Ignite Passion and Performance with User Friendly Brain Tools
Wonderful article illustrating the problems with negative feedback and how it limits motivation and creativity. He also talks about some fantastic brain research showing the positive advantages of talking about positive future states.
Motivating these three aspects of the brain (Artist, Caveman and Thinker) helps us get our ACT together.
For more on the ACT team from “Energize”.
The ACT Team from a teenager’s perspective.
(Bob’s goofy caveman comes out in the outtake)
Supporting research: http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/a-positive-mood-allows-your-brain-to-think-more-creatively.html
Learn more at Influencing Your Inner Movie – The Thinker and the Caveman (10 minute video by the Matchbox Group)
The Caveman and Thinker do better when they work together. This funny, brief animation gives a great example of the problems when one of the brain characters takes over. The blue character is similar to what I call the Thinker, and the red one has the passion and impulsiveness of the Caveman (or Cavewoman, if you prefer). This part of the passion of the Caveman is not one we talk about much in class 🙂
My favorite story in Whit Mitchel’s book “Working in Sync” is about Hans Stander.
This is for three reasons (the first one is silly). 1) I love doing handstands. 2) Hans has a passion for empowering others that I can relate to. 3) He is a master at using compelling stories to get people to agree to unlikely goals. I love that.
Hans works to get funding to people in poor countries to build their businesses. This capital becomes a foundation for their thriving, helping the local economy, and (in my opinion) even strengthening global civilization.
Hans knows that you have to appeal to people’s hearts as well as their minds.
Whit describes this powerfully,
“Small goals, small dreams don’t have the power to ignite people to make the leap from thought to feeling. Only big ideas have the power to align people’s hearts with their heads. And when that is achieved, great achievements are possible because “intellectual and emotional conviction” combine to sustain the effort… So make the linkages clear and understandable between the commercial aims and the larger, more laudable purpose that is built on the shared values and beliefs of the team or community. “
This is similar to what I describe colorfully in “Energize” as ‘getting their ACT together’. I.e., motivating the three critical parts of our brain by “Calming the Caveman” (regarding fears about the goal), “Energizing the Artist” (igniting passion with stories, etc.), and “Convincing the Thinker” (giving rational plans and facts). All three combined are fifty times more powerful than any one of them alone. And the research shows that stories are the most powerful way to do this.
I recommend that you get your hands on “Working in Sync”, not only for the powerful, real life success stories, but also for the wise and pragmatic coaching ideas that Whit proffers. I’ve known Whit for years and his insight, skill, and motivation have been a professional boon to me countless times.
Bob Faw, interviewed on NEDD Radio by Tom Raffio, head of Northeast Delta Dental
Interview about Energize – NEDD Radio
Energize Performance
Feedforward is usually far easier to give than feedback. Most of the time it is more helpful: specific, clear, actionable, and positive. Learn what it is, and how to do it well. Improve relationships at work and home. Achieve success more easily.
This video is Bob Faw teaching how to use feedforward, in performance management, and elsewhere in life.
I give ideas on how to use these positive motivators for increased passion and performance. Thanks to Dan Pink for his great work in “Drive”!
Learn about my personal transformation story, and how that spurred my passion for positive transformation. Also enjoy a preview of ideas and tools I shared in “Energize”.
I love this presentation! Sualeh, one of the participants in a Leadership University of ours taught his family about the concepts. His daughter, Zahra, put these slides together.