How many times in our lives – at work or personally have we known that something isn’t quite right be it about a particular situation, a business transaction or a person and yet we have chosen to be willfully blind.  According to Margaret Heffernan in her insightful and engaging book, “Willful Blindness” – why we ignore the obvious at our own peril, this is far more common and pervasive than we would possibly care to think about.  With real case studies, she answers questions like, why do we choose to keep ourselves in the dark, what are the forces at work that make us deny the big threats staring at us in the face and not heeding the warnings and why as individuals, companies and countries we regularly look back in the mirror and howl: How could we have been so blind?

Here are  nine factors at play that she covers in this highly recommended book:  (These are her words, edited only occasionally for the sake of this blog).

1) Affinity and beyond – familiarity does not breed contempt.  It breeds comfort and a sense of safety. Madoff’s  crime is described as an affinity crime,  preying on people like him who knew others like themselves, who didn’t ask questions because their level of comfort was so high that they felt they could take shortcuts.  Our blindness grows out of the small, daily decisions that we make which embed us snugly inside our affirming thoughts and values.  We think we see more but in fact the landscape has shrunk.

2) Love is blind – we blind ourselves to inconvenient or painful facts. Because our identity and security depends on our loved ones, we don’t want to see anything that threatens them. It is easier to be blind than deal with uncomfortable feelings. Neuroscience shows that love activates those areas of the brain associated with reward such as food, drink, money or cocaine.  The chemical processes stimulated by love disable much of the critical thinking about the loved one. There is the paradox of blindness – we think it will make us safe even as it puts us in danger. We make ourselves powerless when we pretend not to know.

3) Dangerous convictions – Psychologist Anthony Greenwald called this the “totalitarian ego.” It operates like a police state: locking away threatening or incompatible ideas, suppressing evidence, and re-writing history, all in the service of a central idea or self-image. (more…)

While in Hawaii, I had the great pleasure of coming across the work of Rosa Say, a workplace culture and leadership coach, author and speaker. Rosa brings a unique Hawaiian perspective to business and workplace focusing on core Hawaiian values which also have a universality and parallel with many indigenous cultures. Her beautiful and very practical book, “Managing with Aloha” brings these values to life and I feel privileged sharing this interview with Rosa,  with you.

1. Tell us a bit about yourself – your roots and cultural background?

I was born and raised in Hawaii, the oldest of 5 children: I was 5 years old when Hawaii became the 50th State of USA. Like many in the islands, I represent a melting pot of ancestry, and I’m Filipino, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, and Chinese, yet I consider myself keiki o ka ‘aina (a child of the land) in my value system and prevailing habit, in that I’m completely a product of the islands’ sense of place. In our islands, the locals would call me Kama’aina; one who is native born and bred, but not of Hawaiian blood ancestry. “Of Hawaii” is who I am, in that it is all I know as a resident, other than a very short time when I lived in the Philippines as a teenager, but I’ve been fortunate to have traveled outside of the islands quite a bit – more than most residents do. Haven’t been to your islands yet though, and believe me, it’s near the top of my bucket list! (more…)

From time to time, in our personal and professional lives, we come across people and opportunities that seem engaging, exciting and worthy of further exploration.  Sometimes the best things in life are those we stumble upon or that seem to come quite serendipitously out of nowhere!  And indeed, explore we must as new horizons and development only arise through venturing into the unknown, pushing the envelope and taking an “experimental” stance towards such invitations.  As the old saying goes, if we do what we have always done, then we will get what we have always gotten!

At the same time, though, it is worth being mindful of the following questions to guide your explorations:
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Dario Nardi, PhD is also the founder and CEO of Radiance House media and books. He is also a founder of UCLA’s Human Complex Systems degree program,   winner of UCLA’s annual Distinguished Teaching award, and author/coauthor of numerous books including Neuroscience of  Personality and “8 Keys to Self-Leadership”. You can find more at  www.radiancehouse.com and www.darionardi.com. Dario will be presenting at the Type conference in Melbourne in October, 2012 with a possible workshop in New Zealand as well.

1. How did you get drawn into the work you are doing currently?

Five years go I used teaching award funds to buy brain-mapping equipment. In retrospect, I took a lot on faith that the device would take me somewhere useful. After my first session with some students, I couldn’t sleep for weeks. It was so exciting! The students found it very meaningful too. To peer inside themselves in a way they’d never done before. Every time I sit down with someone, it’s an opportunity for new observations and connections. And people want to know about the neuroscience of personality, because it’s so personal and also scientific, a wonderful marriage! Now I’m doing workshops, a training program, creating materials, etc. But I keep in mind the topic is still young. There is a lot left to learn.

2. How can we engage our brains better to generate higher levels of motivation and better decision-making?

There’s something I call the engagement curve. Our brains get more active as motivation and/or competent in a task increase. If the task is too easy, too hard, or generally irrelevant to the person, then brain activity goes down.
To go from awareness to action, we need to understand what boosts motivation and competence. Susan Nash has a great coaching methodology for when and how to engage people to increase competence.
Regarding motivation, the possibility of positive feedback tends to motivate people. A manager who gives negative feedback on positive results is begging for low morale. And yes, we rig our systems to do that. For example, UCLA has teaching evaluations but funding for teaching is decided by other factors. So why bother to teach well? And when teaching is poor, why would students be motivated to learn? The underlying issue in this case is a lack of shared purpose. The general lessons: Goals and values should clearly align in all directions, and there should be honest rewards for individuals’ actual performance.
People also get excited when they engage in a design cycle on a product that is meaningful to them. I’ve seen this first-hand. When someone exclaims, “I’m making this, it’s for good, and I’m making it better!” then the person is displaying pride of ownership.
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The RWC has kicked off unleashing with it a sense of national pride, passion, fun and excitement.  All these factors also lend themselves to a sense of engagement whether at work or play. High employee engagement is what all employers and business want as research shows a direct correlation with bottom line measures such as profitability and productivity.    Engaged employees produce better results with higher sales, greater teamwork, loyalty and customer service and less absenteeism. 

So how do we get the best out of people during the RWC – when they are likely to be distracted, fatigued, and some would rather be watching the games than be at work?

Whether you are a business owner, employee or manager and leader be mindful of the following over the next five weeks.  These issues were discussed at a recent HRINZ (Human Resources Institute New Zealand) leadership SIG meeting in Auckland, attended by over 40 managers and Human Resources professionals from a diverse range of industries and where Coca Cola Amatil – a major RWC sponsor – shared strategies for encouraging employee engagement at work. (more…)