#99: Practice your learning in knowledge groups
Learning within organizations is basically a social phenomenon. It takes place within groups of people working together. Knowledge that flows from group learning becomes part of the shared values, beliefs, ways of doing and social relations of the group.
When this happens, ongoing learning is encouraged. Or is it?
Group learning is closely related to membership of the group. As you participate in learning and knowledge sharing, you learn more and you know more, which changes your status within the group. Status changes trigger competition. Competition tends to harm relationships, which in turn knowledge sharing.
In reality, we share knowledge openly if there is mutual trust. And who do you trust? Like-minded people. The problem is that like-minded people are often too similar to you to teach you much.
Knowledge sharing thrives on trust built on individuality openly expressed, not on trust from sameness and conformity.
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.comCopyright: 2007 James Henry McIntosh
James can be heard on Public Radio, 88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA.
Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am
#98: Shrinking-vacation syndrome
Tell me, what are your vacation plans? What! Only taking a couple of days off? Surely not. You know that it takes at least three days just to begin to unwind.
Never mind, you’re not alone. American workers take fewer vacations than people in nearly every industrial nation. And it appears that Americans are reducing their leisure days even more. Last year in May, two national surveys found that more than 40 percent of adults had no summer vacation plans. (Note I said adults. Youngsters have more sense.)
Like all odd behaviors, this one has a name. It’s called ‘shrinking-vacation syndrome’.
If you ask me, it’s the shrinking self-confidence syndrome. Do you really think your job will disappear if you disappear for two weeks?
It’s nonsense that you can’t leave your job for a well deserve rest. And it’s plain stupid not to recognise the need to recharge your batteries. Even your laptop knows that!
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.comCopyright: 2007 James Henry McIntosh
James can be heard on Public Radio, 88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA.
Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am
#97: Share your knowledge to be valued more
In organizations, knowledge only has value if it is useful and if it is actually used. And in organizations, ‘using it’ generally means sharing it with others. This is why I warn knowledge-workers not to sit on their knowledge, but to use it. And to share it.But the knowledge-worker faces a dilemma. The more the organization values his knowledge, the less incentive he has to share it with others. Why? Because if you share it, then you risk losing your competitive advantage. Or you risk seeing someone else profit with the knowledge that you shared with them.And yet, share you must, because knowledge is like love - the more you share, the more you receive. The more knowledge you share the larger the pool gets. If you hide your love, you end up rejected and alone. If you are stingy with your knowledge, you will find yourself isolated and out-of-touch.
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.comCopyright: 2007 James Henry McIntosh
James can be heard on Public Radio, 88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA.
Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am
#96: Perceptual error handicaps your success
Have you every engaged in self-handicapping? Of course you have. We all do, sometimes. It’s a way of protecting our self-esteem and public image.We engage in self-handicapping when we introduce uncertainty into a situation by pointing out external factors that may or may not lead to poor performance or failure. Although self-handicapping cannot prevent actual failure, it can soften the blow.
We tend to use it in situations where we experience social anxiety, where the task is important such as an exam, and where we experience unexpected and unexplainable success. Of course, if the situation already has a handicap built into it, when factors that might prevent us performing well are already present, then we don’t need to engage in self-handicapping.
Research shows that men tend to engage in self-handicapping more than women do. This reminds me of how Gary Player once explained his golf handicap: “The more I practice, the luckier I get.”
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.comCopyright: 2007 James Henry McIntosh
James can be heard on Public Radio, 88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA.
Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am
#95: Use knowledge to be valued
The difference between data and information is that information is data in a format that can be used to make decisions. And knowledge? Knowledge is information in action.Look at it this way: Information is normally based on factual and quantifiable data. Information always means something, but is often worthless. Its true value lies in its practical usefulness. The way I see it, your knowledge is the range of information which comes with your experience.However, for knowledge to be useful, it must be used and it must be used now. Knowledge valued as useful today may not be judged as useful tomorrow. Things change and over time knowledge can lose its relevance and become mere information again.
This is why I warn knowledge-workers not to sit on their knowledge, but to use it now. If you don’t, then you are not being useful and won’t be worth much to any organization for very long.
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.comCopyright: 2007 James Henry McIntosh
James can be heard on Public Radio, 88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA.
Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am
#94: Perceptual error primed to see spiders
I once shared a house with many black window spiders. After I correctly identified the first one, I found her sisters every where. Because I am not fond of spiders, I unthinkingly judged the next spider I saw to be a black widow. And the one after that, until all spiders became black widows.
Obviously, I was making a perceptual error. Psychologists call this one ‘priming’. It involves “any procedure that increases the availability of certain information so that it can be readily brought to mind.”This is why, after watching a late-night horror movie, every creak in your dark house sounds ominous. And why you suspect fraud every time you read about another corporate earnings restatement. You do this because you process information based on what you can easily recall from memory. You have been primed.What psychologist have not yet explained is how one gets out of this priming cycle. I’m tired of seeing black widows everywhere.
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.comCopyright: 2007 James Henry McIntosh
James can be heard on Public Radio, 88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA.
Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am
#93: The most common dysfunctional behavior in organizations
Surely, the most common dysfunctional behavior in organizations is passive-aggressive behavior. This is the use of inappropriate behavior as a means of confronting a problem indirectly.
Passive-aggressive behavior stems from a perceived lack of power and a feeling of powerlessness when interacting with someone perceived to be more powerful. It can also be triggered as a defense against appearing weak, such as when naturally competitive people are told to co-operate. Both are common in organizations.
According to current research, passive-aggressive behavior may result from socially protective instincts (for example, to keep the peace; to avoid mistakes; to preserve self-respect). Viewed this way, passive-aggressive behavior could actually be positive. In other words, it is not necessarily a personality disorder. It can be a social tactic, something that most of us use at times.
The management trick is to distinguish between the two.
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.comCopyright: 2007 James Henry McIntosh
James can be heard on Public Radio, 88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA.
Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am
#92: Perceptual error from cyberspace
Here is a perceptual error that is triggered in cyberspace. It is called the ‘online disinhibition effect’. In cyberspace, people tend to behave with less restraint, often resulting in offensive, embarrassing or rude messages being sent.
According to John Suler, a psychologist at Rider University in Lawrenceville, N.J., the following factors lead to online disinhibition: using an on-line alias; being invisible to others; the time lag between sending an e-mail and getting feedback; the exaggerated sense of self from being alone; and the lack of authority figures on-line.
Disinhibition can be helpful. For example, it can help the shy to be more outgoing online. But it can also be harmful, such as when it triggers Web rage. The Times of London reported in October that a 47-year-old Londoner was convicted of tracking down a man and physically assaulting him. They had traded insults on-line.
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.comCopyright: 2007 James Henry McIntosh
James can be heard on Public Radio, 88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA.
Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am
