Management Psychology Group – Page 2 – business and organizational psychologists

The Trait of Agreeableness

Agreeableness is one of the major Big Five personality factors. People scoring high on Agreeableness are likely to try to get along with others and to maintain harmonious relationships. They display emotional warmth and supportive social interactions. They may have difficulties making tough decisions regarding people. They don’t like conflict. They are typically approachable and easy to get along with, tending to describe themselves as cooperative, likable, approachable, soft‑hearted and easygoing. They are not inclined to be blunt, intense, abrupt or direct.

Tolerant. People who get high scores here describe themselves as flexible, good-natured, warm, praising, generous, forgiving, tolerant, gentle, humorous and trusting. High scores are indicative of people who seek to build and maintain harmonious relationships and who want to be liked and well-regarded.

Easygoing. High scorers are likely to come off as laid-back, patient, easygoing, mild, too nice, accepting and peaceable. They are not likely to see themselves as intense, impatient or excessively driven.

Sympathetic. People scoring high on this facet are typically seen as feeling‑oriented, sentimental, affectionate, soft-hearted, sensitive, sympathetic, warm and gentle.

No personality trait is inherently positive or negative. There are potential upsides and downsides to scores at any point along the spectrum. The further towards the endpoints (high or low), the more pronounced and observable the behaviors associated with the particular trait under consideration are likely to be. People with exceptionally high or low scores are likely to demonstrate both the positives and negatives associated with the characteristic under study. For Agreeableness, people with high scores are inclined to be cooperative, likable, personable and easy to deal with. People with low scores are typically more intense, driven and likely to be more task oriented than emotionally sensitive.

While we can’t change our personalities to any significant extent, we can learn new behaviors and skills. We can get better at most anything, given the appropriate goals and the insight, resources and motivation to achieve them. Below are some suggestions for people with high or low scores on the trait of Agreeableness.

High Scores

Don’t be too nice for your own good. People with this profile sometimes work harder to please others than to please themselves.

Watch out for the point of diminishing returns. Learn to cut your losses. Remind yourself that you will never be able to satisfy everybody.

Pay attention to your skills of conflict management. You may not be comfortable with confrontation but you can certainly learn the skills to state your case in a direct, fact-based and appropriately assertive manner.

Make sure you are holding others accountable. People with high scores on agreeableness sometimes jump in too quickly to take up the slack for others. Don’t let people take advantage of your good nature.

Low Scores

You may need to work on your bedside manner. People with low scores on agreeableness can come off as intolerant and impatient.

Behavioral Control: Conscientiousness

Behavioral Control is one of the major Big Five personality factors. It is often referred to as conscientiousness, and is a good predictor of successful performance in most jobs. This dimension is related to discipline, focus, tenacity and organization. People with high scores on this trait typically control their expressions of feeling and emotion and operate according to rules and structure. They often feel a keen sense of duty and responsibility. They are usually seen as disciplined, conscientious, tenacious, stubborn, inflexible and controlled. People with low scores here are often seen as spontaneous, adaptable, undisciplined, careless and not particularly detail-oriented. The subfactors associated with this overall dimension of Behavioral Control are presented below.

Emotional Reactivity

Of the five major personality factors, emotional reactivity is most closely associated with psychological health and well-being. This factor has been identified by many researchers as, e.g., anxiety, neuroticism or emotionality. It reflects the tendency to be tense, anxious, easily upset or high strung. However, the eTest personality inventory was normed on a well adjusted sample (business people as a population typically score higher as a group on measures of psychological stability and emotional adjustment than do people in the general population). Therefore, a high score on this measure doesn’t necessarily indicate pathology or abnormality when compared to people in general. If the primary score is extremely high, the person may be stress-prone or possibly going through an upsetting or anxiety-provoking experience. In the case of extremely high scores, it’s helpful to find out if they are an indication of State Anxiety (a response to a particularly stressful situation) or Trait Anxiety (a more generalized pattern of tension, emotional reactivity or anxiety). High scores are an indication of negative emotion.

People scoring high on the primary factor of Emotional Reactivity describe themselves as tense, anxious, easily upset, impulsive, emotional and reactive. Low scorers see themselves as relaxed, calm, stress tolerant, complacent, etc. In addition to the score for the primary domain of this trait, the eTest profile generates the following three related sub-scores. These facets add nuance to the overall reactivity score and help predict how the primary trait is likely to be expressed.

