Micro-Management is My Kryptonite

Posted on 2012/11/202012/11/19 by Jason Hensel

Inc.com recently ran a story titled “10 Leadership Practices to Stop Today,” by Paul Spiegelman. It’s a great piece, and I agree with all 10 recommendations, especially No. 1: “Out: Micro-management, or the need to control every aspect of your company. In: Empowerment, the ability to give your people some rope–even rope to make mistakes without blame.”

Perhaps it’s because I’m a writer, someone who makes his scratch in the creative arts, but micro-management is the Kryptonite to my creativity and productivity. Whenever I’m being micro-managed, I feel less empowered, less trusted, and more like a slave.

In fact, researchers from Harvard Business School and Rice University did a study last year and found that “workers perform just fine when managers don’t keep close tabs on them, and that workers are more likely to be fearful of experimenting when their managers micromanage; as a result, the employees learn less and performance suffers,” as reported by Kimberly Weisul for CBS News.

The struggle for me is knowing how to handle micro-management. Sure, I play along and let managers know everything I’m doing down to the last detail. But I can only allow myself to do that for so long before I become either depressed or angry. Neither of those are good for my health or career.

What does one do? How have you handled micro-managing in your career? How can a lower-level employee convince leadership that a lack of autonomy is stifling creativity, productivity, and a healthy mental state?

(Image via Flickr: ZaCky / Creative Commons)

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Women Identified As More Depressed Than Men

Posted on 2012/11/19 by Jason Hensel

A couple of weeks ago, Christa and I were chatting about how a majority of anti-depression medicine providers market themselves to women. We thought it was interesting that every commercial you see on TV features a depressed woman. It’s one of those things you probably don’t think about until it’s pointed out to you. Then you see it all the time.

And now I’ve seen a new study that fits with this observance. According to research from Viren Swami at the University of Westminster in the U.K., correctly identifying signs of depression depends on the gender of the identifier and the depressed person.

Swami presented study participants with one of two fictitious subjects, Kate and Jack. Both were described in non-clinical terms as having identical symptoms of major depression, the only difference being their suggested gender. For example, a sample of the test reads, “For the past two weeks, Kate/Jack has been feeling really down. S/he wakes up in the morning with a flat, heavy feeling that stick with her/him all day. S/he isn’t enjoying things the way s/he normally would. S/he finds it hard to concentrate on anything.” Respondents were asked to identify whether the individual described suffered a mental health disorder, and how likely they would be to recommend seeking professional help to the subject in the test.

Men and women were equally likely to classify Kate as having a mental health disorder, but men were less likely than women to indicate that Jack suffered from depression. Men were also more likely to recommend that Kate seek professional help than women were, but both men and women were equally likely to make this suggestion for Jack. Respondents, particularly men, rated Kate’s case as significantly more distressing, difficult to treat, and deserving of sympathy than they did Jack’s case.

The researcher also found that individual attitudes towards depression were associated with skepticism about psychiatry and anti-scientific attitudes. According to Swami, their results are significant for initiatives aimed at enhancing mental health literacy, which should consider the impact of gender stereotypes and attitudes towards help-seeking behaviors.

Have you noticed a bias toward women and depression in ads? Do you think women suffer more than men from depression?

(Quotes from the Public Library of Science. Image via Flickr: Luis Sarabia / Creative Commons.)

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Intelligent People Drink More?

Posted on 2012/11/092012/11/09 by Christa Schelter

Do you think people who drink more alcohol would be more or less intelligent — generally speaking? Recent research cited in a Discovery News article caught my eye with the title “Why Intelligent People Drink More Alcohol.” Any correlation of brain chemistry or intelligence and alcohol has been a concern ever since I was told: “Alcohol kills brain cells.” Data from the National Child Development Study in the United Kingdom and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health in the United States found that more intelligent individuals (IQ measured in childhood) ended up drinking alcohol more frequently and in greater quantities than “duller” children. From the study:

“Very dull” Add Health respondents (with childhood IQ < 75) engage in binge drinking less than once a year. In sharp contrast, “very bright” Add Health respondents (with childhood IQ > 125) engage in binge drinking roughly once every other month.

The association between childhood intelligence and adult frequency of getting drunk is equally clear and monotonic. . . . “Very dull” Add Health respondents almost never get drunk, whereas “very bright” Add Health respondents get drunk once every other month or so.

Both studies followed children and found that the more intelligent individuals drank more as adults. Theories abound as to what these findings mean. Is it..Evolution? Economics? Social forces? An intersection of one or a few factors?

What conclusions can you draw?

(Story materials [study citation] found in Psychology Today. Image via Flickr: Wayan Vota / Creative Commons.)

