ed batista, the art of self-coaching @stanfordbiz, class 3: attention
TRANSCRIPT
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The art of self-coachingEd BatistaCLASS 3: ATTENTION
Class #
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AttentionAnother foundational topicEMOTION: Emotions are attention magnetsHAPPINESS: What we pay attention to mattersRESILIENCE: Managing our attention under stress
Systems 1 & 2 20 minsAn exercise 20 minsMental control 15 minsA conversation 25 minsFor next time… 5 mins
Agenda
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Before we getdown to business
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Your mostprecious resource
Effectiveness
Emotional Arousal
Performance
Eustress Distress
(Not literally a bell curve)
EffectivenessChoosing where to focus your attentionChoosing what (& who) to ignoreESSENTIAL leadership skillsMore difficult under stressIt will only get harder
System 1 &Keith Stanovich, University of TorontoRichard West, James Madison UniversityIndividual Differences in Reasoning (2000)Daniel Kahneman, Princeton
System 2
System 1 &Most processing = Automatic & unconsciousConsciousness = Tip of the iceberg“Systems” = Modes of operatingNOT actual structures
System 2
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System 1 &System 2
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System 1 &System 2
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System 1 &System 21 in 11,000,000
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System 1 &System 21 in 5,0002,200x more deadly
Who’s in charge? REMAIN CALM! ALL IS
WELL!
Who’s in charge?It depends
System 2 usually an acquiescent monitor& sometimes in charge & actively resistant& sometimes an ENDORSER, not an enforcer
Why does this
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matter?
Attention budgetIf you try to go beyond your budget, you
will fail.~Kahneman
Ego depletionSelf-control consumes System 2 processingUsually unpleasant (a good thing)Resistance diminishes over timeGlucose
Law of leasteffort We’re lazy (or efficient) (or economical)System 2 processing is inefficient & expensive
Law of leasteffort So we conserve System 2 resources (a good thing)But this results in biases & systematic errors*
What can we do?
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Multi-task?
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DOESNOTEXIST
Multi-taskEither continuous partial attentionOr rapid context switchingUseless for serious workInefficient in all cases
3 tactics
Building capacity (aka)
Getting MESSyMindfulnessExerciseSleep hygieneStress reduction
Get your phones
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+ paper & pen
An exercise
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First individually
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First individually
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Make a list…Conduct an Interruption Inventory of your phoneIdentify all possible ways it can interrupt youAlerts, badges, banners, sounds
First individually
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Now reflectWhich ones did you choose?Which ones were chosen for you?How useful or necessary are they?
First individually
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Make another list…Establish a Hierarchy of DisruptionIdentify people who can seize your attentionAnd the means they use (email, text, apps, phone)
First individually
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Now reflectWhy do they have this power?What do they do with it?How do you enable it?
Now in quartets
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How might we use these tools differently?What could we make less prominent?What could we ignore entirely?
What will you do?
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Mental control
“Unmasked,” by Chris Ware, The New Yorker [link]
aka
Attention
“Unmasked,” by Chris Ware, The New Yorker [link]
management
White bearsDaniel Wegner, HarvardPeople can control their mental states just by trying to direct their thoughts.These strategies of mental control can sometimes backfire, however.
Mental effortSuppression (Freud)Concentration (James)Insufficient under stressSometimes counterproductiveAn alternative (Dewey)
HabitCould the young but realize how soon they will become mere walking bundles of habits, they would give more heed to their conduct while in the plastic state.
~William James
Building capacity (aka)
Getting MESSyMindfulnessExerciseSleep hygieneStress reduction
Getting MESSyMindfulness
MindfulnessNon-judgmental
awareness& acceptance
of experience
MindfulnessThe most powerful self-coaching toolCritical to attention & emotion management
Meditation?
Meditation
MeditationRepeated effort (over & over & over & over) Cultivated habit of attention management“Self-directed neuroplasticity”
MeditationA workout, not a breakConsistent practice is the keyTry 1 minute per day & work up
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What else canHealthy distractionsBounded worryMedication*
we do?
A conversation
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How is this material relevant to you?Reflect
A conversation
A conversationTwo options:1: A coaches B here, & B coaches A outside of class2: A coaches B, then B coaches A here
A conversationHow might I manage attention more effectively?What habits would be helpful?Or anything else
DebriefWhat happened?What did you learn?
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To sum upAttention is your most precious resourceWe can struggle to direct it effectivelyMere mental effort isn’t enoughHabitual practices are key
To sum upThis will only get harderEveryone wants the leader’s attentionNo one cares how much it costs the leaderStart treating your attention like a resource now
An exerciseEmotional Style Assessment60 true/false questionsGenerally true or generally falseGo with your gut; don’t deliberate
An exerciseComplete it (10 mins), then score it (10 mins)Then do the Class 4 readingBring a copy to class
An exerciseTake note…“Resilience” in Davidson = Recovery Time
Other items…Today’s slides posted on my siteWeek 4 Assignment due Tuesday 9pm1:1 meetings