Extraversion

Extraversion is a well-researched primary personality factor. This is usually the first dimension that arises from statistical research, called factor analysis, on most personality inventories. At the most basic level, it is seen as an orientation towards the external world of people, things, events, etc., or toward the internal world of thoughts, feelings, ideas, etc. People with high scores on this dimension are referred to as extraverts, while people with low scores are referred to as introverts. On a side note, acceptable spellings are extrAversion, extrOversion, intrAversion and intrOversion. We chose extraversion and introversion because they provide a better fit for the pronunciations of both terms.

A large component of extraversion is the need for social contact versus a preference for solitary pursuits. Extraverts are typically sociable, gregarious, outgoing, group-oriented, and expressive. They are not usually described as quiet, low key, shy or introverted. They are energized by social interaction and being with people. Low scores on extraversion are indicative of a mild, reserved and relatively unexpressive social style. Introverts can be exhausted by too much social interaction. However, since people in the business population, on average, score higher on extraversion than do people in general, an average score on the eTest personality inventory suggests that the person will probably still seem relatively sociable when compared to people in general.

In addition to the score for the primary domain of extraversion, the eTest profile generates four sub-scores, or facets, related to this factor. These facets add nuance to the overall extraversion score and help predict how the primary trait is likely to be expressed.

Persuasiveness. This facet score may not be an accurate reflection of a person’s skills of persuasion, but it gives an indication of how persuasive the person perceives him/herself to be. People who describe themselves with such terms as leader, role model, politically skilled, socially astute, convincing and optimistic get high scores here.

Talkativeness. People with a high score on this scale are not typically seen as quiet, reserved, soft-spoken, shy, subdued or restrained.

Active Friendliness. High scores indicate that the person will be sociable, talkative, witty, outgoing, gregarious, lively and humorous.

Boldness. People with high scores on this facet are generally seen as daring, adventurous, spontaneous, bold, driven, energetic and aggressive.

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No personality trait is inherently positive or negative. There are potential upsides and downsides to scores at any point along the spectrum. The further towards the endpoints (high or low), the more pronounced and observable the behaviors associated with the particular trait are likely to be. People with exceptionally high or low scores are likely to demonstrate both the positives and negatives associated with the trait. For extraversion, people with high scores are sociable, talkative and outgoing but they may also overstep social boundaries and get bored quickly working in isolation. People with low scores on extraversion tend to be more reflective and socially low-key but also overly self-contained, shy and prone to under communicate.

While we can’t change our personalities to any significant extent, we can learn new behaviors and skills. We can get better at most things given the appropriate goals and the insight, resources, motivation and effort to achieve them. Below are some additional insights for people with high or low scores on the trait of extraversion.

High scores

In terms of career development, you’ll probably enjoy jobs that allow you to interact with people. You may not be satisfied over time working in relative isolation. People in sales, marketing, HR and management are often above average in extraversion.

Make sure your listening skills are appropriately developed. Extraverts tend to spend more time talking than listening.

Be careful about coming off as socially aggressive, pushy or salesy. People with high scores on extraversion sometimes don’t realize when they are overwhelming the less vocal or socially oriented team members.

Try to carve out occasional times for quiet reflection. Extraverts are more prone to seek out high levels of social stimulation and interaction than to quietly analyze and reflect upon their deeper insights, needs and motivations.

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Low scores

Don’t fade into the background, especially in team activities. Introverts are inclined to withhold their opinions and expressions, especially in the company of more vocal colleagues.

Schedule some time for informal “water cooler” interaction with colleagues. No matter what your job, you will be well served by having a network of coworkers who can offer support and assistance to reach your goals.

Stretch beyond your social comfort zone. Make yourself participate in such things as public speaking training and similar activities that will force little more contact with others.

Realize that other people may find you difficult to read. Introverts typically do not express their reactions, feelings and emotions to any significant extent. Although you may have intense reactions and/or a rich inner life, others are not likely to know about it unless you make special efforts to communicate.

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Your chances for happiness and career success will increase to the extent that you can make the best use of your natural personality characteristics while realizing when you need to do things differently. If you’re an extravert, do what you can to develop the insight and control to monitor your impact and use your sociability to your advantage rather than letting it overwhelm others. If you’re an introvert, find ways to stretch yourself outside your social comfort zone more often, and learn to turn up the volume. Regardless of your profile, remind yourself that others are wired differently and operate according to a sometimes vastly different set of motivations and preferences.

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Extraversion is one of the Big Five personality factors. A large body of scientific research has demonstrated that personality can be well described by five major traits. This model of personality is referred to as the Five Factor Model (FFM). When the eTest personality inventory was factor analyzed in the validation process during its development, these five major dimensions emerged as the structural underpinnings of the instrument. As developers, it was encouraging to see that our work was very much in line with the best research on the nature of personality and reflected these five factors. These traits indicate long-term and enduring patterns of behavior. Our personality traits are remarkably stable over the course of our adult lives. While personality is not destiny, it can clearly affect our behavior and decisions, to include those related to career choices.