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My Book Habit

Posted on 2012/11/072012/11/11 by Jason Hensel

— The Undercover Shelf —.

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How Many of My Facebook Friends Feel Tonight

Posted on 2012/11/062012/11/06 by Jason Hensel

…and have you heard voices?.

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Why Ask Why?

Posted on 2012/11/052012/11/06 by Jason Hensel

I once had a boss that said we should always ask why three times. I never took up the recommendation to her face, but the advice has stuck with me for many years.

When you ask why questions, as opposed to how questions, you open people up to a more abstract way of thinking.

“‘Why’ questions make people think more in terms of the big picture, more in terms of intentions and goals, whereas more concrete ‘how’ questions are focused on something very specific, something right in front of you, basically,” said University of Illinois psychology professor Jesse Preston.

Preston, along with two other researchers, recently conducted a study to test abstract thinking’s influence on political beliefs. They used the Islamic community center and mosque in New York because it’s a strong polarizing issue.

The first study showed that after viewing a plane fly into the World Trade Center, conservatives and liberals held opposing views of the mosque at ground zero.

The second study, however, had participants answer three why questions or three how questions in a row on an unrelated subject before offering their views about the mosque.

Preston says the why questions (not the how questions) brought liberals and conservatives closer together.

“We observed that liberals and conservatives became more moderate in their attitudes,” Preston said. “After this very brief task that just put them in this abstract mindset, they were more willing to consider the point of view of the opposition.

“We tend to think that liberals and conservatives are on opposite sides of the spectrum from each other and there’s no way we can get them to compromise, but this suggests that we can find ways of compromising,” Preston continued. “It doesn’t mean people are going to completely change their attitudes, because these are based on pervasive beliefs and world views. But it does mean that you can get people to come together on issues where it’s really important or perhaps where compromise is necessary.”

Asking why questions isn’t limited to politics. It can be used in the workplace, too, granted that you have a supervisor who is open to other viewpoints. The best ones are open and will have good answers for all three of your why questions.

And if they don’t, continue asking why.

BONUS: Here’s a clip from Lucky Louie showing that by asking why one can really get to the true reason behind something.

(Story quotes from the University of Illinois. Image via Flickr: Brendio / Creative Commons.)

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Grow Your Mind with Books

Posted on 2012/11/032012/11/06 by Jason Hensel

Strawberry Fields.

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My Quarterly Rant About Lazy Readers

Posted on 2012/11/022012/11/05 by Jason Hensel

I don’t understand this new form of pride of not reading things because they’re “too long.” I’ll sometimes pass on great articles to friends or post the links on forums, and I’ll get a tl;dr (too long; didn’t read) response. I get the feeling that there is some chest puffing behind that tl;dr response.

I was reminded of this the other day when I saw this post on Tumblr from ShortFormBlog:

I agree, Ernie. It’s frustrating that people can’t even be bothered to read 300 words. At this rate, we’re going to devolve back to grunts and snorts for communication.

While I’m on the topic of grunts and snorts, I also don’t understand when people tell me that executives and leaders only want bullet points, that they don’t have time to read a full report or article. What kind of leader doesn’t want to know the whole story? If someone is too busy to read what’s put in front of her or him, then maybe that person has time management issues and shouldn’t be a leader.

I’d rather follow someone who has good critical reading and comprehension skills than someone who only wants the “highlights.” In fact, by asking someone to spoon feed you bullet points, you’re acknowledging that you’re not smart. That’s fine if you’re not smart. Just say, “I’m not smart, so please tell me the highlights of a story.”

But don’t say you don’t have time to read something. That proves you’re lazy, which is a far worse trait than ignorance.

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One of My Favorite Photos

Posted on 2012/10/312012/11/03 by Jason Hensel

This is one of my all-time favorite photos. I just look at it and laugh whenever I feel down.

ANIMALS TALKING IN ALL CAPS.

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Cross Post: Just a Little Patience

Posted on 2012/10/302012/11/01 by Jason Hensel

If you didn’t know already, I also write for the Dallas Comedy House’s blog, The DCH Rimshot! Yesterday, I wrote something that, while it directed at improvisers, it can be applied to any one who feels like he or she has never been given a fair shot.

Here’s what I wrote:

The other day I was checking out the ol’ Tumblr and came across a post via Improv is Easy citing The Broken Record. The post was about famed improv instructor Mick Napier and a two-word phrase he uses to remind people that improv “is the least important thing we’ll ever do in our lives and that even the name ‘longform’ is imbued with undue importance that impedes our ability to be free and just play.”

The post’s author goes on to write that Napier’s two-word motto will be her two-word motto going forward. After reading it, I believe I’ll make it my motto as well. And you may want to consider it, also.

