Month: November 2023

It’s been almost 20 years since I completed my BA in History at the University of Utah. The experience was outstanding, and I would definitely recommend the U (yes, a shameless plug for my alma mater). But why was it such an outstanding experience? I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately, trying to unpack the experience that led me to where I am today. To this point, I’m going to loosely reference some educational psychology professionals because there is a lot of research that has gone into education as a whole. That is the way folks learn, the value of learning, and what makes learning valuable.

First, there’s how folks learn, or more to the point how adults learn. The brain will take in information from our senses, and process that information using previous experience as a reference. That previous experience can be biased (which really is where our biases exist), but they also help the brain process and make sense of new information. The more that information is repeated, the more likely neurons create a permanent connection, which moves the information from short-term memory to long-term memory. It’s an oversimplification to be sure, but I wanted to point out some things with this process:

 

  • The brain is processing information from all senses, not just a given one. Some may find it easier to process by listening, some by doing, or some by seeing it being done, but this is a preference. The brain processes everything coming in. To this point, I can still recall a lecture from paleoanthropology given by a visiting professor discussing the Neanderthal mastoid process because of the musty smell of the old Mathematics building. All senses are valuable, even those we may not expect.
  • What is processed is information, regardless of source. That source can be a book, lecture, video, quiz, exam, research paper, or casual conversation on a walk across campus.
  • What’s interesting is that the source itself doesn’t matter. It could be college, high school, trade school, University, post-grad work, graduate degree, or just reading in a library. The brain can learn as long as there’s information to be processed.
  • Bias has a huge impact on our ability to learn and gain new skills. Whether it’s a pre-existing bias against the content being taught, challenges to existing knowledge, or experiences that are at odds with the information being processed, biases will tend to filter, influence or down-right negate the information being taught.

 

If the brain doesn’t care where its information is coming from, why do I cherish my University days so much? It all comes down to the experience. I was a commuter student, much like the majority of those at the University of Utah (not many stay in dorms). I would go to school during the day, spend time in the library studying alone or in groups, walk and discuss questions with other students as we went from one class to another, and continue the learning journey until the evening when I would go to my full-time job to pay tuition. The experience went beyond the classroom and continued into related classrooms. As I took paleoanthropology, a senior seminar on Roman Britain, and followed that up with classes in Latin and Ancient Greek, I got perspectives that I could share with my fellow students, who would share some of the same if not all of the same, classes with me. We formed a loose cohort that remained together as we progressed together. This was, essentially, an ecosystem of experience that we all shared.

Experience ecosystems fascinates me. Apple and Google both have built powerful ecosystems around their platforms for Mobile devices that generate loyalty because of the experience. They tie tools that everyone uses together, such as email, browser, documents, multimedia, etc. within a single experience by making it easier to use together. As a user, you have a solid platform from which you can do what you need or want, and do it much faster and easier than before. This is because Apple, Google, and others look to the full experience from search to purchase to use and find ways to make that process easier.

The current experience in learning is one of two: Liberal Arts, or Certification. Within the Liberal Arts education, you get a wide range of training and experience that can map to multiple career paths, with guidance to a more targeted discipline. Certification takes a targeted and focused approach, be it technical or Graduate-based, by focusing on a single certification at the end of the journey. In either method, a single goal remains: show you have knowledge as certified by a trusted learning institution or industry standard. What happens thereafter is left entirely to the student. The experience of getting to that point is rewarding, but what now? What’s the next step?

Suppose for a minute that a learning experience ecosystem could be developed. An experience in learning that would take someone from where they are (baseline) to where they would like to be and map out the process to get there. I’m not just talking next stage in a career either, I’m talking full map to the final goal(s). This would be a process of mapping out skills for every persona or discipline that someone has or would like to have, and then mapping out the skills necessary to get there. As the skills are mapped and found to overlap, multiple possibilities can be presented based on existing and desired skills and experience. Whole careers could be suggested based on current preferences, or as preferences evolve. Learning now takes an active role in career development, which engages the learner. Now they are learning with a purpose because they know what their career could map out to be if they continue.

There are a lot of pieces that could be plugged into this model, but the framework should be pretty sound. It would be a fascinating project for anyone looking to build a successful engagement for their learners. As far as I’m aware, no one has yet put together a learning experience ecosystem (if anyone can provide an example, please let me know!). So until then, it remains a thought.

Recently, after setting up a 75-gallon freshwater Angelfish aquarium and finishing my 125-gallon tetra/rasbora aquarium, I looked back at my 55-gallon planted aquarium with a more critical eye. It was my first large planted aquarium and, mainly out of panic, I over-planted it. It was heavily planted, and one plant, in particular, the water wisteria, had taken over half of the tank. Fish were hiding and the shrimp were rarely seen. It was time for a change.

My old, over-grown 55-gallon tank that needed to be rebuilt.