Bad Behavior in the Workplace

As we navigate the transition from pandemic work adjustments to whatever the “new normal” may be, we’re all dealing with a little extra uncertainty and change. The additional effort necessary to handle this change can add stress and can potentially lead to more irritability, shortness, or rudeness in our interactions at work. Are these kinds of work behaviors minor events that let people blow off steam, then dissipate? Or, do they have a longer, more negative impact? Recent research published in the Journal of Applied Psychology weighs in on the effects of bad behavior at work.

The Research Details

A team of researchers conducted a meta-analysis (a high-level statistical research process that combines results from several studies) to determine the impact that negative workplace behaviors have on relationships. They analyzed 246 cases (including almost 97,000 people), and found that, when one person engages in a bad workplace behavior, the other person in the relationship reciprocates in a similar manner. The more frequently one person shows bad behavior, the more frequently the other person reciprocates in a similar way and at a similar level of severity. Often, the reciprocator escalates the bad behavior. In other words, if you act like a jerk, others will act like a jerk right back at you. Surprise.

The bad behaviors in this study spanned the range of minor to more severe behaviors, including incivility, criticizing others, withholding information, treating others badly, bullying, harassment, abusive supervision, workplace aggression.

What This Means for Organizations

This research shows that bad workplace behavior, rather than dissipating, has a longer-lasting impact on relationships at work. In the social exchange idea of “an eye for an eye”, bad behaviors are returned in kind, or are even escalated. These bad behaviors can create a bad organizational culture, harm employees’ productivity, and lead to negative organizational outcomes. So, what should organizations do about bad workplace behavior?

Personality At Work

Personality is not destiny…but our personality traits strongly influence our work preferences and choices for our careers, and our behavior on the job. We can learn new skills and behaviors, but the structures of our personalities are our factory settings.

There is a professional consensus that personality can be accurately described by five broad factors. The Five Factor Model, or Big Five, has evolved over fifty years through real world observation and scientific research. These are stable traits that affect our behavior consistently over time and in a broad range of circumstances.

The Big Five:

Below are some observations about these traits in relation to work-related and general behavior. There will be more to say about each of these factors in upcoming posts.

Extraversion

Extraversion is associated with traits such as being sociable, gregarious, assertive, talkative, persuasive, spontaneous, and driven.

Extraverts are oriented towards the external world and usually enjoy being around people. They typically lean towards jobs that allow a high level of interaction with others. They are often assertive, outgoing and sociable. At the extreme, they can be overly assertive and socially insensitive or aggressive.

Low scores on this factor suggest social introversion and a more quiet, low-key social style. Introverts are more internally focused and tend to assume their work will speak for them, rather than to actively sell themselves and their ideas. The exaggerated state of this trait may result in a socially passive, nonassertive, overly cautious and under-communicative social style.

Emotional Reactivity

Emotional Reactivity is related to emotional stability and patience. It includes such traits as security versus anxiety, happiness versus stress-proneness and restraint versus impulsivity.

High scores on this factor suggest tendencies to be emotionally expressive and intense. They may also be associated with higher wariness, vigilance and energy, as well as with tendencies to be anxious and easily frustrated. Extreme scores here may indicate stress-proneness and a tendency to be overly reactive.

Low scores are usually associated with an even temperament and a tendency to be unflappable, even-keeled and self-secure. Very low scores sometimes indicate over-confidence and passivity.

Behavioral Control

Behavioral Control is associated with conscientiousness and is represented by traits such as being careful, thorough, responsible, traditional, conforming, procedural, organized, planful, and detail-oriented.

People with high scores on this measure are usually disciplined, deliberate, determined and conscientious. They typically attend to detail and follow through on tasks until complete. They are likely to be timely, organized and dependable in their work. At their worst, they can be rigid, inflexible and overly structured or procedure-oriented.

Low scores suggest a looser, more flexible and spontaneous style. They also may indicate a tendency to let details slide and to be undisciplined. People with very low scores may be unstructured, unconventional and lax on follow-through.

Agreeableness

Agreeableness consists of characteristics such as being courteous, flexible, good-natured, easygoing, cooperative, forgiving, and soft-hearted.

High scores are associated with an easygoing, accepting, approachable and tolerant demeanor. People with high scores are usually non-demanding and easy to get along with. They value harmonious relationships and may try too hard to avoid conflict and confrontation. At their worst, they can be passive and too nice for their own good.

People with low scores here often have a driven, energetic, intense and direct style. They are often highly achievement motivated, but they can also come off as impatient and demanding. Extremely low scores suggest insensitivity, bluntness and intolerance.

