late-at-night timeframe for those tasks that fall clearly in my strongest preference zones – more creative (D) and analytical tasks (A), as you can see from my profile.
What do you do to get through your digital onslaught? Try looking at your preferences and then walking around the brain to prioritize.
Oct/106
Close the Gender Gap! Problem Solving Improves When More Women are on the Team
Years ago, our founder Ned Herrmann proposed that gender-balanced, heterogeneous teams would be more creative and effective. At the time, this idea seemed reasonable to most, but was challenged by others who felt it was perhaps too politically correct and difficult to prove. At last there is research, published this week in Science Daily, that substantiates this premise.
Although it makes sense that diversity – having different perspectives on a given problem and its solution, would drive innovation – it is often overlooked as a critical process step. Our research has demonstrated that mental diversity in a team or group can provide up to 66% more effectiveness vs. random groups. Fred Keeton, Chief Diversity Officer for Harrah’s has applied that to create what he calls Diverse By Design teams to tackle the company’s most pressing business problems.
This latest research sought to better understand how groups perform and more specifically what might facilitate or hinder that performance: “We set out to test the hypothesis that groups, like individuals, have a consistent ability to perform across different kinds of tasks,” says Anita Williams Woolley, the paper’s lead author and an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business.
“Our hypothesis was confirmed,” continues Thomas W. Malone, a co-author and Patrick J. McGovern Professor of Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management. “We found that there is a general effectiveness, a group collective intelligence, which predicts a group’s performance in many situations.”
Groups that show greater “social sensitivity,” which entails effectively perceiving others’ emotions, performed better than other groups, especially those that were one-person dominated. The “social sensitivity” factor was greater in groups with more women—which can also be substantiated by our HBDI® assessment research showing that women overall tend to have stronger preferences in that domain.
I have gotten mixed reactions to our gender-related research over the years. Some women find it offensive to imply that they are using their brains differently than men do. The facts and research do prove however that women do use their brains differently, and there are important consequences that emerge. Our differences can in fact be an advantage as this research demonstrates.
Difference does not imply better or worse, right or wrong, but may make our group process feel more annoying or cumbersome. Bringing together different preferences and styles into a group process may be inconvenient and require greater facilitation skills, but the fact is, when you can effectively harness those varied styles through Whole Brain® Thinking techniques, you will get better results.
As the Science Daily article explains, “When it comes to intelligence, the whole can indeed be greater than the sum of its parts.”
You can find more success factors for diverse teams by downloading the article, Improve Group Productivity.
Mar/101
“My Brain is Full”…Time for Spring Cleaning?
As spring begins to slowly emerge, I am reminded of the natural desire to do “spring cleaning.” We may do that for our homes, our closets or our offices, but do we do that for our minds?
Research on learning has shown that we need to clear some space to allow for new learning to occur. “Much of what we learn in a day, we don’t really need to remember,” Chiara Cirelli, of the Center for Sleep and Consciousness says. “If you’ve used up all the space, you can’t learn more before you clean out the junk that is filling up your brain.”
I know I have experienced that feeling of “my brain is full.” It happens even faster on a day when I am sleep deprived. There is a reason for that: Once again, sleep is one critical ingredient to our ability to refresh and renew our “learning space.” Many have shared with me that a full brain actually prevents them from sleeping, which just perpetuates the cycle.
What are some ways you can do some mental “spring cleaning?”
- Take a “brain dump” break once a day or at least one a week. Depending on your preference, it can be in the evening after a full day or in the morning to get organized, or both. Just writing the stuff down that is floating in your head can allow you to let it go and help move it onto long-term memory. It is even better if you keep a running priority list that you can review and update. (Whole Brain® Model “B quadrant” tip)
- Power up by taking a mini-walk, run or mental breather. Often the “noise” in our heads is the same information cycling around again and again. Just taking a five-minute physical break will send blood flow to your brain, and that’s often enough to flush out the clutter and allow you to refocus. (Whole Brain® Model “C quadrant” tip)
- Leverage technology. Use recorders, smartphones or your gadget of choice to capture a recurring thought for processing later or for filing in your brain dump list. (Whole Brain® Model “A quadrant” tip)
- Treat your brain to some escape. Daydream, take a powernap or listen to some music to calm your thinking and give it a rest. It does not take much to shift your brain state. (Whole Brain® Model “D quadrant” tip)
Oh, by the way, don’t wait for Spring!
