HR bits and pieces…
Thursday, August 31st, 2006I just thought I’d share some interesting articles on Human Resources.
David Rock
A couple weeks ago, I went to see a lecture by David Rock to MBA students and Alumni. David Rock is a successful entrepreneur and writer that has been focusing on improving businesses through personal coaching. The main focus of the lecture was his work with Jeffrey Schwartz on The Neuroscience of Leadership.
Here are main points of his lecture (borrowed from the Exec summary of the article):
Change is pain. Organizational change is unexpectedly difficult because it provokes sensations of physiological discomfort. Behaviorism doesn’t work. Change efforts based on incentive and threat (the carrot and the stick) rarely succeed in the long run. Humanism is overrated. In practice, the conventional empathic approach of connection and persuasion doesn’t sufficiently engage people. Focus is power. The act of paying attention creates chemical and physical changes in the brain. Expectation shapes reality. People’s preconceptions have a significant impact on what they perceive. Attention density shapes identity. Repeated, purposeful, and
focused attention can lead to long-lasting personal evolution.
The lecture was extremely thought provoking. ProjectX have gone through a few HR changes in the last couple of months. I can really relate to the findings. Change is a hard, it requires a concerted effort from all parties to achieve the right results.
Change or Die
There is another great article from Fast company called Change or Die about the observations of Dr. Edward Miller, the dean of the medical school and CEO of the hospital at Johns Hopkins University. Here is piece of the article.
“If you look at people after coronary-artery bypass grafting two years later, 90% of them have not changed their lifestyle,” Miller said. “And that’s been studied over and over and over again. And so we’re missing some link in there. Even though they know they have a very bad disease and they know they should change their lifestyle, for whatever reason, they can’t.”
I find this really hard to believe that 90% of people who have been given the ultimatium Change or Die failed. It really makes you think.
Develop your Strengths
David Rock also mentioned from his research that a more successful approach to training was to focus on building your employees strengths. He recommended Marcus Buckingham’s book “Now Discover your Strengths”. (This book is actually cheaper buying locally than on Amazon.)
The book gives the example of that Tiger Woods spend most of this time practising his drive and what is seen as one of his major strengths? His Drive!
The book has a link to an online survey that helps to determine what your dominant strengths. There are 34 different strengths
that range from Communication to Responsibility and Achiever to Arranger.
This approach re-inforces the personal coaching approach. Society is moving toward a more personalised view of services, so why should training be any different. The book is a great investment in the personal development of people. At around $27 per person its a bargain.