Complexity

Complexity is sometimes referred to as openness to experience, and is associated with traits such as being imaginative, innovative, broad minded, analytical, and academically inclined.

People with high scores on this factor are usually open to new information and ideas, and they gravitate towards intellectual complexity and challenge. Very high scores may indicate an overly academic or theoretical approach.

Low scores are more likely to be obtained by people who are focused on the immediate task at hand and who have more of a practical, applied or operational orientation. Very low scores are more typical of people who are tactically focused, possibly to the point of missing the strategic viewpoint.

There is no “best” personality. There are potential strengths and liabilities associated with extreme high or low scores on any trait. Personality assessment has no right or wrong answers. The challenge is to understand personality and its most likely expression on the job, and to use that knowledge in the most effective and helpful way to select and develop people who will help build the culture you want in your organization. The eTest® Technical Manual presents an in-depth description of these primary factors and their secondary sub-factors.

MPG

eTest.net

Download Free Book: Leadership in Organizations

Leadership in Organizations (Free Book)

I’ve updated Active Leadership to add a section on problem-solving teams and the action learning process for organizational development, and to reflect some of the changes in organizational life in recent times. I may publish it in a more traditional format at some point, but right now I just want to make it available for free to anyone interested in leadership in organizations. Below is the introduction.

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Leadership in Organizations: Are You Really Sure You Want to Do This?
(If so, here are some Practical Insights and Tips for Success)

I’m only partially tongue-in-cheek with that title. These readings are updated from my earlier book Active Leadership. It was a simpler time, and it seems there have been a few changes in the world since then.

However, human nature has not changed. Neither has the need for the collaborative effort made possible by organizational structure. People still must join forces to get work done and still need competent leadership to be successful doing that. If anything, good leadership is now more important than ever. The stakes are higher and the situations we face are more complex and politically toxic. Good leadership remains a matter of problem-solving, communication, relationship-building, integrity and sustained effort. You will see these themes reflected in many of these notes. I’ve presented these previously as the conceptual framework of the I-Competencies: Intellectual (head); Interpersonal (heart); Integrity (guts); and Intensity (will).

Leadership is also about common sense. And there’s nothing common about common sense. But we have no choice other than to do the best we can with the resources we have, and to build new resources where we can. We tend to lose sight of the fact that, by all objective measures, we live in the best of times. And we humans, however flawed we can be, have always found ways to innovate and solve problems to get to a better place on the other side. Here’s to your journey!

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Here’s the link to the PDF: Leadership in Organizations (Active Leadership 2.0). I hope you find it useful.

All the best, and have fun!

Hodge Golson

Leading Through Bad Times

High-Stakes Leadership
Recent events (the coronavirus pandemic, the lockdown of global economies and civil unrest) have intensified the spotlight on leadership in situations of danger and high stakes. These circumstances have clearly highlighted the need for good data, objective analysis of facts, the courage to make decisions in the face of pressure and incomplete information (and sometimes to change course in light of new information) and the ability to communicate complex ideas in an understandable and persuasive manner.

People in positions of public leadership (including business executives) have a hard time getting, analyzing and using good information. And being in a visible position of leadership, especially in a large organization, is fraught with new obstacles and dangers related to the social media landscape.
Given that these are unusual and unsettled times characterized by mistrust of leadership and institutions (verified by Gallup and others) it’s imperative that leaders in the public eye, and leaders in general, behave in a way that builds credibility and trust. Yes, this is idealistic, and yes, many of our systems seem to be broken. But with luck, reason and hard work we can fix them, or at least get them back into effective working order. Here are some ideas that might help us move a more positive direction.

You need good data and sound analysis. In all situations, but especially in trying times, leaders should first off try to get good data. Although we have more information at our fingertips than at any time in history, there is also much more noise and spin in the system. In any leadership role, especially in a high-stakes situation, remind yourself that everyone is likely to be working an angle. Assume that everyone will be pushing an agenda and trying to influence your decisions. Though it may not be an agenda from bad intentions, people often have a vested interest in certain outcomes which is likely exacerbated during tough times. So, look at your data with a rigorous and skeptical eye. Seek confirmation from as wide a variety of sources and viewpoints as possible. Always consider the possibility that you may be wrong. And be sure you understand basic statistics and probability.

