IO Psych Girl

You’re loosing buddy!

2012-01-17T07:51:00.000-08:00

We are all driven by different motivators (for example, affiliation, power, competition, recognition) but research illustrates that we all work all little harder when we think we are slightly behind. From the NBA to the manufacturing line people and teams that are slightly behind have boasts in their motivation and performance. Jonah Berger from Wharton School of Business suggests that managers should capitalize on this finding by using competitive feedback as an incentive tool. However, there is a caveat. Managers shouldn’t over use competitive feedback. There is a tipping point where employees who constantly hear that they are slightly behind become demotivated and give up trying.

*For more information on this entry see Harvard Business Review, October 2011 issue

Stop Bullying Before it starts with a SMILE

2011-12-06T07:49:00.000-08:00

Want to stop help to bullying? A recent study at Vanderbilt University found that children who perceive that their fathers don’t spend enough quality time with them are more likely to bully other children. So, what can you do? Go home after work, smile when you enter the door and spend some time with your kids. Just think what you’ll be doing for so many kids.

Do you believe in the Crate & Barrel method?

2011-11-03T07:52:00.000-07:00

Companies like Crate & Barrel and Enterprise Rent-A-Car have passionately believed in hiring from within. Employees are hired directly out of college and work their way up the corporate ladder (if they don’t burn out first). Although infrequent some knowledge gaps are brought in as external hires. Promotions are based on past results and the use of assessment is unheard of or even frowned upon.

Enterprise in 1975

What do you think are the issues with this approach?

What are the advantages?

Does your company use this method?

Early days at Crate & Barrel

Interventions increase EQ and decrease stress

2011-10-24T07:49:00.000-07:00

The below article was recently published in the Journal of Applied Psychology. This article sparked two major thoughts. I have historically believed that individuals can change their behaviors but not their attitudes (there are exceptions). This article suggests that these participants were able to increase their emotional intelligence as well as sustain it for over a year. In addition they were able to make an internal chemical changes (i.e., cortisol levels). This illustrates a deep change that is far beyond just a behavioral change. Secondly, this study illustrates the power of training and that techniques and interventions can be used to help people reduce stress and decrease cortisol levels without the use of medication.

So use you brains, follow your hearts and get off the meds.

Kotsou, I., Nelis, D., Grégoire, J., & Mikolajczak, M. (2011). Emotional plasticity: Conditions and effects of improving emotional competence in adulthood. Journal of Applied psychology, 96(4), 827-839.
This study aimed to investigate (a) whether it is possible to increase emotional competence (EC), as measured by two versions of the TEIQue - self-report and informant report; (b) whether this improvement results in better mental, physical, and social adjustment; (c) whether this improvement can be maintained 1 year later; and (d) whether these benefits are accompanied by a reduction in stress-hormone secretion (i.e., cortisol). One hundred and thirty-two participants were randomly assigned to an EC-enhancing intervention (in group format) or to a control group. Participants in the intervention group underwent a specifically designed 15-hr intervention targeting the 5 core emotional competencies. Results reveal that the level of emotional competencies increased significantly in the intervention group in contrast with the control group. This increase resulted in lower cortisol secretion, enhanced subjective and physical well-being, as well as improved quality of social and marital relationships in the intervention group. No significant change occurred in the control group. Peer reports on EC and quality of relationships confirmed these results. These data suggest that emotional competencies can be improved, with effective benefits on personal and interpersonal functioning lasting for at least 1 year. Moreover, improvements in EC emerged with a strong coherence among self-reported and informant measures.

Ethical Issues at Work…Now What?

2011-09-06T06:47:00.000-07:00

Review the Evidence: Avoid jumping to conclusions. Keep notes about the situation including conversations and situations where you suspected unethical work behavior? Keeping track of what you see can help you form a conclusion and provides invaluable documentation if you decide to report the situation.

Seek Help: Get a second opinion from an outside source or someone you can trust. Although be wary of who you confide in, and be wary of politics.

Confront the Problem: In some cases you may want to talk directly to the person. Don’t make accusations. One drawback of confronting the person involved is that they may get you more involved in the ethical issue. In some cases, the evidence will lead you to take it directly to authorities.

Extricate yourself: If you believe the unethical behavior is continuing “get out”. Careers will recover with a switch but they won’t recover from unethical practice if you before a part of it. Leaving isn’t a decision to be made lightly. It may be difficult to find another job. While jumping ship may require an awkward conversation or revised career plan, sometimes you have no choice but to leave.

Blow the Whistle: After you’ve decided to leave you have to decide if you’ll report the issue. Whistle blowing can be hurtful to the messenger in many cases. A serious analysis of the pros and cons must be conducted before reporting an ethical issue if you think if could hurt you or possibly a client. As difficult as turning in a former boss or coworker may be, it is occasionally necessary. If something really horrible is going on and you simple walk away, you’re compromising your own sense of professional responsibility.

Decreasing your EQ with Botox

2011-08-02T08:04:00.000-07:00

It is no surprise that emotional intelligence is an important factor in day-to-day life. Executives and stay at home mom’s alike are starting to understand how EQ may be as important as IQ in their own success, as well as the success of their direct reports and children. Most people wouldn’t go out and purposely try to decrease their EQ, right?

A recent study from the University of Southern California and Duke found that women and men who received muscle-deading agents like Botox were unable to recognize the emotions of others. When we see a face we unintentionally mimic others facial expressions. Individuals with Botox were unable to mimic others facial expressions; unable to cognitively recognize their emotions.

Wisdom comes with age. So, don’t try to backtrack your face cause you may be losing more than just a few wrinkles.

Following the Heard

2011-02-15T09:48:00.000-08:00

You’ve most likely heard about people following the lead of other. Experimenters who walk into a park and look up only to see how many people will quickly start looking up to find what they are looking at. But recent research from Northwestern University recently illustrated that humans tend to remember information better if they think their peers will also see the same information. Think about the last time you watched a movie or a sports program and conscientiously thought I need to pay attention because tomorrow at work people are going to be talking about this. We’ll as a woman I have done this a lot with sports. I always think “I better know this to be able to talk to the guys”. Social norms and expectations influence far beyond just remembering. Cialdini demonstrated throughout hotel chains that social norms can be used to influence behaviors. By changing the language on bathroom cards hotel guests were 50% more likely to reuse their towels if they were told “most Americans”, 70% more likely to reuse if they were told “most guests in this hotel”, and 98% more likely if they were told ‘ 8 of 9 guests in this room reuse their towel”. So jump on the bandwagon for a good cause but be aware of why and who you are following.

What’s Stressing You Out:

2011-02-08T06:46:00.000-08:00

Comprehensive Stress Management

Surprisingly or NOT American’s are more stressed out in 2010 than in 2009. Between work- family conflicts, a downed economy and illnesses (H1N1) Americans are unhappy. Money consistently remains the #1 cause of stress closely followed by work and the economy. These stressors are revealing themselves in everything from irritability to indigestions and teeth grinding. Unfortunately, the American Psychological Association reports that stress doesn’t just affect the stressed individual but their family members too. Children of stressed parents reported increased depression, headaches, stomach aches and trouble falling or staying asleep. The APA further recommends that stress should not be looked over but should be confronted and prevented. Americans should work to recognize their personal distress style (whether that includes a flexible work schedule to weekly yoga sessions), discover what your organizations work/family policies are and don’t be afraid to make the ‘business case’ for a policy that you think should be created. Also be smart and take care of yourself. You’ll be less effect at work if your exhausted, unhealthy, and unhappy. Eat smart, get sleep and recognize that a happy worker is an effective worker. What techniques, policies or coping mechanisms to you use to stay sane in 2011?

Defense

2011-02-03T16:58:00.000-08:00

Ok I am totally excited and freaking out because tomorrow at 9am I will be defending my disseration and finally be a PhD...well cross your fingers.

Thank you to all of my friends and family that have been incredibly supportive over these last several years... thank goodness it is over.

Changing our Expectations

2011-02-01T06:44:00.000-08:00

People often inaccurately predict how an event will make them feel. For example, researchers found that when people are questioned about their predictions afterward, they tend to revise their recollections to better reflect their actual mood. In essence humans don’t like to be wrong so we unconsciously self-correct. Humans also want to be happy and generally remember events as positive. Problem vacations end up being repeated as learning experiences or adventures instead of the problem of negative experience they were. Isn’t great what the mind can make up do and believe.

Women and Work

2011-01-25T09:44:00.000-08:00

I personally have difficulty with this topic. I am not currently a mom but hope to be one someday. However, I love my job, I love going to work and I care about work as a measure of my personal worth and success. Balancing children and work seems almost impossible without help and even at that (as a psychologist) I want to be the one adding in the development of my children not someone else. So, recent research from the University of North Carolina concerned me even more. Researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 69 studies and found that going back to work within a child’s first year can lead to behavioral problems and lower academic performance later in life. However, mom’s that went back to full time work after three years had children with academic excellence and decreased performance problems (income level does effect this too). Unfortunately, I don’t live in Spain where maternity leave can last as long as you need…so how do woman do this.

