Strategic Intent

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August 2006

I’ve been travelling recently - which is another way of saying I’ve been spending a lot of time in airports!
Airport bookshops must be lucrative - they have a captive audience and are fantastic for killing time and looking for the next great book to read. Of course, I instinctively wander over to the ‘self-help’ section – being forever interested in who is saying what about change – and there are always titles promising a ‘new and improved’ you in any number of days and ways. I’m sure that some of the books are helpful and have contributed to positive change in people’s lives - but when I look at the titles I feel tired and I wonder - why is that?

Perhaps it’s because I’m cynical about ‘new and improved’ anything, especially me. I feel tired thinking about the lists of things to do and not do which many of us tie ourselves to in the hope that somehow we’ll feel better or be happier. Aren’t we already living lives with interminable lists? Mostly though, I feel tired with the salesmanship of Hope.

October 2005

Personal and organisational change.

Learning and the Emotional Brain
It’s been accepted for some time that we each learn differently. Often, structured development programs include a variety of learning methodologies to suit visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learners. In addition, research into where and how the brain assimilates learning is now available. This is exciting news for those of us who are interested in what it takes to learn and effect sustainable change in our lives.

Different types of learning, (ie: technical and analytical learning vs emotional learning), take place in different parts of the brain. The neocortex, our thinking brain, is a fast and efficient learning machine that links new ideas to our extensive cognitive network. Using our neocortex we can change the way we operate a computer, use a mobile phone, or project manage, sometimes on the basis of a single reading or hearing of new information.

Our emotional brain is housed in the limbic system. Re-educating the emotional brain for leadership learning requires a different model from that required by the thinking brain. If you have ever taken a short training course on improving your people management skills, you’ll know that, back at your desk, the learning often seems elusive. This is because the emotional brain is a slow learner. It needs lots of practice, repetition and feedback in order to change.

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