Generating acronyms to apply neuroscience

Yesterday I was at a local interest group meeting of the NeuroLeadership Institute, listening to a presentation by NLI founder David Rock.

He was talking about learning and memory, and the simple yet powerful image of memory as a big neural net of connections, so that the bigger we make the net, eg by activating neurons in many different parts of the brain at the same time, the easier it is to access it. As part of his talk he explained his acronym for effectiveness in establishing the net - particularly when imparting learning re knowledge, ideas, concepts etc. The acronym is AGES, which stands for Attention, Generation, Emotion, and Separation.

I found the most interesting one to reflect on was Generation, which is about doing something immediately to create personal meaning out of what you have just heard or read. All good teachers know this from experience, but the research shows it is even more important than we think. For example, if immediately after explaining an idea, you ask people to tell you (or their neighbour) when and how they could apply it to a real-life situation, it makes it much more likely that the idea will stick. If they don't, it probably won't. It's worth taking a minute now to think about when you do and don't do this, and how you might do it more effectively, ie in a way which creates the biggest net.

Using acronyms can itself be a mini-application of AGES - but only if they are your own. Making up an acronym is pure Generation. It requires quite a lot of effort (high Attention), there is a sense of triumph on finding a good one - especially if this is preceded by a period of frustration when you can't see it (negative switching to positive Emotion). And I often return to think about it / play with it several times over a period of a week (Separation). It's rare, therefore, that I forget my own acronyms!

But what do you do when someone gives you an acronym? What I always do is try to modify it to make it my own. Instead of AGES, I remember SAGE, which for me links to knowledge and wisdom. And instead of Rock's SCARF for his social threat model, I remember SCARE, which obviously links to threat - simply replacing his F for Fairness with E for Equity. And for his four conditions for allowing insight I remember QUIET PINT, standing for Quiet, slightly Positive, Internally focused, and Not Trying - again the link is obvious!

So I offer you SAGE, SCARE and QUIET PINT... but with some sadness recommend you don't use them. Try to make up your own!

Feeling and doing GREAT

This is a theme I have posted about before, and talk about a lot, ie the two dimensional nature of success, the connection between the dimensions, and the true direction of the cause and effect. In this post, prompted by a TED video I have just watched (link at the end), I want to focus on the practical steps you can take to feel great, and therefore increase your chance of doing great, at work.

First a quick recap. We know that we literally think better when we are feeling good. Strong negative emotions (fear, anxiety, anger etc) diminish our capacity to think. They can of course help us to act, eg keep us going when we are exhausted or drive us to tackle something dangerous which clearer thinking might lead us to avoid. However, my assertion would be that in the world of business, especially at the more senior levels, thinking is more important than doing.

Unfortunately we are highly tuned to negative emotions - much more than positive. Our neuro-physiology is designed (by evolution) to be particularly sensitive to potential threats. And in our modern world we are constantly triggered by the negative inputs that are fed to us at work and in our wider personal life. So it's hard to feel good!

However, some people can stay less triggered than others, and here's the good news, we can all train our brains to be less triggered. Here is the magic (actually scientific) formula for training your brain. Create a GREAT daily routine:

G = Gratitude: Think of three good things that happened today, ie "count your blessings"
R = Re-framing: Deliberately choose to see positive possibilities from upsetting events
E = Exercise: Use it to stimulate the brain to produce the chemicals which make us feel good   
A = Altruism: Do something out of compassion, eg buy a Big Issue tonight
T = Time Out (or In): Practice a mindfulness-based meditation that helps you regulate emotion 

It's pretty simple. As you will probably realise, all these practices simply involve consciously choosing what to pay attention to. Practicing this literally changes the way our brain sees the world. It's a better place than we fear it is!

PS Here's the video - only 12 minutes: http://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_work.html

Creating SPACE

I'm facilitating a small group on a programme this week and it's reminded me of a helpful acronym I use (and share with the group) about creating SPACE. We often talk about the importance of creating space for people to do their development work, but how do you do it? Clearly it's not just a mechanical process, but I offer you these practical points as a useful framework to kick things off:

Story: Tell the story of a specific event as it happened. And go slowly - don't skip over or rush the uncomfortable bits!
Personal: Talk about your personal experience of the situation, rather than talking conceptually or objectively about it.
Attention: As a listener, pay attention to the whole person, not just their words. And listen with your whole body.
Curiosity: Wonder about what's going on, with compassion for their difficulty, rather than judging whether they are right or wrong.
Empathy: See if you can connect with their experience from the inside. What would your experience be if you were them?

Transitional space is all about the shared experience of two separate but connected minds.