Anticipated work-family conflict: effects of gender, self-efficacy, and family background.: An article from: Career Development Quarterly

Understanding Leadership Barriers for Women

2010-11-10T09:12:00.000-08:00

According to the White House Project Report 2009 women earn 60% of all degrees and make up 57% of the nation’s college students but only represent 26% of executive level positions. The Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology is working to change this statistic by promoting positive changes in institutional and organization life. One important way to make this change is to find or act as a role model and/or mentor to other women. Building experiences is another great way for young women to break through the glass ceiling. These experiences will build on leadership skills.

Trotman Reid, PhD presented several key activities for women to work on:

• Set you own goals and remember to dream

• Develop your skills and your network

• Adapt a few mentors and cultivate advisers

• Volunteer and self-nominate

• Act like a leader, because perception often becomes reality

• Know the rules and learn the history

• Lean how to share the work and the credit

• Seek balance and live by your priorities

• Make a life, not just a career

The Dad Effect

2010-11-03T06:54:00.000-07:00

Can you take control of the board room, keep your cool in stressful situations and successfully manage your peers and direct reports in the office? If so, you may have your Dad to thank, according to recent research that suggests that strong father-son bond forged during childhood may help men deal with everyday stress and relationships later in life. Mallers, PhD examined men about the quality of their father/child relationships, as well as stressful events over several weeks. Mallers found that men who reported a good relationship with their fathers during childhood were less affected by stressful events than those who had poor father-child relationships.

RICH DAD, POOR DAD by Robert T. Kiyosaki and Sharon L. Lechter discusses the importance of mentoring your children into successful careers and relationships. Although I agree that this is extremely important, Mallers research indicates that you can start today by simply wrestling with your kids. Maller suggests that rough and tumble play stimulates and challenges children and can even improve problem solving skills.

So put down those flash cards and build a future leader with some rough play.

Does your email really say what you mean?

2010-10-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

A new download from Microsoft called ToneCheck will scan outgoing email messages and flags wording that could be interpreted as harsh, angry of offensive. It will flag obvious swear words but will also detect aggressive statements or starting too many sentences with “you”.

TWO TEN Hosts Leadership Panel

2010-10-21T09:55:00.000-07:00

LuAnn Via

Two Ten offers Financial Assistance, Counseling, Community Resources and Scholarships to those working in the footwear industry. They are committed to strengthening the footwear community with financial, social and educational support and services while nurturing community building and volunteerism. On October 14, 2010 Two Ten hosted a Leadership Town Hall in NYC for emerging leaders in the footwear industry. This remarkable panel included 5 footwear presidents (LuAnn Via of Payless Shoe Source; Scott Savitz of Shoebuy.com; Mike Shirley of Nina footwear; Jim Salzano of Clarks Companies; Jay Piccola of Puma) and leadership expert Dr. Ann Beatty.

Jay Piccola

The 90 minute town hall was a smooth flowing conversation between the audience of emerging leaders like the young leadership director, Alison Muskat of Deer Stags and the comfortably seating panel. The panelists were questioned about key leadership traits, techniques used during the economic crisis, ethical leadership, and recommendations for future leader. The panelist all agreed that one of the keys to success in any leadership position is communication. Each panelist discussed different approaches within their organizations including town hall meetings, newsletters and informal walk throughs. However, the most surprising element of the panel for me came at the end of the discussion when the panelists were asked to give future leaders recommendations. Almost all of the panelists recommended in some way that future leaders live a more balanced life than the panelists currently were. They almost all said they wish they would spend more time with friends and family and feel this would ultimately increase they work performance. In response to questions regarding the economic crisis and up holding integrity within their organizations and the industry LuAnn Via said it best…”you need to model and live what you are telling people. Honesty and integrity are one thing on paper but another in action.”

This is just an idea of the interesting conversation that took place in NYC on Oct. 14th. Two Ten continues to bring footwear leaders – join in the fun at http://www.twoten.org/.

Cleaning the Web- Air

2010-10-20T05:59:00.000-07:00

The economy is slowly coming around and you are out there applying for jobs. The key to getting a job may be in your past or what’s not there. Almost 80% of recruiters surveyed in a recent Microsoft study checkout out applicants online, and 70% of those eliminated candidates based on what they found. Before you apply to that new position google yourself. If you find junk in orbit look into one of these companies working to clean the air. These companies can tell you what’s out there (for your entire family), push positive info to the top of searches and even delete information you don’t want floating around.

Reputation Defender, Naymz, Schakra, Brand-yourself

You're Great!

2010-09-30T15:00:00.001-07:00

How many times do we look at a child and say, Oh he's so smart? Can we not ever be more detailed or possibly more realistic?
Now I don't mean to come off inconsiderate. Actually, just the opposite. Giving our children or anyone for that matter detailed realistic feedback helps them grow and develop in multiple ways. Saving "over the top" praise for occasional moments makes the praise more valuable and credible. Being specific helps them know what part they did well because sometimes they don't know what they did that was impressive and therefore have difficulty repeating it.
The reason it is just wrong to tell our kids (or direct reports) how amazing (e.g., smart) they are is because smart is not something we are or are not. Our brain is like a muscle that improves with exercise. The more we practice and use our brain, the better it performs. If we can teach that, than they understand that they can play a major role in how intelligent they become.
The catch 22 to our intended compliment is that individuals who are often told how smart, wonderful, high potential they are do not attempt to try anything that they will not be instantly good at. They are afraid to prove your statement wrong. On the contrary, those who are encouraged to work on activities even when they are not mastering them are not afraid to take on new challenges. If you encourage hard work, they will feel like they can most certainly accomplish what you are expecting of them. It is fear of disappointing others that stops people from leaving their comfort zone.

**Refer to Nurture Shock for more information.

Nurture Shock

2010-09-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

A parenting book like NurtureShock: New Thinking about Children by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman may seem irrelevant to the modern businessman but surprisingly enough the concepts clearified in this book for infants can be clearly translated into health business relationship building.

This book proposes that good sibling relationship building starts before the second child is even born. Parents can groom the eldest children to be a good big brother and sister before they even have a sibling. Having your child experience friendships, playgroups, daycare or the like is where they get practice in equal relationships. Supervisors think of your subordinates (in the most respectful way) as children by providing them with opportunities to participate in healthy team environments, mirror good management behaviors and focus on good behaviors rather than punishing bad behavior. Just as children learn that certain behaviors gain them friendships and certain behaviors lose them employees quickly learn what will get them ahead and what will get them isolated from the team.

The book further describes that share fantasy play truly shows how a child can get along with others. In order to make believe children "must emotionally commit to one another, and pay attention to what the other is doing. They have to articulate what's in their mind's eye and negotiate some scenario that allows both their visions to come alive." Clear communication as described in this example is the key to working together. Work groups should focus on building communication skills to improve efficiency and productivity.

ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN…well they weren’t lying. Practice healthy relationship, model good behaviors and communicate clearly and often to play nice with others.

Co-authored by Dawn Gilbertson and IO Psych Girl

Bullying

2010-09-22T08:29:00.000-07:00

A recent study conducted at Michigan State University and presented at the APA 2010 Convention in San Diego examined the effects of bullying on life satisfaction and psychological distress. Furthermore, researchers looked at the effects of race, gender and self-esteem as moderators. Results indicated that Caucasians reported more general workplace bullying while African Americans reported significantly more racial bullying at work. Females in both race groups reported significantly more bullying and experiences greater psychological distress and less life satisfaction than men. However, self-esteem significantly moderated all of the previous effects.

For example, individuals with higher self-esteem whom report bullying did not experience psychological distress nor decreased life satisfaction. The researchers discussed how this could be a double edged sword. In the African American community young boys are taught to have a strong self-esteem but sometimes this can be portrayed as intimidating especially to the white community. This often causes a backlash increasing racial bullying in the workplace.

How can we stop this trend?

The Body Doesn’t Lie: Psychophysiological Study of Dancers

2010-09-15T08:42:00.000-07:00

The current study conducted at the Graduate Student and Faculty Dance Concert held at California State University, Northridge illustrated that dancers demonstrate a significantly high awareness of their generally physiological states and are able to regulate those states if unbalanced. Empirical results illustrated that dancers are autotelic (Autotelic is used to describe people who are internally driven, and as such may exhibit a sense of purpose and curiosity. This determination is an exclusive difference from being externally driven, where things such as comfort, money, power, or fame are the motivating force,) and considered intrinsically rewarded by dance and performance. . Further, the results from the Adult Attachment Interview provided evidence that dancers from this sample had coherent states of mind regarding attachment, loss and trauma experiences. Their coherence of mind supported the notion that dancers have flexible attentional abilities and enhanced integration of cognitive-emotional processes. This can be seen in their portrayal of emotionally charged characters.

Work-Family Conflict

2010-09-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

A recent study conducted at the University of Washington and presented at the APA 2010 Convention in San Diego examined men’s role in the household. Past research in this area has illustrated that women tend to take on more household responsibilities even when they are working full time. The current study examined the impact of traditional vs. modern male perspectives on work – family conflict. Results indicated that men with a traditional perspective spent more time at work and allowed work to interfere with family. Men with modern perspectives spent 20 plus hours caring for others at home and reported significantly less work – family conflict even while controlling for job performance.