Changing up a tank can be difficult because it is so stressful for the animals The shifting process required pulling out about 40 fish and shrimp and relocating them to smaller temporary holding tanks while I tore down the tank, removed the plants and rock, sucked up the sand and lava rock, and rebuilt the tank into a cleaner showcase for the fish. Fresh sand was placed down to cover filter bags full of the old gravel and substrate mixture I keep from previous teardowns, rock was layered into new configurations, and the decorations that the kids wanted in the tank were rearranged. Finally, add the tap water, conditioner, and additional bacteria culture to prepare it for the fish. This took all day. The results looked great and the fish were excited to interact with the new, more open environment.

My American Flagfish male, showing off his colors proudly for July 4th.

From the perspective of the fish, I imagine this was traumatic. Ripped from a familiar environment and placed in essentially bare tanks, they remained for hours not knowing what the future would bring. They couldn’t really see what I was doing, nor comprehend the long-term benefits, they just knew that the temporary change was the “new normal” for them, and it was less than they previously had. At the end of the day, when I put them into a larger, cleaner, more interactive environment, they explored and adapted quickly. Given their behavior, they seem happier than they were in the previous tank setup. Had I not taken the time to properly prep the tank for cycling by using the bacterial culture-rich substrate, reusing the original hardscape with their existing bacterial cultures, and adding a bacterial culture to the water right away, I could have lost all the fish I wanted to save.

Recently, our department went through a pretty major reorganization. It wasn’t a reaction to performance or a failure in any way, but rather a plan for future scaling and growth. From the independent contributor’s view, the benefits don’t seem very obvious. Honestly, it’s just shifting from one director to another, one team to another. Some key responsibilities had shifted and needed to be understood, but for most folks, the shift didn’t impact their day-to-day. So why do it?

When these changes happen within an organization, most often it’s because of strategic planning. Strategic planning is the process of defining a strategy for making decisions and allocating resources toward a strategic outcome. A good portion of that process is evaluating the current organizational structure and deciding if that structure can meet the goals and needs of the organization in the next few years. An example of this type of thinking can be found when Disney Parks re-evaluated its Annual Passholder program in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Agree or not (I know my boys are none too happy), this process is often necessary to plan for growth and viability for any company.

The strategic plan can be painful for those directly impacted. Change is always scary because it brings unknown variables. When you combine departments, there are redundant roles… how do you reconcile that? Do changes mean redundancies? Will skillsets need to change? There are a lot of questions and anxieties that crop up during and after the change. This is where Change Management shines, or the process of preparing, supporting, and helping teams through organizational change. It’s important to communicate early and often about changes and their impacts to set expectations right away and allay any fears from the coming or current changes. It is also important for those in positions of power and influence (be they leadership or senior employees) to be on board with the change, so consider involving them in the change management conversations early on.

It’s a general rule for any change: failure to implement change management will seriously hamper positive change results. Employees will often fight the change, morale will be impacted, and turnover will likely increase for the organization. Much like putting fish in an uncycled tank, they will not be happy.

What does this mean to you? It’s a general principle that any change requires preparation and planning. Strategic plans will get you where you want to go, organizational change management plans will help lead the organization to success. Doing one without the other will lead to pain that, unfortunately, should be avoided.

View of the Kanarraville Canyon while hiking to the Falls.

Recently my youngest son and I went on a hiking trip to Knarraville, Utah to the Knarraville Canyon Fallswith a group of boys from our church. The hike was long, a little over two hours to the falls, and the weather was sunny and hot. Very hot, as in 121 degrees in the sun. While my son with autism loves to hike, this was the longest and most difficult hike he has taken. We climbed and walked through the stream, (which for the most part could have been avoided, but definitely welcome on a hot day) but the final push to the falls required climbing up a makeshift ladder and then a log.

The "ladder"​ to Kanarraville Canyon Falls.

My son is deathly afraid of heights, even climbing a 3-foot ladder makes him nervous, and this would push him way out of his comfort zone. I questioned whether or not he would make it, but knew he wanted to remain with his friends. He protested and said he couldn’t do it as he stepped up to the ladder and started to climb. I talked him through the steps to take during his climb, where to place his feet and hands, and guided him as best I could from the ground. When he made it up, he was thrilled, and I was relieved. He slid down the slide (and scared his dad by going down the drop), and he enjoyed the entire experience. My son became more confident because I let him stretch himself on the hike.

My youngest playing in one of the waterfalls in Kanarraville Canyon.

Situational management is a management methodology that focuses on managing in the situation: letting folks take ownership where they are comfortable and being more directly involved when they are less comfortable or directly struggling. Very similar to a difficult hike: I didn’t have to tell my son to be careful while walking through the water (stones were slippery), or to be careful while climbing over mounds of dirt when trees were too densely grown over the water. When it came to climbing up and down the ladder and the log, he needed help. That’s when I stepped in and guided him verbally through the experience. The key was knowing when to guide, and when to let go. If I tried to tell my son how to walk as we hiked, he would have grown frustrated. Had I not guided him while he was on the ladder, he wouldn’t have climbed. I trusted him to know his own experiences and allowed him to fail when necessary (and when it was safe to do so). I fretted and worried, and I rushed down after he slid down the wrong side of the falls, but still trusted my son to own his experiences.

