All we are is change
We often hear that people are “resistant to change”, and yet as a friend of mine is fond of saying “all we are is change”.
Validating assumptions
I was coaching a team once and I made a suggestion to one of the developers about something they could do differently. The actual suggestion isn’t important to the story so I’ll ignore that.
Fairness
We have a biological need for fairness. If we perceive a situation that is unfair, even if that unfairness doesn’t directly affect us, the anterior insula is activated1. The insula is a key part of our brain, relating to empathy2.
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Psychological Safety: The key to happy, high-performing people and teams by Radecki and Hull, 2018 ↩
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Uddin LQ, Nomi JS, Hébert-Seropian B, Ghaziri J, Boucher O. Structure and Function of the Human Insula. J Clin Neurophysiol. 2017 Jul;34(4):300-306. doi: 10.1097/WNP.0000000000000377. PMID: 28644199; PMCID: PMC6032992. ↩
Getting out in nature
Feeling stressed? Getting out in nature might be that quick fix that you need.
Stages of competence
The conscious competence model describes four, or possibly five, different stages that we move through as we are learning a new skill.
Agile Within Podcast
I’m on episode 80 of The Agile Within podcast. Click here to listen. Also see the follow up link mentioned in the podcast
Default Mode Network
For us to have those powerful insights or “aha” moments, we need to have a moment of brain pause. From a neuroscience perspective, that means that the Default Mode Network needs to be active.
Workplace stress and anxiety
A few days ago, I was sitting on my back deck working on the laptop. Out of the corner of my eye I saw some movement in front of me and I glanced up, expecting to see one of the many birds that are normally here. Instead I found myself staring at a young black bear that was walking across my lawn towards me.
Outcome bias (Resulting)
When I first read How to Decide: Simple Tools for Making Better Choices by Annie Duke, one of my biggest aha moments was from what she calls Resulting and is more formally known as Outcome Bias.
“Assume positive intent”
When dealing with troublesome or difficult situations, someone will often chime in with the advice “assume positive intent”. Sometimes teams will even bake this into their working agreements as something they should always do. While I really do like the sentiment, if taken literally as a hard rule, this can be dangerous advice.