Implications:

Organizations need to be respectful of MENS needs and stop asking them to skip paternity leave or work on weekends. Furthermore, men need to change their own perspectives and attitudes about other men. Finally, men who hold traditional perspectives of the male role should attempt to alter this attitude to decrease work-family conflict while maintaining job performance.

Creativity, Passion and Love

2010-09-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

At the annual American Psychological Associations 2010 Convention in San Deigo Kelly Campbell presented empirical research illustrating that single individuals reported higher creativity than individuals in coupled relationships. Additionally, coupled individuals reported higher creativity if they were involved in a passionate love-based relationship, versus a companionate love-based relationship. Relationship length was also associated with creativity levels in that individuals involved in short term partnerships (e.g., relationship length < 1 year) reported fewer creative behaviors than individuals involved in long-term partnerships. Our study extends existing research by demonstrating that creativity varies as a function of relationship status (i.e., single versus coupled, short-term versus long-term) and love type (i.e., passionate versus companionate love).

Keep the passion alive and get creative!

Pay for Performance or for Beauty?

2010-08-11T08:38:00.000-07:00

It is common knowledge that attractive people get hired more often and paid more. Whether you like it or not it happens all over the globe. Beauty premiums exist in Holland, China and the US amount several other countries. So if we know this why do companies keep doing it. A recent study at Penn Institute for Economic Research found that correlations between height and income were most attributed to confidence. Surprisingly, they found adult income differences between tall men and women if they were not tall or attractive as children. So, the beauty premium only existed for individuals who were tall and attractive as children and as adults. The Journal of Applied Psychology pegs the premium at an extra $789 annually per inch of height. However, there was no actual work performance differences found across any of the studies. The researcher concluded that the beauty effect is similar to the placebo effect, where some real value actually does derive from nothing.

Vanilla

2010-08-05T08:35:00.000-07:00

How would you feel if some say your company was “vanilla”? So often we equate vanilla with boring or bad but isn’t vanilla the most successful and longest lasting flavor ever? Paul Leinwand and Cesare Mainardi recently discussed just this issue in the June 2010 issue of the Harvard Business Review. Leinwand and Mainardi stress the importance of focusing intensely on what you (or your company) do (does) best. They call it the coherence premium. In general the coherence premium tells you to stick with your companies “vanilla” or what you do best.

Companies today are so focused on innovation and creativity that too often they lose focus on what they have done that was successful. They suggest that companies should create their strategy from the foundation of “what they do best” with the marketplace. They further illustrate that coherence in capabilities correlate strongly with greater profitability (as measured by EBIT margin). When you think of innovative companies you may think of Apple. But when you look with a “vanilla” eye you can clearly see that they have built off of their strengths (i.e., technology). Working off your organizations vanilla doesn’t mean being boring! To build a successful strategy there needs to be alignment between the people, organization and strategy. So start with vanilla, and build from vanilla.

Success is the new vanilla!

What do you think? Should companies stick with what they are good at or jump on the innovation wagon and create something new.

A Woman's Touch

2010-07-21T04:01:00.000-07:00

Company EEOC programs often warn against hugging and touching your coworkers because you may not be able to read when it is or is not ok. A study published in the April issue of Psychological Science indicated another reason men may not want a woman’s touch in the office and it’s not why you think. The study examined the financial risk taking behave of men who received a handshake, a pat of the back or no contact from a woman before entering a meeting where they were going to make financial decisions. Results indicated that those men who received pats of the back or a pat on the back were willing to risk more financially (and reported feeling more secure) than me who received handshakes. While those who received handshakes still took more risks than men who did not receive contact. A control group with men delivering the touch did not illustrate any significant different than the non touch group. So men, be aware of another’s touch before you make a big decision.

Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office: 101 Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers

Harvard Business Review on Women in Business (Harvard Business Review Paperback Series)

Increase Performance with a Cup of Joe

2010-07-14T04:01:00.000-07:00

Have you somehow let your health conscience coworker get you to kick your caffeine addiction? Well, think again about that cup of joe. A recent study from the London School of Tropical Medicine in England found that caffeine in any form (i.e., pills, energy drinks and coffee) improved performance on cognitive tests of memory, attention, perception and reasoning compared to participants without caffeine. So cut it out for now, but the next challenging project you have to work on may be best accompanied by a cup of joe.

Online Consulting in the Digital Age

2010-07-07T07:35:00.000-07:00

Technology is developing faster than we can keep up. Unfortunately, that also means it is growing faster than regulators can make policies. Journalist Amy Schatz, who covers tech policy and the FCC for The Wall Street Journal reported that congress will be meeting in June to discuss communication laws that were last examined in 1996 and were created back when the internet didn’t even exist. The challenge is to create policies and laws that will be flexible enough for changing technology but detailed enough to enforce privacy on the web.

However the opportunity currently exists for practitioners to speak their voice about their concerns regarding client information and telepsychology. We need to ensure that confidentiality and informed consent are critical in providing telepsychology services. If you don’t think this is relevant to your business today…it will be!

The Ohio Psychological Association was the first state to issue telepsychology guidelines for its members. Check them out at www.ohpsy.org/professionalissues.aspx

Global Voices

2010-06-30T06:09:00.000-07:00

Nothing compares to experience whether it Is in the workplace or through travels but global voices online is a comparable option for those individuals that can’t take the time off, spend the money or physically go places an opportunity to learn globally. As mentioned in my post on attitude change, humans have a difficult time changing their perceptions of people and places without an experience that influences a change. Global Voices is a collection of political, social and economic stories written by citizen and professional journalists across the world. Americans can now access all this information without ever leaving their computers.

People in Power May Be Better Liars

2010-06-23T06:13:00.000-07:00

Have you ever thought about the non verbal cues you send to others while you are telling a lie? Do you try to look them in the eye; sit still; blink less? These non verbal cues are caused by anxiety and stress from lying. Dana Carney, a professor at the Columbia University School of Business recently found that people can hide these non verbal cues but that some people, specifically people in power position, actually experiences less emotional distress when lying than people in non-power positions. The participants of Carney’s study were instructed by a computer to steal a $100 bull. If they could convince an interviewer they hadn’t taken it, they could keep it. She found that lying bosses displayed fewer involuntary signs of dishonesty and stress. On all measures, liars with power were hard to distinguish from subjects telling the truth. In essence, Carvey’s study tells us that if you give people power, they’ll be more comfortable lying. Watch out for interaction where you’re not in the power position and keep a skeptical outlook.

Networking Tips

2010-06-16T06:10:00.000-07:00

Finding a new job is not always easy and often depends on who you know. People with whom you have formed relationships can become walking, talking advertisements for you. There are many techniques for building up your networking including joining organizations, holding positions on non-profit boards, and becoming a resource for others. Although informational interviews, follow ups or personal recommendations are traditionally part of networking, social networking can be utilized in a similar manner to broaden and develop contacts. Whether you are networking in person or online you need to be on top of current events. These days everyone listens to NPR, so how are you going to be original, interesting and memorable? Mentalfloss.com is a fairly new website with intriguing bits of information and conversation starter. This site provides great conversation ideas for that silence in a conversation.

Rationality is important, but it’s not enough!

2010-06-09T04:37:00.000-07:00

Everyone handles negotiations differently. In fact some people see everything as a negotiation while others view very few aspects of life up for negotiation. In my family we were always given choices (probably because we were little Montessori kids). Water the plants or clean the dishes. Get a weekly salary for a list of tasks or get paid by the number of tasks you could complete. Pretty much we were taught to be open and honest about our wants and needs. The underlying factors behind my families motives were fairly clear. Expectations were set and decisions were easily resolved.

However, to this day I have never pictured myself as a negotiator. I have friends who tell me to play hardball with potential employers, shoot for a high salary and expect them to counter. They even suggest telling family members one story so that they will not react badly to another. I have struggled with these common negotiation techniques and have even tried a few.
A recent article by Rebacca Clay in the Monitor on Psychology (May 2010) brought to light the true genius of my negotiation skills. She writes about Daniel Shapiro, a PhD from Amherst who specializes in negotiations. Shapiro has toured with past presidents and travels the world helping governments negotiate. Years ago he started to wonder “how you bring helpful, positive emotions into the negotiating process?” His research is showing that negotiators who focus on appreciation, affiliation, autonomy and emotions build trust, respect and foster honesty so that “many of the defenses start to fall away and opponents start to focus more seriously on the real underlying issues” not emotional dynamics.

So the next time you are in a debate put down your guard and be honest. Tell your future employer what you would like, honestly! Then, SURPRISED when they hand it over!

Be Aware of Shaming Others

2010-06-02T08:53:00.000-07:00

Within psychology the terms shame and guilt are often used interchangeable however recent research publish in the Journal of Self & Identity (Wolf, Cohen, Panter & Insko, 2009) empirically illustrated that shame and guilt proneness are distinct from each other regardless of their similarities. Wolf et al (2009) further revealed that individuals experiencing shame focus on how they are being evaluated by others, while individuals experiencing guilt focus on how their behavior has affected others. Shame proneness was negatively associated with self-esteem and positively associated with personal distress and neuroticism. Guilt proneness was positively associated with empathic concern, perspective taking and subscription to conventional morality. These results illustrate that employees whom are publically shamed are more likely to withdrawal from work while individuals who feel guilt try to actively fix the situation. Companies that “make examples” of deviant employees make reduce deviance across the organization but they should beware of the impact they have on the individual that will feel shame after the fact.