You need the courage to make decisions with incomplete data. There will always be people who will question the leader’s decision and who will actively or passively resist progress if they don’t agree. In reality, the true effectiveness and consequences of many high-stakes decisions may never fully be known. Many situations are just too complex. What are the consequences of shutting down an economy in a pandemic versus keeping a country open? In a perfect world, we would be able to quantify the effects of both courses of action. However, there is likely to be little agreement on the most probable number of deaths due to the disease versus those due to a crashed economy. In these circumstances, leaders need objective sources of data and analysis. But they also need the judgment and courage to make some decisions that will not be easy or popular. Not many people are wired to do that. In the public arena, there is tremendous pressure from all sides. In battle, military leaders are sometimes confronted with situations that will cost lives no matter what the decision. One can only hope to minimize the loss. The best way to do that is to have accurate data, rational analyses and the most competent and objective advisors.

Show a positive vision and the way to achieve it. Acknowledge that people are facing major problems and difficulties, paint a positive vision and communicate a path out of the trouble. Clarify but don’t simplify. Admit it when you don’t have the information. Don’t cover up, prevaricate or make up an answer to look good. People are motivated by a fear of loss. They need to know the leader will help them avoid it. They need to see that the leader is working hard to make things better and giving them the chance to be successful.

Make sure everyone understands the mission. In tough times, unity of effort is more effective than unity of command. Make the “North Star” explicit. A good example of this is the approach attributed to General Thad Allen, leader of the Hurricane Katrina recovery task force. In the early chaos, he was reported to have climbed on a table in the command tent to address the troops trying to get ready to deal with the devastation. His message was: “Treat everyone you meet who has been affected as if they are a member of your family. If you do that, two things will happen. First, if you make a mistake, you will err on the side of doing too much. Second, if somebody has a problem with what you’ve done, it will not be with you. It will be with me.”

Keep the faith that things will get better. Human history is characterized by conflict and struggle but also by progress and problem solving. Despite the constant drumbeat of negativity, most objective data and trendlines show that we are in better shape now than at any time in history. Remember that human ingenuity is not usually considered by models of scarcity, gloom and doom. We encounter tough times, we adjust, we solve problems and we create a better life. That’s our nature. None of us are perfect as individuals and none of our organizations are perfect. However, the steady overall trend has been in the positive direction since we first began to record history.

A Good Leader Helps People Overcome Adversity
Growth through pain is a cliché, but it’s also true. A tough fact of life is that that we don’t learn much about our¬selves or our character in good times. We can’t fully dis¬cover our strengths and shortcomings without being tested by adversity. How we deal with it is central to who we are – and how credible we can be in leadership roles. In bad times, all eyes are on the leader. The way you behave has a tremendous impact on your people. The best thing the captain can do in stormy seas is keep the tiller steady – unless, of course, the ship is headed towards the rocks.

When people are under prolonged periods of stress and strain, predictable and bad things happen. They can become increasingly wary and tend to interpret each new sign as an indication of more bad things to come. Negative emotions run high and people are more likely to bark at each other and openly show frustration. They become skeptical of the new and the different, and are prone to reject it out of hand. As the stress continues, fatigue sets in and they become even more pessimistic about the future. Relationships suffer as the focus be¬comes one of staying afloat as a business. Steadiness and insightful coaching are crucial to survival and success in tough times. A stressful environment increases the leader’s potential impact. People look to leaders more in hard times, which is partly a product of the ambiguity that adversity creates.

Focusing on the Right Things
A critical coaching challenge in uncertain times is to keep people focused on things that are under their con¬trol. You might not be able to affect what happens in the market, but you certainly can reach out to your cus¬tom¬ers and provide great service. This sense of control helps people manage their stress and allows them to experi¬ence small wins that have a buffering effect. It is critical that the leader or coach provide a broader vision of the future, and a sense of direction and purpose. By linking today’s actions to a better future, people gain a sense of perspective. By pointing out to an employee how their individual job links to a broader corporate strategy, you give that person a greater sense of purpose and utility. And that provides significant relief from the debilitating effects of stress.

On the people side of the equation, the key responsibility of a leader or coach is communication. Regular, honest, candid, and consistent communication is key. You must be seen as a reliable source of information, even if it means admitting you don’t know. Equally important is listening. By understanding the concerns of their people, leaders can more readily address them and share with them the information and insights that reduce misunderstandings and fight negative rumors. In tough times, it is critically important to create opportunities for positive emotion. While a sense of humor helps, it is also important to celebrate wins, find ways to have fun, and to thank people. Emphasizing strengths, wins, and good news helps redirect attention and energy.

