"You don't need to understand it, you just need to show it." Ah, the sentence that summed up my bane
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February 19 · Issue #52 · View online
Feeding the Passion for Transformation: Be it Talent, Culture, Work or HR
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“You don’t need to understand it, you just need to show it.” Ah, the sentence that summed up my bane with sine and cosine back when I was taking Trig as a 8th grader. (Oddly, I never had the same problem with tangent but lest I digress). In later years, this sentence changed to “it doesn’t need to make sense, it’s the process and you need to follow it.” Messages that are being conveyed with such statements: Head-down, don’t embarrass yourself by asking questions and holding the rest of the class back, just do - do not think, do not make waves by ruffling feathers, just do what you need to to get a good grade. Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera Sound at all familiar? Ok, now a hand-to-heart question of what you do now, with your more mature age, to handle the situation, when struggling with a problem or being faced with a task, technology, or challenge that you have never dealt with before? In other words, Do you find yourself studying for a grade, completing a task, defending a budget to reach a target in order to tick-it off and move on - even if while doing so, there are things that you question or feel would be imperative to change before moving on but you “get it done anyway”, OR
Are you taking the time to uncover why you are doing something, identify what you are struggling with, and invest the energy and bravery to uncover what good may even look like, before you “rinse-wash-repeat”?
Not as often as you wish you did? Why not?
Did you not take the Growth Mindset quiz and use the coin-phrase “I do not know it… yet!” Darn it, why not?
Prof. Carol Dweck, says one of the key challenges behind the Growth Mindset in teaching is the disconnect of actually walking the talk. In a study by her colleagues Prof. Jo Boaler and Dr. Jen Munson, push came to shove, that many parents and teachers who had touted having a Growth Mindset, did not pass this belief along to their children or pupils. The behaviors they actually exhibited, conveyed the messages that failures were harmful rather than helpful, as they did not take the time to check for conceptual understanding, give feedback, reinforce that learning wobbles are important etc., and instead, reacted with anxiety or concerns, which in turn, fostered a fixed mindset belief in the students. This phenomena and the socialization we experience in school and work, is why often times, employees scoff at the idea of a “ failure culture” being introduced in companies: because their actual experience of making a mistake did not go well for them, or they anticipate that there will be a reprimand if they make a mistake, or lose control of something at work - and therefore, mitigate the risks of making a mistake or being caught in the wrong. This is why, because we may say folks are empowered - it does not mean that they actually are in terms of reward, recognition, punishment, their own understanding of how to conduct oneself at work, and their own personal belief in their permission to “raise their hands”. This is a big challenge when it comes to actually experiencing a learning culture of innovation, adaptive solution-finding, and evolving ideas. Prof. Adam Grant sent a great tweet out that sums up the dichotomy well: “Performance culture:
- Will this be on the test?
- Will I get a bonus?
- Can I put this on my resume?
Learning culture:
- How does that work?
- Will this teach me something new?
- I wonder what would happen if…”
While we may know that, like Adam Grant says, “we learn more from people who challenge our thought process than those who affirm our conclusions" , we also need to be able to expose our underbelly to folks challenging or even building on our ideas. Working in a “challenge network” as part of a learning culture is one of the most enjoyable work environments, one can experience. In other words, being part of an environment, where we feel comfortable enough “to be humble about our expertise, doubt our knowledge, and be curious about what knowledge we don’t have” and where doubting the HIPPO (e.g. the Highest Paid Person’s Opinion) is truly okay.
“There is a quarter century of research that shows how people feel at work has a direct and powerful influence on how they perform.” - Wharton Professor Sigal Barsade.
Only when we address these encouraging or limiting responses, actively build-up up brave spaces to learn and experiment, and pipe up with our own voices, can a Learning Culture thrive and, thereby, a Growth Mindset flourish.
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#lgcaresCGS2 Where is Learning Going with Liz Lembke, John Wills, Brandon Carson - and Adam Grant
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Teaching a Growth Mindset - Carol Dweck
The OG of Growth Mindset, Carol Dweck, professor of psychology at Stanford University and a leading researcher in the field of motivation, takes folks through the “wouldn’t it be nice if that were true” perspectives on intention, behavior, and mindset. T his is where you can find her 2015 talk at Google. A friendly little quiz on Growth Mindset can be found here.
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Why are we still talking Fixed vs Growth Mindsets?