Mandela's Way

2010-05-25T17:29:00.000-07:00

Stengel’s book Mandela’s Way is a pleasant and quick read that clearly illustrates 15 principles of life and leadership as modeled throughout Nelson Mandela’s life. Stengel describes how the Mandela after prison was a patient leader that empowered others, deliberately thought about the long-term outcomes, adjusted his own behavior to appeal to his rivals and gain followers and always acted with integrity. Mandela’s Way is an inspiration book that will inspire genius, integrity and humility in leaders today.

Some of my favorite lessons include Courage Is Not the Absence of Fear (i.e., confront your fears don’t hide from them), Know Your Enemy (i.e., understand their needs, wants, culture) and Lead From the Back (i.e., empower others)…This really is a quick read so I encourage you to go get it or download it today.

#12 Love Makes the Difference
Do what is best for others…
When you love you don’t see faults but focus on assets…
#13 Quitting is Leading Too
You don’t have to comment on everything…
When faced with evidence back down…
Accept others decisions when you have included them in the decision making process…
#14 It’s Always Both
Answers and situations are not always black or white but shades of gray…
Sometimes you need to see many different perspectives to help all sides win and see solutions that were not always apparent.
#15 Find Your Own Garden
Find something away from the world that gives you pleasure
The Gift
Realize that you are a part of a brotherhood of human beings. You do not operate, lead or succeed as an individual. You are a piece of a puzzle where “me” is always subordinate to “we”.

Conforming to the Green Movement

2010-05-19T06:45:00.000-07:00

Keeping up with the Joneses, changes as readily as the times. In the 1960’s suburban neighborhoods and Sear’s products was all the rage. If you live on the Upper East Side on Manhattan, Dolce and Gabbana is a must and if you are an American in 2010 GREEN is in.

A recent series of studies conducted at the University of Minnesota and published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (Vol. 98, No. 3) illustrated just how fake people can become to keep up with the Joneses of their time. In one experiment, participants were asked to select from 2 equally priced items which they would purchase (eco friendly or not cars, household cleaners). Participants were more likely to purchase the GREEN options because they were more desirable and status-evoking. However a second study illustrated that participants were more likely to select non-green and more indulgent products in private but would select GREEN products in public.

I found this study intriguing for a couple of reasons. First of all my husband often asks me why I respond to the compliment “I like that sweater, shirt, etc.” with “Oh, I got it on sale.” After thinking about the answer for awhile I came to the conclusion that if I do find it on sale I am not as ashamed of purchasing an expensive item for myself. You would never hear me say ‘Oh thank you, I got this Burberry bag at full price.” I guess a NORMAL response would all depend on your environment and what is acceptable. Secondly, the entire green movement is great. I like it and try to implement many green practices into my life. That said I hate that I may be conforming to a popular trend. In this case I think conforming may be good for the ego and the environment.

What do you find yourself doing that conforms to social standard even if you do not nessessarily believe in it or understand why you are behaving in such a way?

Also see
Novotney, A. Envy, it seems, really can turn us green. Monitor on Psychology, 41 (5). 10.
Griskevicius, V. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98 (3).

Leading with the Brain in Mind

2010-05-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

Businesses everywhere are faced with change. Innovation, creativity and success aren’t possible without change. So, how do we make it work and why does it fail so often. Recent research in neuroscience integrated with organizational psychology theory may show us the way. In general people resist change. In many studies of patients who have undergone coronary bypass surgery, only one in nine people, on average, adopt healthier day-to-day habits. Leaders that take into account the complexities of the human brain may have a leg up in the race on change. They understand that change is pain and expectations shape reality.

Change is Pain: People resist change because it is actually painful to their brains. Familiar information and actions activate the basal ganglia involving a minimum amount of energy whereas new and unfamiliar information activates the prefrontal cortex, an energy-intensity area of the brain. Furthermore, changes from routine to non-routine activate amygdale creating the feelings of fear and anger.

Expectations Shape Reality: Cognitive scientists have illustrated that individual’s attitudes play a more central role in human perception that was previously understood. Think of the placebo effect. Research participants actually feel differences because they believe they are receiving a drug when really it is a sugar pill. Similarly, employees can change their perceptions of a change process simply by changing their mental idea or how it will turn out. When looking at attitudes concerning racism research indicated that racists individuals whom experience a life changing event that counters their original attitude toward another ethnic group will drastically alter their perceptions. Organizations that can create a moment of insight can create complex new connections for employees thus, increasing the likelihood of lasting change.

So whether you are at work or going out with new friends try to maximize the aspects you are familiar with (such as bringing along a friend you like as support) and focus on your attitude before you go (tell yourself “I am going to meet interesting people tonight”).

References:
Rock, D. (2009). Managing with the brain in mind. Strategy & Business, 56.
Rock, D., & Schwartx, J. (2006). The Neuroscience of Leadership. Strategy & Business. 43.

Experiences Make Us Happier

2010-05-08T06:46:00.000-07:00

Do you feel more satisfaction from that great shirt you purchased last year or the family vacation to Europe or the Grand Canyon? Travis Carter, PhD and Thomas Gilovich, PhD recently published research in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology suggesting that your satisfaction with your trip will get better over time, while buying a shirt, painting or TV will ultimately leave you disappointed. They illustrated that experiential items provide a greater long term happiness than material items because experiences are more subjective in nature and can’t be compared where as material items can be compared to what others buy.

So take that trip or get a massage the next time you are looking for a happy pill and men take those ladies on a vacation instead of buying them cloths or jewelry. Just say there is research behind your choice.

Yes, Intelligence Matters

2010-05-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

Recent research on the recognition of ethical issues indicates the general mental ability (GMA) is the most significant predictor of recognition correlating r = .24. Recognition of emotions in others (a factor of emotional intelligence) was a close second, significantly correlating with recognition of ethical issues by r =.23. Book smarts vs. people smarts. Interestingly enough we found that individuals with low GMA were still able to accurately recognize ethical issues when they had high emotional intelligence scores!

For organizations accessing for ethics and/or integrity the key may be in the books. Look at those Thurston and Watson scores to help predict employee’s ability to recognize ethical issues.
** This research is unpublished but under review.

Be a Proactive Ethical Leader

2010-04-28T06:29:00.000-07:00

Ethical leadership specifically includes social influences including “personal interactions and interpersonal relationships & the promotion of such conduct to followers through communication, reinforcement, and decision-making” (Brown, Trevino & Harrison, 2005, p.120). Ethical leadership practices make them proactive not reactive. The following are tips for becoming an ETHICAL LEADER.

1.Talk about your expectations. For example, discuss how you would expect your direct reports to behave if they knew about insider trading or even damaging gossip within the work group. Setting these expectations early and reviewing them often allow others to know what to do if issues arise.

2.Follow Through: Leaders that set up codes of ethics or policies but do not enforce them are more detrimental than not having a policy in the first place. So stick to it and enforce the rewards and punishments as planned.

3.Model Behavior: Our research indicates that the majority of employees are in Kohlberg’s cognitive moral development stage 2-3 indicating that they follow social and group norms more than anything else. Thus, modeling ethical behavior can directly influence the individuals and groups below you to behavior in an ethically congruent manner.

4.Look around You: Our research illustrates those individuals with high emotional recognition and regulation or the self and others (Factors are taken from the MEIA) are more likely to recognize if an ethical issue is present. So stop and think about your own and others emotions and feeling.

* Participants were 220 full-time, executives in a retail-focused multinational corporation. The participants were: incumbent senior level executives. 56% male, mean age of 41(range 30-60). Forty two percent of the participants managed 1-3 employees, 28% managed 4-6, nine percent managed 7-9, and 22% of the participants managed ten or more employees. Participants were located in US offices including New York, Madison, L.A. and St. Louis. Approximately half of the participants (54%) had previously taken a course in business ethics and 100% reported English as their primary language. Executives were assessed on Ethical Recognition, Personality traits, Emotional Intelligence, Cognitive Moral Development and General Mental Ability.

**Other great resources in the following articles. Tett, R. P., Fox, K. E., & Wang, A. (2005). Development and validation of a self-report measure of emotional intelligence as a multidimensional trait domain. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31, 859-888. Trevino, L. K. (1986). Ethical decision-making in organizations: A person-situation interactionist model. Academy of Management Review, 11, 601-617. Trevino, L. K., & Brown, M. E. (2004). Managing to be ethical: Debunking five business ethics myths. Academy of Management Executives, 18, 69-81.

Big Fish/Small Pond - Small Fish/ Big Pond

2010-04-21T07:04:00.000-07:00

When selecting graduate programs should you go for the best ranked school you can gain acceptance to OR go to a lower ranked school where you know you’ll be at the top of your class? I recently attended at lecture series on self efficacy. The professor discussed recent research examining law students at top ranked law programs and lower ranked law programs. Initial LSAT scores were considerably higher for all students whom attended the higher ranked law programs. However, results indicated that only students in the top 2/3rds of either highly or lowly ranked programs passed the bar. Although the students in the highly ranked programs in the lower 1/3 of their class have considerably higher LSAT scores they were unable to pass the bar indicating that self efficacy (i.e., confidence) may have a key role in ultimate success. I found this discussion really interesting because it suggested people should work toward the “big fish in the small pond”.