A cornerstone of great leadership is taking care of the troops. Listening and empathy are important, of course, but you also need to be attuned to signs of burnout. Because much is expected of people in a tough economy, they need to find ways to recharge their batteries. Framing challenges people face as developmental opportunities can often help redefine their emotional experience. While few people would wish to go through boot camp again, most recognize the benefit of that challenge. Seeing current circumstances as being tested under fire makes us more resilient. Remember the words of Winston Churchill: “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”

Naturally, managing the task and managing your people are essential to success in any circumstances; but in tough times, the self-management dimension is critical. You’re in the spotlight even more now. You set the tone. If you are positive, confident, and optimistic, your people are likely to behave in the same way. If you display focus and determination, they are likely to follow suit. In stressful circumstances, you need to manage your behavior to bring about greater optimism and more effective action from your people, and help them manage their own attitudes and behaviors towards appropriate outcomes.

It’s natural for people to feel powerless and victimized in tough times, so it is important for leaders to help their people shift from the mindset of the passive victim observing things from the sidelines to that of the athlete playing the game. You must keep them focused on the fact that there are always choices available, and that, although they may not be able to control the final score, they do have control over how they play the game. If we consistently play with integrity, stamina, optimism, and intensity, we usually surprise ourselves. Even if we lose, we can be proud of our performance. Remember, just as panic and despair are infectious, so are energy and enthusiasm. As you look around your organization, remember the words of Gandhi: “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
One way to keep people focused on positive action is not to slip into the trap of automatic sympathy. While it makes a person in victim mode feel good to hear such things as, “That’s terrible, you must feel awful, they should fix it, poor baby,” and other messages of consolation, those are precisely the wrong messages. They imply that the power is out there, with those bad people who are doing you wrong, with that evil competitor or that rotten economy.

A more effective way to get and keep the right focus is with statements such as, “Yes, that’s tough – what are you going to do about it?” or, “I wish it was different, but it’s not – what did you learn from it?” and “I understand you’re angry – so how will you avoid this in the future?” These responses imply that the power remains with the individual and that some positive outcome can arise from a tough situation when you employ the right strategies. A key to great leadership in tough times is to help people see reality, and to help them find appropriate ways to deal with it. Keep in mind the words of Carl Rogers: “The facts are always friendly.”

Leaders often need to help their players reframe their current situations, and see things in a different light. This is important: the conditions that conspire to present you with your current set of choices are not always under your control, but the way you respond to them is. Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl’s book Man’s Search for Meaning describes the experiences that helped him develop these insights, and illustrates this concept quite effectively. You can’t imagine much worse circumstances than Auschwitz, where the Nazis had the power over everything in your life, including whether or not you get to keep it. Some people, however, including Frankl, were able to survive their ordeals in the death camps.

Being a neuroscientist and psychiatrist, Frankl was intrigued by the puzzle of what makes some people re¬silient and what causes others in similar life-threatening circumstances to succumb. His observation was that, although people in the camps were deprived of choice in all aspects of their lives, those who retained the human dignity of choosing how to respond were more likely to survive. Those who gave up and acted as if they had no control, no choices, were more likely to die. This was also illustrated in studies of learned helplessness conducted by Martin Seligman, one of the primary developers of the relatively new field of Positive Psychology. He demonstrated that dogs that were subject to shocks over which they had no control eventually gave up and stopped trying to escape. Even when the doors to their cages were left open, they would lie down and passively accept the shock rather than try to get out. They could have escaped the shock simply by walking through the open door, but their previous training had not provided them that frame of reference.

Hopefully, none of us will ever have to endure traumatic experiences such as those described above; but we still whine and complain. It’s our nature. Still, we can transcend our nature at times by shifting our frame of reference, realizing that we in fact do have more control than we think, and changing the way we act. Similarly, when we change how we think (often leading to the insight that we in fact do have options), we’re preparing to change how we respond and behave. The clear lesson of these results and observations is this: how we choose to respond to a situation allows us to transcend even the worst of circumstances.

The right changes in behavior enable us to make things better. We can choose to see things differently as we become more aware of alternatives and we can consequently choose to act differently as we develop the courage to do so.

Thought Questions for Bad Times
How do you begin? If you’re in a bad situation, start with a question: “What am I going to do to make things better?” This implies analyzing your circumstances with an eye towards seeing what can be improved. As you do this, you may begin to see alternatives you might not have considered. This is when you can see opportunities to act differently. You might not have caused your situation, but you always have the choice about how to respond to it. You have more control than you realize. It sounds simplistic, but sometimes the simple solutions are the best. To help your people shift their thinking from being the victim to becoming an active participant, try these questions:

What will you do to make your life better?
When will you do it?
How will you measure your success?
How long before you know whether it’s working?
What will you do if it’s not working?

Key Concepts

When people are under stress, they look to leaders for information, direction, and support. In dangerous and high-stakes situations, leaders need accurate data and analysis. They also need to communicate a clear vision of success and a path out of the difficulties. If you can help people realize they have more control than they realize, they will be more effective. Re-framing their current negative situation to help them focus on the things that are under their control, and showing them they can find things they can do, will help them get through.

