David Hassell is the CEO of 15Five. This post originally appeared on the blog 15five.
Have you ever wondered why, when you leave a two-hour meeting, you usually very little retention of what has been said? An onslaught of stimuli and information that comes to us every day. Why our minds label some as large, and the rest becomes more memorable experience Starbucks this morning?
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Lack of concentration is not due to too much television as a child, it is according to our reticular activating system (also called the modulating control system extrathalamic, but let's just say it SAR). The RAS is an integrated structure deep in the brain, which helps the two main functions of the company :. 1) information highlighting as relevant as he is known, and 2) the stimulation of pattern recognition which can be used as innovative fuel
if you had a tool that could improve the retention of information in the moment, and the training of the mind for the future? By simply asking the right questions at the right pace, you plant seeds of thought in the minds of your employees and create thought patterns that drive your business.
Too entry
The awareness should be regulated during our waking life, because our minds have a limited amount of resources and simply can not handle all the external stimuli that we live every day.
The metaphor "asleep at the wheel" is not far from the truth. Our brains actively ignore information that are not considered essential.
When we zone in the meetings, the RAS acts as a switch to protect us from being excited by an enormous amount of information in a short time. When it is off, we "zone out". When the RAS is, we increased awareness and retention of vital information.
The meetings are a turn-off
In the meetings, the person in control of the conversation is often a leader who sends a well thought out program. But for the employee who is listening to the information, it can be seen as irrelevant or even threatening.
When we are not interested, the RAS is not activated and what we hear is just noise. And when we feel threatened by something because we do not understand or it seems too heavy, many of us stopped.
Bolt, the fastest pigeon in the world was sold for £ 300,000 last year to a Chinese millionaire. Belgian pigeon Leo Heremans also sold the rest of his aviary collection at auction for more than $ 5 million. Does seem random to you? It was my deliberate strategy to activate your RAS.
I recommend starting meetings with information that people are not waiting as she gets them to pay attention. This technique brings them fully into the room and makes them present.
What I just said?
Unfortunately, too many managers are not focused on what their people think, they focus on what they are doing. That's the impetus for far too many boring meetings.
managers give direction so that employees hustle and get sh * t done. For most industries today's knowledge workers this strategy does not make sense.
Yes, we are all focused on results and the desire for a certain amount of production. But unless you use an assembly line, you have hired people for their creative thoughts and unique perspectives and experience.
Take a minute to stop and think if there is a better way to manage employees. Is there a way to get brilliant ideas of your best and brightest? Companies must create space to allow people to create and think in new ways, or they are missing out on a competitive advantage.
As said inventor Charles Kettering, "A problem well stated is a problem half solved." When someone asks a question, the resolution process begins in his own mind. This leads not only to employee growth, but the exceptional retention.
when someone places an idea in our heads, we may or may not keep. but when we form our own ideas, they are more relevant to us. .
in the context of the company, I activate the RAS in others by asking questions instead of just telling them what to do to stimulate innovation, we ask " what a thing to improve your role? what is an innovative idea you have for the company / product? "
employees offer answers, and to place these ideas in their mind "big bucket".
When something is relevant, it becomes top of mind, new neural pathways are formed and the listener naturally retains this information. The trick is to sow good seeds that we set some goals within the category of important information. The best way to do this is by repeating what we learn every day.
Ask, answer, Rinse & Repeat
The good news is that the RAS can be formed. If you ask someone a question once, you can get them to think about that time. The person may draw a blank for the first answer, but ask again. They will likely offer some idea, and with repeated questions they continue to think about it. Soon it becomes embedded in their minds like a piece of code.
The repetition allows each priority to become increasingly relevant. You experienced the phenomenon probably the last time you bought a new car. You researched, looked at pictures of it over a long period of time and see every day after purchase. Suddenly you from seeing this car everywhere. What people follow your idea to buy a silver Toyota Camry, or have been the particular object become more relevant to you by repeated exposure?
Ask a question employees four times during the month and they begin to always think about some activities and ideas on a regular basis. After three months, RAS an employee is automatically activated by the most important initiatives. Ask your team the same questions all year and they become generators of ideas machines.
As an added bonus, employees begin to refine their systems. The specific details of a job has more weight, and employees see the information once perceived as foreign, as now be beneficial to their roles. They connect points that they could not make sense before, and what they see and hear is the source of inspiration for great ideas instead of being just another lost opportunity.
What is the question you want top of mind in the thoughts of your employees? Leave us a comment below.