That said I just read Bedeian, Cavazos, Hunt and Jauch’s (2010) article in the Academy of Management Learning & Education entitle “Doctoral degree prestige and the academic marketplace”. Bedeian et al. (2010) illustrated in a group of 171 PhD holders that doctoral origin prestige had a direct effect on the prestige of initial academic appointment regardless of initial publication quality. Whoozers! Bedeian et al. (2010) research suggests you should go for the most prestige program you can get into.

What do you think? What did you do and how did it turn out?

Asset-Based Thinking

2010-04-14T08:12:00.000-07:00

When faced with a problem how do you tackle it? Do you identify what is wrong, vent about why it is bad and try to generate solution to fix it? This is the technique that most people use to problem solve. However, Kathryn Cramer, PhD and Hank Wasiak offer a different approach in their book Change the Way You See Everything Through Asset-Based Thinking.

Cramer and Wasiak discuss the optimization of focusing on individuals, teams and organizational strengths or assets to problem solve. Stop for a second and visualize a problem you are having. Now identify the worst part of the problem at #1 and continue to identify the best outcome or asset up to #5. Now, how will you minimize #1 and optimize #5? They suggest that individuals, teams and organizations can actually concur more problems if they focus on optimizing strengths instead of venting deficiencies.

The second aspect of asset-based thinking is based on DESIRE. Cramer and Wasiak discuss the longevity of desires. Recent research has illustrated that fear only provokes change for approximately 90 days while desire can evoke lasting change. Help your employees identify their desires by asking them what they want to happen?, How will they get there?, and Why is this important to them? Help they work toward their desires through your team’s or organizational goals.

Start building off your assets TODAY!

Servant Leadership

2010-04-04T07:22:00.000-07:00

Organizational leaders are often seen as inspirational beings that direct others toward goals and objectives that have been set for them. Research has illustrated that there are many different types of leadership. Some types of leadership rely on rewards and punishments (i.e., transactional) while others rely on position or title (i.e., legitimate). Servant leadership is distinct from all of these forms of leadership in that its sole purpose is to develop and improve the lives of its followers. Servant leaders want to serve others first and are leaders because they have made a conscientious choice to help others through leading.

Greenleaf (1970) states that "The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?"

Putting HR at the Executive Table

2010-03-31T11:38:00.000-07:00

Overall participants felt that their HR departments have a “seat at the strategic corporate table”. This is a drastic change from HR department’s positions only five years ago. This is extremely important to progress and value within organizations. HR is an active participant in driving the business toward its goals and contributing to the competitive advantage of the organization. The webinar focuses on a case study in Universal Weather and Aviation and specifically how their HR department is a key party in driving strategic direction. To link to the recorded webinare click here.

Self-Control Instantly Replenished by Self-Affirmation

2010-03-31T10:52:00.000-07:00

Self-Control Instantly Replenished by Self-Affirmation

Get Yourself Out There

2010-03-27T09:09:00.000-07:00

How many times have you been asked “so how are things going?” and you give a general response like “good”? This could be a bigger mistake than you think. In the current economy getting your ideas and accomplishments out there may be your ticket upward. Take the time while brushing your teeth, driving into work/school and think about you elevator pitch. Practice what you would tell someone you just met about your current research, findings, projects or accomplishments to catch their attention. Most importantly you need to let them know why your work is important. Focus on how your work/research is going to solve some problem. Know where you want your work/research to go. Be clear about your interest in using your research to find a job, work with a new client or get a grant. Be excited about your own work but try not to use too much “smart jargon”. Be clear and concise. Go sell it!

New Opportunities In Psychology

2010-03-24T09:07:00.000-07:00

The need for assessment psychologists is growing. Psychological assessments were originally popular in clinical settings but today they can be found in many areas of psychology including organizational psychology. Organizational psychologists use psychological assessments for pre-employment screening, development and selection. Getting the right talent on the bus shouldn’t be left up to intuition. When you bring in the precise measurements, then at least you’re resting the data you’re getting on something that is reliable and trustworthy. Psychological assessments can also be used in career planning helping guide individuals toward or award from specific career paths. Helping individuals identify these paths can save them time and money in the long run. Without an accurate assessment, it’s impossible to establish appropriate goals for executive development.

Assessment Psychology Resources:
APA Div. 5 (Evaluation, Measurement and Statistics)
Society for Personality Assessment: www.personality.org

2010-03-20T08:43:00.000-07:00

Just a thought about education...In the current economy more and more people are turning back to education to get a step ahead in the work force. After meeting with the Senior Associate Dean & Director of Executive Programs at one of the top ten universities in the nation I learned that MBA enrollment has doubled as well as EMBA enrollment.

So what do you think? Will more education get you promoted? If too many people have advanced degrees will it widen the economic gap?

Another trend that we see is an increase in certificate programs. Do you think Leadership or Human Resource certificates will help individuals in organizations?

Coaching Plateaued Salespeople in a Flat Economy

2010-03-16T07:34:00.000-07:00

Dr. Beane and Mr. Lena provide insight into the management and improvement of your sales force in today's struggling economy. They provide several tips of how to increase your sales force efficiency by teaching them how to respond and interact with clients.

To view a replay of the webinar click here.
To view the pdf of the power points click here.

A Challenge for Lent

2010-03-06T06:27:00.000-08:00

How often do you set a New Years goal or give up something for Lent but after a couple of days you just can’t commit? I for one have tried some goals that were more difficult than I had imagined at the time. One year I gave up eating after 8pm so I could (lose weight) and be reminded of what God’s sacrificed for us. Another year I attempted to stop biting my nails. I used several techniques for both such as setting small goals, rewarding behaviors after a set time and even tried adverse conditioning methods. In this post I would like to cover some techniques that I believe are the most effectively for shaping behavior. I’ll use ‘nail biting’ as the example throughout.

Small Goals: Work on not performing the behavior for a couple hours. If the behavior is already less frequent (ex. Snapping at a spouse) work on staying calm for three days or a week at a time.

Rewards: Before you start trying to change any behavior determine how you will reward yourself. When I was working on not biting my nails I would set a reward schedule (ex. After week 1 I would get a manicure, after week 2 a new shirt, etc.). You need to pick rewards that matter to YOU, if they aren’t really reinforcing your behavior they will not motivate you to change.

Adverse Conditioning: AC involves the pairing of painful or adverse stimuli with the behavior. I used to put bitter (NO BIT) nail polish on my finger. Whenever I would forget and bit them there would be this really bitter taste that would immediately make me stop biting. When training my dog not to bark at the door I would shack a tin can full of pennies. Pairing the loud noise with his bark quickly stopped the behavior.

I hope you find these helpful as you work toward you New Years or Lent Goals.

Do you really know yourself?

2010-03-03T06:13:00.000-08:00

Why does it so often seem that your spouse, mother or friend seem to know you better than you know yourself? In hindsight do you feel that your parents really did know what was right for you? Well recent psychological research indicates they just might know some things about you better than you do.

Simine Vazire, a PhD at Washington University in St. Louis recently illustrated that individual are more accurate in assessing one’s own internal traits, such as anxiety, while friends, spouses and parents are better gauges of intellect-related traits, such as intelligence and creativity. He even found that strangers are equally adept as our friends and ourselves at spotting the extrovert in us all, a psychology domain known as “extroversion.”

We may not be the best experts of our own behavior as researchers originally thought.
Vazire says, “Personality is not who you think you are, it’s who you are. Some people think by definition that we are the experts on our personality because we get to write the story, but personality is not the story – it’s the reality. So, you do get to write your own story about how you think you are, and what you tell people about yourself, but there still is reality out there, and, guess what? Other people are going to see the reality, regardless of what story you believe.”

Vazire’s results could have drastic implications for self report assessments used for selection, development and promotion. To date many of the assessments used in assessment centers ask individuals to rate how they believe they would perform on a task, behave in a given situation or perferr to act at a party/meeting/conference. Although psychologists are well aware of the issues of self-report measures Vazire’s study makes a case for other rated assessments and possibly the increases use of 360 degree surveys that can illustrate the differences between self and other perceptions.

Vazire’s study is published in the February 2010 issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

For more information on this study click here.

The Supreme Court Ruling in Ricci v. Destefano

2010-02-27T06:05:00.000-08:00

On June 29, 2009 the Supreme Court ruled 4-5 in favor of the New Haven’s Fire Department’s decision to toss out promotional tests because of possible disparate treatment. Sixteen white and one Hispanic firefighter took the New Haven Service Board (CSB) to court for reverse discrimination. The 17 plaintiffs had taken and successfully passed the departments promotional assessment but were later told that the test was no longer going to be considered a factor for promotion because none of the black applicants passed the assessment.

The CSB needed to illustrate that there was legal motive for discarding the exam. I will not go into the details concerning adverse impact cases at this point but you can consult Gaurdians of New York v. Civel Service Commissions, 1980; Gillespis v. Wisconsin, 1985 or US v. City of New York, 2009 for several examples of such cases.
After reversing the lower court ruling Justice Kennedy ruled that the CSB took appropriate action.