A New Look at Employee Engagement – Some Things DON’T Change

As of this post, we’re coming out of a pandemic that will probably have lasting effects on the way we work. All of us have had to be more flexible and innovative to meet the dual goals of staying healthy and continuing to provide services and products. Front-line people are continuing to work at physical locations to provide essential services while adjusting their procedures to minimize risks and to deal with the new challenges. Others are transitioning to remote working, figuring out new technologies, practices, and ways to maintain relationships for their jobs. For everyone, being engaged and committed is the underlying motivation that keeps us moving forward in times like these, as well as in “normal” times.

In spite of all the obvious bad, this global health and economic tragedy has forced us to reflect and, in unforeseen ways, to change our assumptions about education, work…and life. But human nature hasn’t changed. Although organizations and work patterns may look different, at least for a while, the basics still apply. The best companies will continue to be driven by people who are engaged in the values, mission, and vision of the organization. When thinking of employee engagement, organizations have plenty of research and resources from which to pull. There are many measures of employee engagement, lists of employee engagement ideas, and tips for how to drive employee engagement. There is research that shows the positive results from focusing on engagement. For example, employees who are engaged are invested in and passionate about their company and their work. They devote extra mental, physical, and emotional energies to help the organization succeed. And, they are more satisfied, more effective in their performance, and more likely to make a positive impact on their organization. Companies with engaged employees see the benefits in outcomes like customer loyalty, higher sales, and better profitability.

However, recent research a adds new dimension to our understanding of engagement. Employee engagement has sometimes been conceptualized as an on-or-off thing: people are either engaged in their company and job, or they are disengaged. While this way of thinking can be useful, new research suggests that engagement can vary within the same person in the same job. This research emphasizes that jobs are multi-faceted and changing, and that engagement can vary from task to task. This insight leads to practical steps to help people stay fully involved and engaged.

The Research
In a recent study (reference below) published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, psychologists conducted two studies to find out how engagement changes as people work on different tasks. One study was in the field, where NASA Human Exploration Research Analog crew members worked on a variety of tasks in simulated missions. A second study was in the lab, where college students were studied as they performed various firefighting simulation tasks. As the study participants worked on their tasks, measures were taken of their task engagement, task performance, positive feelings about the task, and their attention to the current and previous tasks. They found that task engagement is energizing and spills over into engagement in and performance on the next task. A downside, however, is that this investment can cause “attention residue.” That is, people who were highly engaged in one task had difficultly switching their attention from that one and redirecting their thinking to the new task. So, through this mechanism, it was seen that high engagement in one situation can inhibit performance in a second task.

What This Means for Organizations
This research indicates that engagement is not a unitary, overall job construct, but can change as employees move from one task to another. The authors suggest practical ways for organizations and employees to structure work, so that we take advantage of our full energies and maximize our engagement throughout the workday.

Yes, things are a mess. No, you didn’t cause it. What will you DO about it?

As of this writing, there are signs we’re slowly coming out of the twilight zone of a once-in-a-century virus pandemic and global shutdown. Of course this is frustrating and frightening. But there are valuable lessons and insights from such experiences if we discipline ourselves to see them. This can be a time of great opportunity for growth. But we have to get our head right to make sure we’re seeing the troubles we face realistically and not through the lens of our natural emotional responses. Two key thoughts that can help us focus:

“The facts are always friendly” – psychologist Carl Rogers, a founder of psychotherapy research.
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” – The Serenity Prayer, emphasized in recovery organizations like AA, authored by theologian Reinhold Niebuhr.

We’re psychologists who help clients select the right people for the right jobs, and who help people reach their developmental potential on the job. Under that umbrella, we do a lot of executive coaching and leadership team development. This process frequently involves helping people learn to achieve a more effective balance between their natural human instincts (that have been honed over the eons to have great survival value in dangerous situations, but can be a hindrance in the business world), and their powers of objective observation and rational analysis to come up with workable solutions to some of the problems they face.

In the more clinical end of our profession, there is a very effective treatment protocol broadly referred to as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, that involves changing behavior through changing perceptions. In short, it helps people improve their lives by changing the way they think. Where the mind goes, the emotions will follow.

But how do you learn to deal with bad things that aren’t your fault? The conditions that seem to conspire against you are not always under your control. But the way you respond to them is. Viktor Frankl was a German neuroscientist and psychiatrist who was sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp in WWII. In spite of his dire circumstances, he became intrigued by the puzzle of what made some people resilient and what caused others to succumb. In the camps, the Nazis literally exercised life-or-death power. Many people simply gave up and died. But some, including Frankl, were able to survive their death camp ordeals. His insight was that, although people were deprived of choice in all other aspects of their lives, those who retained the human dignity of choosing how to respond were more likely to survive. Those who gave up and acted as if they had no control, no choices, were more likely to die.

