"Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error, change - this is the rhythm of living. Out of our over-confidence, fear. Out of our fear, clearer vision, fresh hope. And out of hope, progress."

~Bruce Barton

We all Need to Change by Laura RW

I'm exploring facilitating change in my Neuroleadership program over the next few months and the question, "Is change good or bad?" keeps coming up. I'm finding the answer is consistently "Yes".

Change is always happening regardless of how we feel about it and at times it is good and at other times it is not.

Leaders have always looked for a good way to motivate others to change. The now familiar "carrot and stick" approach does not work. Human motivation is more diverse and complex than this simple reward or punishment.

I am finding that the more you try to convince people that a change is good, the more they will push back. Cognitive dissonance basically means holding two conflicting bits of knowledge in our brain. Change in our personal lives and our workplace can bring about a state of dissonance. Our brains do not like cognitive dissonance, so this is where the trouble begins.

The one thing we can control in change is our attitude. "If I can really believe this change is beneficial to me, maybe I can see the benefit." Changing our attitude is an aid to eliminating cognitive dissonance.

"Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts." ~ Arnold Bennett

While reading "Coaching with the Brain in Mind," by Rock and Page, I was reminded of John Kotter's, "Eight Steps to Change." Although these were developed for organizational change initiatives, they work as well for personal change initiatives. They are working with me and my change initiative to get more exercise.

Step 1. Create a sense of urgency. Without urgency, we won't change.

Step 2. Put together a guiding team. Any difficult change goes easier with a team of people.

Step 3. Create a vision and strategies. We need a clear vision to consistently remind us why we are changing.

Step 4. Communicate for buy-in. We need to keep the change at the top of our mind for us and others.

Step 5. Empower people. Empower others to drive the change and act on the vision.

Step 6. Produce short-term wins. These provide credibility and momentum and build confidence.

Step 7. Build momentum. It's important to use the opportunity of small wins to build momentum.

Step 8. Nurture the new culture/behavior. This ensures the change is long lasting.

"We live in a moment of history where change is so speeded up that we begin to see the present only when it is already disappearing." ~ R. D. Laing

Step into leading and play a Bigger Game in your life...don't wait...model leadership...the World needs us to do this.

Lead strong!

Pat

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Brain Cogs

Although science and religion are often in conflict, the Dalai Lama takes a different approach. Every year or so the head of Tibetan Buddhism invites a group of scientists to his home in Dharamsala, in Northern India, to discuss their work and how Buddhism might contribute to it.

In 2004 the subject was neuroplasticity, the ability of the brain to change its structure and function in response to experience. The following are vignettes adapted from 'Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain,' which describes this emerging area of science:

The Dalai Lama, who had watched a brain operation during a visit to an American medical school over a decade earlier, asked the surgeons a startling question: Can the mind shape brain matter?

Read More

 

• TED talk Michael Merzenich on re-wiring the brain [video]

• The connection between good cognition and good nutrition.

• Researchers suspect that one reason people over 45 are more resilient is that their brains have learned to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative.
  

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Recommended Reads with links to Amazon.com

"Pat created a seminar to train beginning leadership coaches for the Community Foundation's emerging leaders program. She helped bring the concepts and coaching glossary to life with examples and illustrations. She was responsive and adaptive to the various skill levels in the room and brought her focused presence and her positive outlook as a model for these new coaches."

~Susie Polnaszek, LEAD Program Manager,
Community Foundation for Monterey County

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