This case has been all over the news because of the possible changes from its outcome. As IO psychologists the major take away we should examine is the importance of the validation process in measurement development (Police Officer v. City of Columbus, 1990) and being aware of potential reverse discrimination cases and/or disparate treatment cases in the future.

Career Counseling Youth

2010-02-24T11:08:00.000-08:00

I spent the weekend interviewing high school seniors for full ride scholarships to a medium sized private university. Interviewing these students was like a flash back in time; a time when you think you know what you want, where you are going, and that you are awesome. I consistently hear students state they wanted to go into a certain field while describing the contents of another field completely. For example, “I want to go pre-med because I shadowed a doctor in my town and truly enjoyed helping them with the personal aspects of their recovery including their moods, emotions and family life.”

It made me think about pre-college career counseling. Could you imagine if you had someone or a group of people sit down and give you honest feedback about the discrepancy between what you thought you wanted to do and what was sparking your interest in possibly a different area? From our example, it was clear throughout the interview that this student was truly interested in clinical psychology and/or social work but was going to work through medicine to achieve those paths.

I have assisted with several career appraisals for college graduates and executives switching fields but it made me think more and more about the younger generations that we aren’t tapping into. Although I believe assessments may help guild this process, I think a more clinical approach may better identify younger individual’s true interests.

What do you think? Would you have appreciated career feedback in high school? In hindsight would you have gone a different path than you did in college?

Reflections on McCall, M.W. (2010). Recasting Leadership Development. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice

2010-02-23T12:27:00.000-08:00

Literature in the area of leadership development is consistently illustrated the benefits of experiential learning verse standard HR systems (McCall, 2010). The authors suggest that true leadership development starts with selection. If leaders are selected who 1) believe leadership is critical to the business, 2) accept that individuals can be taught to lead, 3) believe individuals learn through hands on experience and 4) that they can have a futuristic perspective of the benefits of modeling leadership behavior.

The major factors that may be holding business and executives back from implementing experiential leadership development include possible failures, bottom line focus, and the preserved value of PEOPLE. McCall (2010) plays devil’s advocate for the reader in identifying the counter arguments and suggesting potential solutions. For example, many executives have seem unprepared individuals get tossed into a project only to fail. McCall’s potential solution includes having leadership that identify learning differences in subordinates and cater to their learning needs. Some subordinates many need more modeling than others.

Furthermore, we can see similar suggestions reflected in the popular business literature including Outliers and Good to Great. Good to Great by Jim Collins emphasizes that success full organizations work to get the right people on the bus so together they can move in the right direction. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell stress the importance of practice. The authors illustrate that he most successful individuals have over 10, 000 hours of practice in their area. Imagine what an individual with over 10,000 hours of hands on experience could do by the time they are in a TRUE leadership experience.

The take away:

1) Individuals should be selected from the start that illustrate the potential and motivation to learn to lead and lead others.

2) Organizations should hold current managers accountable for creating experiential leadership development for their high potential employees.

3) EXPERIENCE = Success

The Conscious Competence Ladder

2010-02-17T18:16:00.000-08:00

The Conscious Competence Ladder is a learning model used to identify what an individual’s competence level is on a learning scale. The Conscious Competence Ladder of learning infers that an individual will climb the ladder as they acquire and build expertise in a new area.

Level 1 – Unconscious Incompetence
At this level the individual does not understand or realize that they are lacking in a competence area.

Level 2 – Conscious Incompetence
At this level the individual realizes that there are skills and knowledge that they need to acquire and that there are others that are competent in this skill.

Level 3 – Conscious Competence
At this level the individual has acquired new skills and knowledge, is putting it into practice and is consciously refining this skill/knowledge.

Level 4 – Unconscious Competence
At this level the individual has become unaware of their skill because it is performed in an automatic way.

Attempts have been made to add a Level 5 to the Conscious Competence Ladder. Level 5 has been described in several different ways. One way is as “conscious competence of unconscious competence”, which describes a person’s ability to recognize and develop unconscious incompetence in others. Nonaka (1994) indirectly describes a possible Level 5 as “reflective competence”, which is the appraisal of one’s own skills and knowledge. Within “reflective competence” an individual searchers for a depth of information that builds off their existing competency base.

If you were to imagine a Level 5 what would it be?

Individual Differences In Negative Tolerance

2010-02-06T07:58:00.000-08:00

I had an interesting thing happen to me today…My husband asked how a recent meeting with my boss had gone? My initial reply was "we don't have time now to get into it." (it was 8:10am and I had to get to work) but he insisted that I tell him. So, being the chatty women I am I started telling him about the words that were said and the meaning I inferred. The promises I was told that I know in my heart will not come true. After approximately one and a half minutes my husband (still lying in bed) picked up his blackberry and started reading his email. I stopped, looked at him and asked "why did you stop listening to me?" His response really got me thinking "because you are being negative!"

Wow…I walked out (not mad) and thought I am being negative but what surprised me more was his lack of tolerance for my negativity. In general I am a very optimistic and positive person. My psychological assessments usually read that my biggest downfall is that I think positively about too many people and should try to balance out my optimism. But lately I have realized that my own tolerance for negativity is low (or high). There are several people in my workplace that complain about everything. After approximately 7 months I realize that it is affecting my attitude. I feel guilty even saying this because it insinuates that I only want to surround myself with positive people. Well...When I think about it I do.

As a research I started contemplating "what are the individual levels of tolerance for affect?" Research indicates that people have individual dispositions toward positive and negative affect (they aren't mutually exclusive). Individuals with high positive affect are more creative, social and optimistic. Individuals with high negative affect are more logical, and systematic. But what is the tolerance level for these differences.

Going back to my own test dummies (my husband and I) it is interesting. Myself for example…I have high positive affect and have been tolerating others negativity for several months without it effecting me. After 7 months it has built up and is starting to but I am constantly coming up with solutions to create a more positive environment even if it involves talking to the negative individual less and/or changing my psychological perception of how my day will go.

My husband on the other hand has high negative affect (he is extremely logical and a little pessimistic). I would count on the fact that he has a much lower tolerance for negativity than I do because I bring him down quicker. I wouldn’t be surprised if he liked me because I am positive and that this morning’s events were his lack of tolerance of negativity.

Just think about it. In general do you have high positive/negative affect? What is your tolerance for negativity at home/work?

To test you positive/negative affect click here. On the 4th page of this document is the PANAS, a well known and respected measure of positive and negative affect. The scoring for this measure is on page 5.

Dissertation Process

2010-02-04T18:30:00.000-08:00

I have finalized my idea which I may share later....Wrote up my proposal...and now going through the dreadful process of dealing with a professor that has too many other priorities. Ahhhhh! Who out there shares my frustrations? When I have a client at work or a project at work it never takes this long to get feedback (more like 5 minutes instead of 2 months). I just can't wait to have that PhD and be done with this silly journey.

Dogs in the Board Room

2010-02-03T06:08:00.000-08:00

I have been researching the psychological and organizational benefits of pets in the workplace. It is incredible how pets can lower your blood pressure, help reduce stress, increase social interaction and increase task performance. Seriously, you look at your dog feel love but never really think of him/her as a health-emotion-work improver.

Now, that said I think I might need to start forcing my company to let me bring my dog into work just so I can get over this hump of a month I have been having.

I know that there are a few challenging to having pets in the workplace (i.e., allergies) but just being able to take a 10 min walk (instead of the smoke breaks so many take) or have him/her sit on my lap for a minute really would make my smile more, take on more challenging projects and just feel better about my day.

Get your office to let the dog in the boards room. For great companies that do check out Nestle Purina, and Dominos.

How To Maintain Trust...

2010-01-29T18:36:00.000-08:00

As a graduate student one of the main trends you see in the life cycle literature it that organizations that conduct layoffs ultimately die. In our current economy this is just NOT the case. Layoffs and downsizing have become expected proceedures in business.

It is not ever easy to conduct layoffs or deal with the aftermath. Check out Dr. Pam Franta's free webinar that address just this issue. She shares an approach to restructuring that conveys compassion for those affected, minimizes fear for those still onboard, and fosters renewed trust and commitment among employees moving forward.

Specifically, you will discover proactive strategies on how to:
Prepare those affected with an innovative process to help optimize future employment opportunities
Manage anxiety by keeping interactions with remaining employees positive
Incorporate two‐way communication to regain commitment and trust for the future.

CHECK IT OUT

Old Disseration Ideas

2010-01-27T18:28:00.000-08:00

The Influence of Servant Leadership on organizational citizenship behaviors, commitment and job satisfaction: A Longitudinal Investigation

Abstract: This study examined the relationship between servant-leadership and employee job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and organizational citizenship behaviors. Utilizing a mixed methods approach to the study, three survey instruments were administered to the participants. The instruments measured servant leadership as perceived by non-supervisory employees, job satisfaction, organizational commitment and other rated organizational citizenship behaviors. Demographic data for gender, age, education, and years in the organization were variables utilized in the analysis of the response data. Quantitative methods were applied to obtain statistical measurements of the response data. Qualitative data were obtained via in-depth interviews with the participants who ascertained that their supervisors demonstrated servant-leadership characteristics.
Research Question:

Q1: How do employee’s perceptions of their leader effect their organizational citizenship behaviors, commitment and job satisfaction?

