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Dr Jill Bolte Taylor is a brain scientist that experienced a massive stroke in the left hemisphere of her brain at the age of 37. She provides a us a rare glimpse of her observations as she is experiencing the stroke along with her insights during her eight year recovery period.  When she had her stroke and her left brain was rendered non-functioning and quiet, the brain chattered stopped and the normally silenced right brain found its voice. It was life-changing because what she found was that this happens to be where nirvana resides. She thought if she had found nirvana and was still alive, then everyone can find nirvana. She thought, what a stroke of insight this could be in how we lead our lives.

Dr. Talyor starts with a bit of science. I found this very valuable and was able to more deeply appreciate her observations related to her stroke along with the details provided on her recovery.  She helps us to better understand how the right and left hemisphere of the brain function. Let me share one of the factoids presented:

• The limbic system functions by placing an effect or emotion on information streaming in through our senses. Our limbic system functions throughout our lifetime, it does not mature.  As a result, when our emotional buttons are pushed, we retain the ability to react to incoming stimulation as though we were a two-year-old. It is so easy to get caught up in the wiring of our pre-programmed reactivity (limbic system) that we live our lives cruising along on auto pilot. Here is the catch, although there are certain limbic system (emotional) programs that can be triggered automatically, it takes less than ninety seconds for one of these programs to be triggered, surge through our body and then be completely flushed out of our bloodstream.  If you choose to remain with the automatic trigger after 90 seconds, it is truly your choice – you have chosen to let that circuit continue as Dr. Taylor would say.

How interesting is this! I am an advocate of “Choose your attitude”, while you cannot control what happens to you, you can control how you choose to respond. Her explanation of the limbic system resonated with me and our power of choice.

She also states that our minds are highly sophisticated “seek and ye shall find” instruments. We are designed to focus in on whatever we are looking for. I now better understand why visualization and imagery can be so powerful.

In closing, she viewed her stroke as a wonderful  gift as it permitted her to pick and choose who and how she wanted to be in this world. She states that by recognizing who is who inside our cranium, we can take a more balanced-brain approach to how we lead our lives. Creating a healthy balance between our two characters enables us the ability to remain cognitively flexible enough to welcome change (right hemisphere) and yet remain concrete enough to stay a path (left hemisphere). We have the power to chose moment by moment who we are.

If this topic is of interest to you, I would recommend watching this 18 minute video, not only is she an excellent writer, she is an engaging presenter. Jill Bolte Taylor video

As the economy starts to recover and companies position themselves for the upside opportunities of the recovery, it is imperative that Managers and Leaders of organization focus on what is needed to attract and retain key talent. Many years ago I ran across a book by Buckingham and Coffman titled First Break All The Rules. The ideas and concepts have stuck with me and I believe many of them are very relevant for today’s environment.

The book presents the findings of in-depth interviews studied by the Gallup organization. The Managers who ultimately became the focus of Gallup’s research were those who excelled at turning each employee’s talent into performance. The Gallup poll searched for those special questions where the most engaged employees – those who were loyal and productive answered positively, and everyone else – the average performers – answered neutrally or negatively. Furthermore, the surveyed analyzed employee feedback with business unit outcomes – productivity, profit, retention, customer service. It provides a link between employee opinions, business results, and employee retention. The concepts are tools that can be used to elevate performance.

Following is an excerpt that I hope you find useful. They use an analogy of a mountain climb to describe the critical focus needed to turn talents into performance.

So Where to Start

Think about what it would take to climb a mountain. You know the climb will vary, sometimes steep, sometimes gradual. You know there will be gullies to negotiate, terrain that will force you to descend before you can resume your climb. But the you think of the summit and how you will feel and you start to climb.

Base Camp

When you first start a new role, your needs are fairly basic. At this stage you are asking What do I get?

These two questions measure Base Camp

• Do I know what is expected of me at work?
• Do I have the right materials and equipment I need to do my work right?

Camp 1

At this stage you are focused on your individual contribution and other people’s perceptions of it – you are asking What do I give?

These questions measure Camp 1:

• At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?
• In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work?
• Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care?
• Is there someone at work who encourages my development?

If these questions remain unanswered, all of your yearnings to belong, to become part of a team, to learn and to innovate, will be undermined

Camp 2

At this stage of the climb you really want to know if you fit – you are asking Do I belong here?

These questions measure Camp 2:

• At work, do my opinions seem to count?
• Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel my job is important?
• Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?
• Do I have a best friend at work?

Camp 3

This is the most advanced stage of the climb. At this stage you are impatient for everyone to improve, asking, How can I grow?

These questions measure Camp 3

• In the last 6 months, has someone at work talked to me about my progress?
• This last year, have I had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

At this stage, people can innovate effectively (Invention is novelty, innovation is novelty that can be applied)

You can innovate and apply your own ideas only if you are focused on the right expectations (Base Camp), you have confidence in your own expertise (Camp 1), and you are aware of how your new ideas will be accepted or rejected by people around you (Camp 2)

Summary of Camps

The longer your lower level needs remain unmet, the more likely it is that you will burn out, become unproductive, and leave. Inexperienced climbers might suggest that if you have lots of money and not much time, you could helicopter to Camp 3 and race to the summit. Experienced guides know that you would never make it. Mountain sickness would sap your energy and slow your progress to a crawl. During your ascent you have to spend a great deal of time acclimating between the various levels. The more time you spend at these lower levels, the more stamina you will have in the thin air near the top of the summit.

Focus your time and energy on Base Camp and Camp 1. If your employee’s lower level needs remain unaddressed, then everything you do for them further along the journey is almost irrelevant

In Conclusion

If you are uncertain as to the current state of your team, I would suggest the following:

• If you have a company survey that has been done recently. Try to map the company survey questions to the 12 questions identified in the various camps. Typically, most company surveys will include  a close variation to these questions.
• If you don’t have recent company survey data or the questions don’t map, then take the time to initiate the survey. It is important that people understand the purpose of the survey and what they can expect from the results. Therefore, if you really don’t plan on taking action based on the results of the survey then I would not ask people to take the time to give you their perspective.

Remember, the more individuals you can move up the mountain place, the stronger the workplace.

Good Luck and enjoy the journey!