Like extroversion and introversion, Growth Mindset is on a oscillating continuum - and we may not respond how we believe we would. Like Dweck says, “a Growth Mindset is not a declaration, it’s a journey”. James Anderson has come up with a helpful guidesheet to parse out responses to deepen understanding around mindsets.
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Six Key Takeaways from A Day with Professor Jo Boaler - Institute of Professional Learning (IPL): University of Waikato
Professor Jo Boaler “The 6 keys that unlock potential and transform pathways” in a great summary for teachers, parents, and heck, any adult as well. A great blog from her colleague Jen Munson on allowing sense-making and struggle in mathematics is here.
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How to design powerful questions Questions open the door to dialogue and discovery
A powerful question provokes us to think deeply and to engage in conversation with others that leads to a deeper understanding of a subject - and an opportunity to flip and question what is towards what could be. Another great collection of questions by subject for teachers/students/leaders is here
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Why You Need a ‘Challenge Network’ - Knowledge@Wharton
‘Think Again,’ is Wharton’s Adam Grant newest book. In this short article, he dives into the benefits of comes from surrounding ourselves with “disagreeable” people. Ahem, one aspect that I would like to point out is that it is not about being contrary for the sake of being contrary - but a key aspect is actually caring and being passionate about the subject matter. Knack.
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Create a Growth Culture, Not a Performance-Obsessed One
A shaka statement? “A performance culture asks, “How much energy can we mobilize?” and the answer is only a finite amount. A growth culture asks, “How much energy can we liberate?” and the answer is infinite.” Want some strategies for learning from failure? HBS Prof. Amy Edmundson can help. How do actually recognize a Learning Culture - what aspects are important? This article breaks it down.
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Inside X, Google’s Moonshot Factory - The Atlantic
HBS Prof. Teresa Amabile, a co-author of The Progress Principle outlines 5 aspects of a company to be able to achieve success in risky projects. 1) “failure value,” a recognition that mistakes are opportunities to learn. 2) psychological safety, 3) is multiple diversities—of backgrounds, perspectives, and cognitive styles. 4). “is a focus on refining questions, not just on answers; on routinely stepping back to ask whether the problems the organization is trying to solve are the most important ones. These are features that X has self-consciously built into its culture,” and 5) financial and operational autonomy from corporate headquarters. #MonkeyFirst”— “do the hardest thing first.” This is a great article from Derek Thompson on the culture of experimentation at play and in practice - tying the elements of a Learning Culture together.
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If Culture Comes First, Performance Will Follow
Experiencing the magic of a truly engaged work culture shows itself in better performance. Period. Yet so often, engagement and fulfillment at work are brushed off as fluff or optional, with the desire to focus on hard facts and results. Well, by fostering fulfillment at work that is actually how you better performance. This article outlines the failed thinking of many short-term driven leaders.
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✨ How can we address head on the barriers to career growth and co-create a better path forward? ✨ How can we Talk WITH - rather than just ABOUT the various stakeholders in Career Growth - be they job seekers, recruiters, L&D, talent, professional organizations, vendors, academics, or others … like hiring managers? 🎈First off, by getting everyone in the same (virtual) room together exploring ideas! 🎈 #ldcaresCGS2 motto: YOU - ME -US: What can we do to co-create a better path forward in Career Growth? This edition of Transforming Talent Insights is coming off of the magic of the L&D Cares Career Growth Summit 2.0, that I had the distinct honor of leading together with an amazing L&D Cares Pit Crew that included Brandon Carson, Michelle Webb, Mike “Batman” Cohen, Jessica Segal, Trish Ward, Saira Sethi, Jennifer Rogers, John Wills, Allyson Carter, and Tina Bjork. We gathered together - 100% volunteer, 100% free - an amazing cadre of speakers (thanks friends!) and incredible attendees, all in the abundance mindset of making a difference on how we view our careers - and our own learning. You can check out the videos as we upload them to the L&D Cares YouTube channel. This is just an example of what happens when we ask “why not us”, raise our hands to make a positive difference and continue on the journey of learning for growth. Interested in hearing more? #welcomeintotheawesome - let’s talk!
#socialconnectioninsocialisolation #wearethehoneycomb #devilsadvocatefortalent #abundancemindset #ldcaresCGS2 All of my very best regards, Your Liz
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99+ sessions, 103 speakers, 100% volunteer, 100% engaged: Power of Collaboration
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Elizabeth Lembke, Transforming Talent Consulting: www.transformingtalent.co and www.transformingtalent.de
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