leadership | AffectiveAction

Renewable Fuel for a Brilliant Life

November 17, 2017 · by Taia Ergueta

Two days ago I heard part of a taped interview on the radio. The last sentence stood out, as almost no other I have encountered, as a recipe for fulfilling one’s potential.

The sentence:

“ …it always stops me in my tracks, because, as long as I remember that there is someone on the other side of the piece of equipment, the camera, who is watching me with expectation, and it can shape what they do next, I have to take what I do seriously every single day.”

That was Gwen Ifill, talking about being on one side of the television camera, aware that young girls were on the other side, absorbing a sense of what was possible for them.

I had to think about why I was so struck by this sentence.

Both adversity and privilege present us with reasons to be less than our best selves. Ms. Ifill reveals an antidote: A single, simple, completely reliable impetus.

Few people have an audience in the millions. But we all have an audience—many people who encounter us directly or indirectly. Encounters with us “shape what those people do next”, for the better or for the worse.

But the power in that sentence is not that it makes us think of our impact on others. The breakthrough in that sentence is this: Being conscious of the impact that we have on others’ aspirations and actions, we are inspired, no, compelled to raise our game, to take ourselves more seriously. And therefore, perhaps to…

Expand the goal

Offer that insight

Express that sentiment

Dig deeper

Commit more selectively

Sign your work

Use better words

Delegate

Value your time

Be even more visible

Raise, or lower, your voice

Cross boundaries

Learn publicly — and privately

Do

Be powerfully generous

…

Thanks a million, Ms. Ifill

Photo Credit: Copyright Jane Pedrick, 2017

How to Manage Women Tip # 1

May 17, 2013 · by Taia Ergueta

This post is not about why you should focus on how to manage women better. OK, maybe just one sentence on that: Whether you are a first time manager or a seasoned executive, you can make a major contribution to your company and your career by managing women better. There is a lot of data on why that is true. There is less info on how to do it.

Outrage Deflector: Yes, we are all individuals. And..yes, many of these ideas apply to men as well. And… no, not all apply to all women. All that being said, there are patterns that apply to women disproportionally. and bosses who learn them and manage accordingly reap huge benefits. Notice I did not say “men who learn them”; women don’t magically think of this stuff either!

Compassionate Capitalism

May 5, 2013 · by Taia Ergueta

Cash Mob in Action

Economic policy affects our business and private life daily. But most people avoid thinking about it. Many bigger picture economic theories can seem impractical, extreme, or so complicated that people sometimes retreat to overly simple reasoning. John Tomasi’s work proposes an alternative approach. It is good food for thought about our personal and business decision making. **

To really change people’s behavior: Use the right word.

December 16, 2012 · by Taia Ergueta

You are only leading if they are following — i.e., acting on your ideas. Here is a surprising and extremely simple way to dramatically increase the actual behavior changes you effect.

In a study described in the Stanford University Center for Social Innovation, all the people involved were asked to perform the same task but some were told it would be impossible for the researchers to know “whether you are cheating,” while others were told it would be impossible to know “whether you’re a cheater”. The first group (who got the instructions referencing “cheating”) cheated far more than the latter group ( who got the instructions referencing being a “cheater”). Similarly, in the recent election season, appeals to citizens to “be a voter” had much more impact on behavior than did exhortations to “vote”.

The choice of wording makes all the difference in the resulting behavior!

What these examples indicate: We act on self-image. In other words we all want to have a positive identity. If you paint people a picture of a undesirable self, they are likely to stop doing the negative action as associated with it. Similarly, if you paint them a positive image of a person, they are likely to adopt the positive behaviors associated with that image. In contrast, people are much less likely to change their behavior if you just describe the behavior in question.

Apply This Finding to be Help People be Fantastic

When trying to influence a change in behavior, describe an identity (nouns), not actions (verbs). For example:

Speak to people about “being an innovator”, not about innovating.
Remind someone preparing an important presentation to “be an inspirational speaker”, not to speak inspirationally.
Set a ground rule that everyone on a team will “be a punctual member”, not that everyone should be on time.
Tell yourself that today you will be “a paragon of focus”, not that you’ll really try to not be an email-slave

A Corollary

For many years I have used a related approach. There’s no Stanford study behind this one, but here it is anyway: I find that if you treat people as if they were their best selves, they shift their behavior more in that direction. (As you can imagine, this definitely does not work on sociopaths. Consequently, it is a pretty good sociopath diagnostic.)

Have a great day. And remember: Be an Influencer!

Click here for the Article from the Center on Social Innovation.

Click here for the abstract of the actual “cheating/cheater” study.

Got Demoted? It’s an Opportunity

November 21, 2012 · by Taia Ergueta

A youngish friend, let’s call him Matt, got a great job with an exciting and inspirational start up right out of college. He was part of the core management team and, although the work load was extremely heavy, he was delighted by the opportunity to grow and contribute at such a high level so early in his career. The feeling was mutual: Matt got many accolades from his boss, the CEO, for his strong performance and great attitude.

Trouble in Paradise

Recently Matt called and was very disheartened. He had just been told that his boss had decided to hire a manager who would now be Matt’s boss. The CEO explained that he himself doesn’t have the expertise in Matt’s function, so he had decided to hire someone with deep expertise. Matt’s CEO emphasized that the new manager would be much better equipped to help Matt develop.