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Leaders Characterize Self through Stories and Neuroscience
Albuquerque, NM
Friday, July 11, 2008
Four toads sat on a mossy log in a Louisiana bayou. Three said they were going to jump into the pond. How many were left?
Four. Three never went through with the plan. Intention and execution should not be confused.
Silly start … but captivating because we love stories. The power of story draws us in.
A life story—whether we read it in a bestselling memoir or participate in it each day--contains silent assumptions and emotional scripts. Our assumptions tell us what to look for, and how to perceive and process experiences.
What about your identity as a leader in that story? Who defined it up until now? What events formed it? Were you an agent of the change or were you a victim?
Change is not simple. Why do we repeat behavior that doesn't work? The patterns that lead us to the present will extend into the future unless we intentionally reroute them. That requires examination.
The good news is that we are not hard-wired for life. With new experiences, new neuronal pathways and new neural networks are formed. New highways to new communities in your brain. And, some remarkable new research shows that consistently repeating new experiences may even alter gene expression. When we write a new story--and change our minds and behavior--we change our brains.
The following four guiding principles of change guide us to into an intentional future.
Principle 1 - Our beliefs are consistent with our assumptions.
In circus communities, trainers know to keep a baby elephant roped to a stake in the ground. Predictably, the youngster pulls, trying to break free from the rope. At a small size, it is more easily confined and cannot escape.
Fast forward several years and the grown elephant can easily break the rope. Yet because of its belief, based on the past, it remains restrained.
Our beliefs write the software of our story. Beliefs are the directives to our mind. They can constrain us or set us free.
Principle 2 - We do not see things as they are, we see things as we are.
Two professionals are wandering amidst a desolate land just outside of a major Southwestern city. One professional, an archaeologist, sees the geology of the landscape and its history, with the potential to uncover the past. The other, an architect, sees development of future civilizations. Both are right in what they see.
Our internal selection process interprets. This is part of our plot. We do not get what we want, we get what we expect. We have to bring our beliefs in to conscious focus to assess how well they work in present time.
Principle 3 - A new story can only occur by living in the present moment.
Examination of your present-day reality is necessary for understanding repetitions of storylines. Observing and owning these repetitions initiate appreciation of the core assumptions that create those repetitions. Some are visible – like how we react to friends when we see someone we have missed. Others are invisible – like the way we handle a tough situation at work in our mind but neglect to take courageous action to problem-solve.
Principle 4 - Our minds see closure and infer causality, whether accurate or not.
A series of studies by Dr. Daniel Gilbert of Harvard illustrated our mind's desire to draw conclusions. When volunteers in the study were subconsciously shown a set of keywords with a pattern of behavioral traits, their actions became unknowingly influenced and they acted out those traits. Then the participants were asked why they changed their behaviors. Instead of a simple "I don't know," they each drew incorrect conclusions about what caused their actions. In living through change, we deduce cause, often blindly, and live with the effect.
The powerful use of story to examine what your leadership history leads to intention. Take control of the author in you. Rewrite what needs a change.
If your leadership story or your wellness story is of interest to you, read more at Better-Leadership.com
Four. Three never went through with the plan. Intention and execution should not be confused.
Silly start … but captivating because we love stories. The power of story draws us in.
A life story—whether we read it in a bestselling memoir or participate in it each day--contains silent assumptions and emotional scripts. Our assumptions tell us what to look for, and how to perceive and process experiences.
What about your identity as a leader in that story? Who defined it up until now? What events formed it? Were you an agent of the change or were you a victim?
Change is not simple. Why do we repeat behavior that doesn't work? The patterns that lead us to the present will extend into the future unless we intentionally reroute them. That requires examination.
The good news is that we are not hard-wired for life. With new experiences, new neuronal pathways and new neural networks are formed. New highways to new communities in your brain. And, some remarkable new research shows that consistently repeating new experiences may even alter gene expression. When we write a new story--and change our minds and behavior--we change our brains.
The following four guiding principles of change guide us to into an intentional future.
Principle 1 - Our beliefs are consistent with our assumptions.
In circus communities, trainers know to keep a baby elephant roped to a stake in the ground. Predictably, the youngster pulls, trying to break free from the rope. At a small size, it is more easily confined and cannot escape.
Fast forward several years and the grown elephant can easily break the rope. Yet because of its belief, based on the past, it remains restrained.
Our beliefs write the software of our story. Beliefs are the directives to our mind. They can constrain us or set us free.
Principle 2 - We do not see things as they are, we see things as we are.
Two professionals are wandering amidst a desolate land just outside of a major Southwestern city. One professional, an archaeologist, sees the geology of the landscape and its history, with the potential to uncover the past. The other, an architect, sees development of future civilizations. Both are right in what they see.
Our internal selection process interprets. This is part of our plot. We do not get what we want, we get what we expect. We have to bring our beliefs in to conscious focus to assess how well they work in present time.
Principle 3 - A new story can only occur by living in the present moment.
Examination of your present-day reality is necessary for understanding repetitions of storylines. Observing and owning these repetitions initiate appreciation of the core assumptions that create those repetitions. Some are visible – like how we react to friends when we see someone we have missed. Others are invisible – like the way we handle a tough situation at work in our mind but neglect to take courageous action to problem-solve.
Principle 4 - Our minds see closure and infer causality, whether accurate or not.
A series of studies by Dr. Daniel Gilbert of Harvard illustrated our mind's desire to draw conclusions. When volunteers in the study were subconsciously shown a set of keywords with a pattern of behavioral traits, their actions became unknowingly influenced and they acted out those traits. Then the participants were asked why they changed their behaviors. Instead of a simple "I don't know," they each drew incorrect conclusions about what caused their actions. In living through change, we deduce cause, often blindly, and live with the effect.
The powerful use of story to examine what your leadership history leads to intention. Take control of the author in you. Rewrite what needs a change.
If your leadership story or your wellness story is of interest to you, read more at Better-Leadership.com
Katie Snapp
President
Better-Leadership.com
Los Ranchos de Albuque, NM
505 280-1427
866-808-7631
First Url: Better Leadership Home Page