The part of her post that really hit home was this declaration: “I won’t compare myself to my peers and feel jealous or envious when good things happen to other talented people. I will be patient in my own progress.”

I’ve been involved with DCH for almost three years, and being patient with my progress is something I’ve struggled with. I’m sure many of you have, too. You may see your friends being asked to be part of troupes. You may see others creating cool videos. And you may be wondering why it isn’t “happening” for you.

But you see, everyone’s educational path is different. Some improvisers get it right from the start, while some need more time to grow. The one deciding factor for success, I promise you, is consistent commitment. If you’re serious about the art form and you want to succeed (your definition of success is your own), then don’t worry so much about how well others are doing. Yes, please support them and sincerely congratulate them–we’re all a family here–but stop comparing yourself so much to others. Work on yourself at the pace that is natural for you and your strengths will be noticed.

It’s not a competition at DCH. It’s a group effort toward success. And I know it may sound backwards to say this, but sometimes the best thing you can do for a group is to work on yourself first. You have to be good to help the group be good, and the group can only be as good as the individual members.

I think we can all use a motto that reminds us to just let it go, that some things in life aren’t worth worrying over. That’s something that has taken me many years to understand, and I’m finally getting it.

What’s your life’s motto?

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Hearing With Your Hands

Posted on 2012/10/292012/10/31 by Jason Hensel

There are people who can’t talk unless they’re gesturing. But maybe their hand movements are doing more than helping them speak. Perhaps they’re helping them hear.

According to researchers from Georgetown University Medical Center, what you hear may depend on what your hands are doing.

“Language is processed mainly in the left hemisphere, and some have suggested that this is because the left hemisphere specializes in analyzing very rapidly changing sounds,” said the study’s senior investigator, Peter E. Turkeltaub, M.D., PhD, a neurologist in the Center for Brain Plasticity and Recovery.

The researchers used a simple noise and indication test on 24 volunteers for the study. They had to press a button when they heard background sounds, which were quick or slow.

“We asked the subjects to respond to sounds hidden in background noise,” Turkeltaub said. “Each subject was told to use his or her right hand to respond during the first 20 sounds, then the left hand for the next 20 second, then right, then left, and so on.”

People who used their right hand heard the rapidly changing sounds more often than when using their left hand. It was vice versa for the slowly changing sounds.

“Since the left hemisphere controls the right hand and vice versa, these results demonstrate that the two hemispheres specialize in different kinds of sounds—the left hemisphere likes rapidly changing sounds, such as consonants, and the right hemisphere likes slowly changing sounds, such as syllables or intonation,” Turkeltaub said. “These results also demonstrate the interaction between motor systems and perception. It’s really pretty amazing. Imagine you’re waving an American flag while listening to one of the presidential candidates. The speech will actually sound slightly different to you depending on whether the flag is in your left hand or your right hand.”

I think this research is especially interesting for meeting designers and professional speakers. Imagine the ways you could control what your audience hears by simply having attendees hold something. It would be a fun experiment to present two exact sessions (word for word) to different audiences, one that holds something in the left hand and one in the right hand. Then let’s see if session comprehension and scores are different. Anyone willing to try it out?

(Story quotes from Georgetown University. Image via Flickr: Malthe Sigurdsson / Creative Commons)

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How to Ensure Your Baby is CEO Material

Posted on 2012/10/272012/10/29 by Jason Hensel

If I was to have a baby, I’d want the child to grow up to be a musician or a writer or anything in the arts. Sports would be cool, too. But some of you may want your child to grow up to be a CEO. If so, then make sure the baby is born in the spring.

In a study from the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia, babies born in the summer are less likely to be CEOs.

“Our findings indicate that summer babies underperform in the ranks of CEOs as a result of the ‘birth-date effect,’ a phenomenon resulting from the way children are grouped by age in school,” said Sauder Finance Professor Maurice Levi, co-author of the study to appear in the December issue of the journal Economics Letters.

Using hockey as an example, Malcolm Gladwell addressed this same phenomenon in his book Outliers: The Story of Success, summarizing that the reason players are successful is due to the month in which they were born.

For the U.S., school admissions are open between September and January. The study’s researchers discovered that of the 375 CEOs sampled from S&P 500 companies, the ones born between June and July were the youngest in their class. Those born in March and April were the oldest.

“Older children within the same grade tend to do better than the youngest, who are less intellectually developed,” Levi said. “Early success is often rewarded with leadership roles and enriched learning opportunities, leading to future advantages that are magnified throughout life.

“Our study adds to the growing evidence that the way our education system groups students by age impacts their lifelong success,” Levi continued. “We could be excluding some of the business world’s best talent simply by enrolling them in school too early.”

(Story quotes from the University of British Columbia. Image via Flickr: opensourceway / Creative Commons)

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