Q2: Do servant leaders predict the variability of employees OCBs, commitment and job satisfaction?

Management Style

2009-11-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

There are many types of management styles discussed throughout management literature. However, the majority of empirically supported research focuses on two dimensions of management people orientation verses task orientation. There are many names that have been used for these two dimensions including warmth, consideration and supporting. The people orientation aspect reflects the extent to which an individual is likely to have relationships with direct reports, peers and supervisors characterized by trust and respect. A high people orientation score would indicate a good relationship filled with two-way communication. Task or structure orientation reflects the extent to which an individual is likely to focus of the duties and tasks of employees, direct and tell others, plan ahead, schedule and criticize. A high score would indicate that employees would be results driven. Individual information about one’s management style can illustrate patterns and provide feedback at an early stage of management. This type of information has been proven useful in courses ranging from first-line supervisory training to executive development.

People orientation and task orientation are independent variables illustrating that an employee can be high or low on both axis. For example, an employee low on both would be submissive and passive aggressive while an employee high in both would be collaborative, coaching and results orientated.

Several studies have illustrated that mangers that are low in both consideration and structure are more likely to be bypassed by direct reports and may not be perceived as a functional manager (Fleishman, 1973). Mangers with high structure and low consideration are more likely to have greater turnover, dissatisfaction and stress among direct reports (Fleishman, 1973). However, research results indicate that managers high in consideration and high in structure do not have these adverse effects. Three of the four quadrants correlate significantly with positive aspects of job performance (ex. Low turnover, good attitudes, and low stress). However, low consideration/low structure did not show significant correlations with any positive outcomes.
Research has indicated that employees whom are people and task orientated are the strongest managers. Thau, Bennett, Mitchell and Marrs (2009) recently found that management style can change the strength and direction (i.e., moderate) of the relationship between abusive supervision and workplace deviance. Results illustrated that direct reports were more deviant when managers had a highly task orientated style and a low people orientation (Thau et al., 2009). Bass (1958, 1956) and Parker (1963) empirically illustrated that consideration was related to performance ratings (r = .32), attitudes toward supervision (r = .51) , and goal achievement (r = .24). Structure was significantly related to favorable attitudes toward supervision (r = .22) and errors (r = .23; Parker, 1963). It is evident that management style is predictive of followers behaviors and attitudes.

Blue Ocean Strategy

2009-11-03T05:00:00.000-08:00

Blue Ocean Strategy by Kim and Mauborqne is a great book for executive teams to start working on an innovative strategic plan. The book discusses that blue oceans are organizational strategies that go beyond the current competition. Blue ocean strategies have identified what the customer really wants and gets rid of the fluff. Red Oceans are strategic plans that are just trying to survive. They focus on the keeping up with the competition but not finding innovative and creative ways to get ahead.

Key Questions to Ask Your Team

1. What factors can be eliminated that the industry has taken for granted?
2. What factors can be reduces well below the industry’s standard?
3. What factors can be raised well above the industry’s standard?
4. What factors can be created that the industry has never offered?

This is a good read for any executive! Pick it up today.

For more information look at http://www.blueoceanstrategy.com/boo/book.html.

Will-do vs. Can-do (self-efficacy)

2009-10-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

Self-efficacy is defined as “the belief that one is capable of performing in a certain manner to attain certain goals” (Bandura, 1982, p. 122). Self-efficacy has been linked to the length of time an individual will work on a task, how they will cope with issues and how much effort they will put toward the task (Bandura, 1986). Furthermore, self-efficacy has been related to work-performance measures such as adaptability (Hill, Smith & Mann, 1987), coping with career related events (Stumpf, Brief & Hartman, 1987), managerial idea generating (Gist, 1989), managerial performance (Wood, Bandurea & Bailey, 1990), and skill acquisition (Mitchell, Hopper, Daniels, George-Falvy, 1990). All of these relationships illustrate the importance of self-efficacy as a determinate of managerial performance and success. Stajkovic and Luthan’s (1998) meta-analysis empirically illustrates the strength of these relationships as r = .38 between self-efficacy and task related performance.

Managers with high self-efficacy can influence the work attitudes (i.e., commitment, job satisfaction) of their subordinates (Walumbwa et al., 2005). Recent empirical research has illustrated that efficacy beliefs are positively related to followers’ work-related attitudes (Walumbwa et al., 2005). Self-efficacy influences the strength and direction of the relationship between neuroticism, extroversion and conscientiousness with manager effectiveness (Ng, Ang, & Chan, 2008). More specifically, self-efficacy influences the neuroticism/conscientiousness relationship with effectiveness when managers had low job demands; and extraversion, regardless of a manager’s job demands (Ng, Ang, & Chan, 2008).

Finally, self-efficacy is one of the factors that can indicate if a skilled worker is prepared for occupational change. Workers with a high self-efficacy are more prepared for occupational change in different stages of transitions (i.e., prior to, during, and after; Schyns, 2004).

Seminars

2009-10-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

I just attended a seminar on Creating Writing Assignments. You may think…”What does this have to do with psychology in the workplace?” Well, it has a lot to do with psych in the workplace. Writing is a fundamental building block of creative thinking. The seminar discussed the differences between experienced writers and inexperienced writers.

More specifically we discussed why and how each of these groups writes. It was interesting to see just how different the two groups behavior and think. Here are some of our responses to the previously asked questions;

Why do you write? For fun, to convey information, to communication, to share knowledge, to express feelings, thoughts and emotions, to summarize information, to discover, to organize thoughts, to get better

How do you write? Outline, structures, process orientated, explosive, with others

What are the main differences between experts and amateur writers?

Inexperienced Writers: 1). Writing is a onetime process, 2). Revision is rewording, 3). Solitary activity, 4). Focus on rules, formula, correctness, 5). Prioritize style change/editing

Experienced Writers: 1). Writing is an evolving process, 2). Revision is rethinking, 3). Bounce ideas off others, 4). Focus on arguments, readers, dissonance, 5). Prioritize ideas and structure then stylistic concerns.

Tips for Engaging Writing
1). Process (break it down)
2). Feedback
3). Quantity
4). Pacing
5). Assign a lot of writing
6). Problem-based tasks
7). Authenticity

More broadly, this seminar made me think about writing in general and reading in general. It made me appreciate all of the articles and books I have read again and again to gain a deeper knowledge of them (this is in contradiction to most individuals one time through approach to reading), the feedback process, and the writing process. This seminar made my think about the importance of reading and writing and that we all should encourage more reading and writing at home, at school and in the office. Individuals, students and employees should be encouraged to read in their expertise area, write to communicate with others and expand their skills. Just think about what we could create and share if we all (but students more specifically) stopped striving to meet the bare minimum and strived to break through the ceiling.
Why do you write? What is your process?

Conflict Resolution

2009-10-07T06:00:00.001-07:00

Whether it is in the workplace or at home conflict arises everywhere. Conflict is stressful and can cause employee burnout and decrease job satisfaction. Psychological Associates offers a crash course in overcoming conflict in this free webinar. Psychological Associates’ Working Through Conflict gives participants the insights and techniques needed to resolve disagreements without being disagreeable. They offer a one day workshop you can sign up for if you like the webinar. In this one-day workshop, attendees learn an effective process for dealing with the most persistent conflicts so that the people involved can address issues and explore resolutions they may not have thought possible.

I really enjoyed this webinar because it can be easily applied to many areas of work and life. Check it out, download the workbook and see how many conflicts you can overcome today.

Comprehensive Exams

2009-10-02T13:35:00.003-07:00

FYI I passed my comps! Now I am abd (all but dissertation).

Teaching in a New World

2009-10-02T13:21:00.000-07:00

Anthropologist Michael Welsh visited Saint Louis University today to discuss teaching in the new world of technology. Welsh, an anthropology professor at Kansas State University utilizes blogs, chat rooms, viral video and online networking to foster exploration in his classes. Welsh is an eloquent speaker that excites his audience by showing funny and catchy you tube videos that push home his point. WE NEED TO GET STUDENTS ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS! Welsh stresses that students should not be asking "what is on the test?", but instead asking "what do I need to success in the future?"

Check out more on Welsh at http://ksuanth.weebly.com/wesch.html

Leadership Development

2009-09-25T14:11:00.000-07:00

Last week I attended an amazing leadership development program called Leadership Through People Skills. I a graduate student I really didn't think there was going to be must I could really learn from a bunch of consultants turning theory into practice but wow was I wrong. I learned a great deal about profiling peers, direct reports and bosses behavioral tendencies and them using different techniques to get them to work more effectively with me. All the of the information is based on Psychological Associates Dimensional Model of Management.

It was also an extraordinary networking opportunity because there were employees from all over the nation. My group alone was east coast, west coast and Midwest. I also could not believe that we could all get such great constructive feedback from team members after only working three days together. But again I was wrong. Participants were extremely open to participating and giving it all.

I would recommend this program to any employee looking to enhance their performance as a leader or just as peer.