This was also shown to be true in later research on learned helplessness conducted by Martin Seligman, one of the primary developers of the field of Positive Psychology. When dogs in closed cages were subjected to mild electric shocks over time eventually gave up and stopped trying to escape. Even when the doors to their cages were left open, they would lie down and passively accept the shock rather than trying to get out. They were not helpless, but they perceived themselves to be.

The clear lesson from all this is that we always have the choice of how we respond to a situation, and that’s what allows us to transcend even the worst of circumstances. You may not control the hand you’re dealt, but you can control how you play it. Frankl’s book Man’s Search for Meaning describes the experiences that helped him to develop these insights. Surprisingly, it’s not a downer to read. In fact, it’s amazingly upbeat and encouraging.

Fortunately, most of us will never have to endure such traumatic experiences. But we still worry about bad things. It’s our nature and it has survival value. However, we can transcend our nature by shifting our frame of reference, realizing that we in fact do have more control than we think, and changing the way we act. If the dogs in the learned helplessness experiments could only realize that the cage door was open, they could escape the shock. But they didn’t have that frame of reference. Similarly, when we change how we think (often leading to the realization that we in fact do have options), we’re preparing to change how we respond and behave. And changes in behavior are the tools that enable us to make things better. We can choose to see things differently and we can consequently choose to act differently. But it takes awareness of choices and the courage to act in a different way.

For instance, Ryan Holiday, in his book The Obstacle is the Way notes that many of our most successful corporations (Hewlett-Packard, UPS, P&G, GM, LinkedIn, United Airlines and Coors, to name just a few) were founded in the midst of unprecedented hard times of panic, depression, recession and the aftermath of 9/11. The founders didn’t lose focus in the midst of the troubles of the day. They kept plugging and did what had to be done in the moment. They took action, rather than passively accepting the fact that there were obstacles in front of them.

How do we begin? If you’re in a bad situation, start with a question: “Am I seeing this thing realistically?” To answer that, you need to be sure you aren’t assuming your perceptions of the event reflect the reality of the event. Perceptions are our filter. They often don’t show us objective reality. Events are events, nothing more. It’s our interpretation of the event that upsets us. Sure, some events will have negative consequences for us and others, but Holiday effectively makes the stoic philosophy case that obstacles are the gifts along the way to help us achieve our goals. When we learn to accept that we have more control and more choices than we initially think, and when we start to see problems as opportunities, we find more effective ways to get through or around them. We’re always caught between the way we wish things were, and the way they are. That’s how we’re wired. But we also have the cognitive ability to do something about it.

It’s alright to feel bad about bad things. Acknowledge your emotions. But if you’re dwelling too long on thoughts like “I don’t deserve this”, “this shouldn’t be this way”, or “why is this bad thing happening to me”, you’re wasting valuable time and energy you could use to start solving the problem and getting past the obstacle. Accept your anger, fear and anxiety. Then get over it and get on with your work to make things better.

The next question is “What am I going to do to make things better?” This can show you alternatives you haven’t thought about, and may help you determine different ways of acting in response. You may not have caused your situation, but you always have the choice about how to respond to it. You have more control than you realize. Sure, it sounds simplistic. But sometimes the simple solutions are the best. But they’re not always the easiest. The most effective response to bad situations is rational action. When we’re dealing with problems, even those not of our making, we need to keep moving and not get stuck in a passive role of acceptance. As Churchill said, “When you’re going through hell, keep on going.” Lemons to lemonade.

Yes, bad things happen to good people. Whether one believes in an afterlife or not, it’s a certainty that we won’t make it out of this one alive. We know how this movie ends for all of us. But we can choose how to live our lives until then. Why not choose to do what you can to make things better when you can, and to enjoy the good things you find along the way?

Don’t be just a passenger. And don’t assume that just because you’ve decided to make lemonade out of the crappy lemons you’ve been given that things will always work out. You may succeed or not. But if you don’t try, you surely won’t. Expect new problems and think about Plans B, C, D…and so on. Perceive accurately, act rationally, expect to fail along the way, and greet the new obstacles you will inevitably face as friends to show you the right path. Nobody succeeds without encountering obstacles and resistance along the way. How we deal with the bad stuff determines where we end up.

What will you do to take advantage of the opportunities embedded in the mess that was not your fault? You are in control of much more of your life and destiny than you probably think. Get on with it. Keep moving.

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