Check it out at www. q4solutions.com

Critical Issues for Corporate Board Rooms

2009-08-26T09:00:00.000-07:00

This AOM session was conducted by some of the successful business authors and consultants of today including Jay Conger (Claremount McKenna College), Dan Dalton(Indiana University), Edward Lawler (USC) , Richard Leblanc (York University) and Michael Useem (Wharton).

The major issues included: 1). The separation of CEO and Chairman (usually they are the same person), 2). Selection of Directors, and 3). The evaluation of Directors.

1). There were conflicting views concerning the separation of CEO and Chairman. View A argued that the Chairman should be an outsider because they will be less conflicted and have an unbiased perspective when it comes to making decisions and setting compensation. This should be a genuine outsider not the former CEO or connected member of the community. Then the outside Chairman and current CEO should work closely to make decisions and guide the board of directors. View B argued that this separation will lead to a disconnect in thought and ideas. The outside Chairman would not be able to obtain a sufficient amount of information to adequately guide the board. Dan Dalton discussed this view and stated that there needs to be a unified front.

2). All agreed that there should be a list of all of the needed competencies for a board. That list of competencies should then be matched to the current directors. Competencies lacking directors representation should illustrate selection criteria for new directors. I thought this sounded all good and great until I talked with the current CEO of a international retail organization who told me that they did just that. According to best practices this should have produced the best and most effective board. However, it did not. The board is less effective because ever issue is argued upon. There future plans involved maintaining some diversity while reducing the total size of the board. This goes to show that best practices don’t always work in the real world.

AOM Conference

2009-08-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

While in Chicago I attended several symposiums, paper sessions and discussions concerning research and practice in organizations. Some of the sessions are not worth talking about because they were too uninteresting to even sit through (although I did).
Moral Self and Spiritual Attributes:

This session was extremely interesting because it focused on two major topics in today’s business world. First, the authors discussed ethical leadership and values orientated workers. With all of the current scandals taking place throughout our nation I found this extremely relevant. Denise Daniels from Seattle Pacific University presented empirical research examining why some people seem to find ethical tension in many situations while others don’t. She modified the criteria from Richard Niebuhr’s “Christ and Culture” to examine how people viewed God in the real world. Her results illustrated that moral identity moderates the relationship between moral self and ethical sensitivity. So, if you view that the world is good and you experience good around you will be less sensitive to ethical issues than if you view the world as good but experience lots of ethical issues.

James Westerman of Appalachian State investigated if the type of God you believe in impacts the workplace. You could have a view that God is engaging and supporting or God is judging. The results illustrated that if you view God as engaging and supporting than you were more conscientious with your work and performed better than if you viewed God as judging. Further results illustrated that if you viewed God as benevolent you would have a low external locus of control and a view of an authoritarian God elicited the most unethical behavior among all views of God. I thought this was really interesting because we as Americans are always trying to be so politically correct and separate work from religion. This research empirically illustrates that we can’t separate the two and more importantly our views of God affects our work and our employees work.

Surprises around every corner!

2009-08-20T15:41:00.000-07:00

I had a great day interning today. The boss started me on a great project reviving and developing an additional product that they want to add to their tool box. One of the PhDs met with me to introduce the project. I had not met this PhD yet and it was great. Were we so engaged in idea generation and discussion that we caught ourselves in this meeting for 2 hours. Plus the surprise was that this man started working here sense I was born and when he laughed his mouth and sound reminded me of my grandma (God bless you soul). It was wonderful because he laughed a lot during our discussion and each time I was reminded of her. I think it is so surprising because I can’t even describe my grandmother’s laugh or smile or teeth but there I was seeing it in him. It immediately made me like everything he said.

So go forth and look for surprises in people and maybe you’ll surprise yourself in the processes.

Peter Senge Speaks Out

2009-04-23T19:43:00.000-07:00

The concepts of organizational learning and the “Fifth Discipline” by Peter Senge was originally brought to many of our student’s attention when Dr. Edward Sabin first started integrating Senge’s popular psychology into the classroom. On earth day, Peter Senge himself visited the Saint Louis University campus to discuss the integration of organizational learning and environmental sustainability. Senge as well as other guest speakers presented numerous examples of the collaboration between student innovation, educators and businesses to produce tangible environmental solutions across the world. Educators, CEOs and students from the St. Louis area were in attendance to discuss new perspective and build new collaborations. This half day conference was just one example of science in action right here on our SLU campus.

Comps II

2009-01-21T17:29:00.000-08:00

YEAH!! I found some really great comps advice that I think is going to help.

Today went a little better with the constant studying.

Comps

2009-01-20T17:11:00.000-08:00

Waking up each morning and reading is fun!? I have been studying for comps for 2 1/2 weeks now and it is not fun. I enjoy reviewing all the material but it is endless. I feel incredible amounts of guilt everytime I read a book for pleasure or go workout. It is difficult to just sit and read for hours and hours without feeling like there is no end in sight.

All that said I have finally put together my outline. I am trying to cover 1 or 2 topics each week. At least I am giving myself little goals to meet each week.

Does anyone have suggestions for making this experience more enjoyable?

Helping Others

2009-01-05T19:52:00.000-08:00

Through the holidays I have had the opportunity to help others. Specifically young, homeless and pregnant women. It is remarkable that these women push through difficult struggles to give life to others. This experience started to make me think about how luck we are as psychologists to learn new information and educate others. All too often psychologists are driven by money (specifically in my field of IO psychology). Consultants often create a pop version of a theory. When we are driven by theory and exploration instead of money we often fail to make the theories applicable.

After I started thinking more and more about giving back I was given a book called the Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. This book will change your life no matter what field you are in. The first half of the book is a little extreme but by the end of the book you will be able to see how YOU can give back and make a real difference in the world.

As psychologists we need to make theories more and more applicable to communities and more specifically communities that need our help. Application of theories should be made popular and available for those communities and individuals that can't afford consultants. We need to start to use the knowledge we acquire as students and dive into the communities that need us. We need to out our PhD labels aside and learn from the communities and individuals we are trying to help. More likely than not we will become the students.

If you are aware of any psychologists or organizations that are helping others with their psychology skills please let me know.

Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas! Happy New Years!

Book Review: Leadership Theory and Practice

2008-11-18T11:24:00.000-08:00

Leadership Theory and Practice edited by Peter G. Northouse is a reference book that all graduate students, HR executives and consultants should have on their shelves. The chapters are relatively easy to read and follow the same formula throughout the book. Several approaches to leadership are covered including trait, skill, style, situational, contingency, LMX, path-goal, transformational and transactional. Furthermore, other relevant leadership areas are cover such as team leadership, ethical leadership and women in leadership. Each chapter clearly presents the approach and critical elements followed by the advantages, disadvantages and application of each approach. I would recommend this book to everyone who deals with leadership or leaders at work. Go out and get it today!

Controversy over the Construct of Intelligence

2008-11-06T19:58:00.000-08:00

The study of intelligences has come across large differences between races and IQ scores. IQ scores of intelligence are set on a bell curve where 100 is the average with a standard deviation of 15. Asians on average, fall one standard deviation above whites whereas, blacks fall one standard deviation below whites on the bell curve. These racial differences are not due to test bias but reflects mental capacity differences that g (general intelligence factor) embodies (Gottfredson, 2002). Although there are differences between several racial groups it is the gap between blacks and whites that focuses on disparate impact. Disparate impact does occur when selection involves the use of intelligence testing. The controversy is between equity and efficiency.
Those in favor of equity suggest several changes that could reduce disparate impact. Goldstein et al. (2002) suggest that non-cognitive ability tests illustrate the reduction of group differences especially when used in combination with other methods of assessment (i.e., personality, samples). Researchers suggest that the validation of such devices would gain equity and efficiency. Other suggestions include banding intelligence and other assessment scores into groups. People with similar scores could be grouped into a test score band. Banding although sometimes looked down upon, would reduce adverse impact. A third suggestion includes altering the testing method from written intelligence tests to oral tests and paper/ pencil tests to providing sample work. Preliminary research suggests that such changes reduce group differences but are less predictive of overall job performance and academic success (Murphy, 2002). There is a final suggestion and that is to eliminate intelligence tests from the selection pool completely to eliminate the effects of adverse impact.
Those supporting efficiency states that selection procedures will not benefit from slashing the use of intelligence testing. Intelligences are one of the best predictors of job performance to date. Although there are other good predictors (i.e., personality) these are best used in collaboration with intelligence tests. Such suggestions will minimize the test validity (Gottfredson, 2002). Personnel decisions could affect employee opportunities (Murphy, 2002). In the short-term such eliminations may decrease the pressures disparate impact places on researcher but it is not a long term solution. In response to altering assessment methods researchers argue that such changes are not assessing cognitive ability and thus are not assessing intelligence. Such changes would reduce the validity and predictive ability of intelligence tests. Supporters of efficiency although not against equality do not necessarily believe that equality should be an issue in selection. This rational is derived from looking at the purpose of selection systems and that is to select the best employee for the position. If intelligence measure show the there are group difference not due to test bias than why would researchers and personnel change the system to select a less qualified applicant.
As presented there remains a large divide between those who want to reduce adverse impact now and those who what to select the best performers. Future research must examine the long term consequences of change selection methods to establish a valid assessment tool. At the end of the day corporations must make the decision whether they will select with equity or efficiency in mind.