View of the Kanarraville Canyon, trees and clouds in the sky.

Situational leadership is hard. It’s hard to let go when you want something done a specific way and let those with whom you have trusted the task do it right. It can also be difficult to know when to step in and take a more active role. It requires a lot of communication, trust, and understanding that there are many ways to accomplish the same end goal. Trusting the learning process and the intentions of your team is important for their development. If you do not, then often they will lose sight of the rewards at the end of the hike because the journey is no longer worth it to them.

I’ve been revisiting some Stoic texts and came upon this quote from Seneca’s Dialogues in a letter to Paulinus: “Those who choose to have no real purpose in life are ever rootless and dissatisfied, tossed by their aimlessness into ever-changing situations.” A person’s purpose is their driving force, the catalyst that keeps them on task while the world changes around them. This got me thinking about my purpose and consequentially the power of purpose in the workplace.

It should be no secret that ServiceNow is a purpose-driven business. The company’s goal is to make the work people do more efficient and beneficial to those doing it (“Making the world of work work better). That purpose drives the platform, the applications, the sales teams, services, etc. We all rally around this concept because it is something we all want: a more efficient workplace where less effort is put into redundant and repetitive tasks, and therefore free to handle the big, new, innovative part that drives passion. Because employee values align with this purpose the company is successful, not just financially but also culturally. People want to come to work, they want to succeed, and they want to see happy customer reactions to their innovation.

The same thing applies to any company in any industry. Values drive the culture, which again drives success. Purpose aligns values, becoming a driving force for employees to power through long, difficult, stressful sessions. The result becomes personally rewarding because they know that those long hours they put in realize their purpose.

An individual’s purpose heavily impacts their career choices. It can help them weather some tough times, knowing their efforts are of value to them even if the value is lost by others. Leadership changes, market shifts, and even role changes can be weathered as long as the individual can align their purpose as well. It also means that should that purpose ever come into conflict, employees are more likely to look elsewhere.

Looking back at my career, those places where I enjoyed working most aligned with my purpose: contributing to the growth of others. Whether working in customer service, technical support, or teaching, I’ve enjoyed the job most when I’ve been able to share knowledge with others to help them grow. As a manager, my most satisfying experiences come from seeing someone grow within their career. When I look for career advancement opportunities, this purpose is my litmus test: will I achieve my purpose in the new role? Whenever my job deviated from that purpose or didn’t allow me to realize that purpose, I would often find myself frustrated.

Purpose has a powerful impact on someone building their career. By catalyzing their goals they put their whole effort and being into the job. They can find it easier to bring their whole self, and that’s a powerful thing. Career movement will still have the same drivers (better pay, lifestyle, etc.), but the impact that person will have at each stage of their career will be felt. They are no longer “tossed by their aimlessness into ever-changing situations.”

During the pandemic, I started a hobby. With about $20.00 of equipment, a spare gallon pickle jar, and some shrimp I started a fully planted tank. The collection then grew to a couple of 10-gallon tanks and, because of the prolific nature of Mickey Mouse platys, the hobby has now grown to several large tanks totaling 300 gallons and several different species of fish. Building these tanks has been incredibly relaxing, and each time I aquascape a tank learn something new. The best thing about those tanks is the communities being built because you get to see fish interact with each other and observe their behavior.

Building a fish community requires a lot of thought and can be very complicated. You need to know the required water parameters for specific species, their behavior towards other fish, and how they interact. For instance, you don’t want to place large predators with small schooling fish, or you won’t have any schooling fish. You also don’t want to have too many of the same fish in one tank (with a few exceptions). Overstocking with either fish or plants can be lethal to a tank if not properly managed and filtered. You need to understand how beneficial bacteria help with the nitrogen cycle and the health of your tank. What I’ve found is that any tank of fish will try to survive and can be accommodated with additional filtration, more frequent water changes, special planting schemes or subdivisions within a tank, or additives to the water to make up for missing elements, but to truly thrive there needs to be a balance. And balance means having diversity in your tank’s ecosystem.

Balance often isn’t planned out right away. It’s easy to just stock a tank with only platys or tetras because you know what they will eat and what they will do. But after a while, they become boring. There’s no interaction, and the fish start to just, well, sit there. They are bored, and there’s no activity or dynamic in the tank. My personal preference for a tank is to start with a diverse set of rocks and wood to make for interesting hardscaping. Then planting with several types of plants for interest, aiming for a natural feel. For the livestock I often have a showcase fish that’s generally a slow mover, then some fast schooling fish to add some energy, and finally a couple of unusual fish, shrimp, or clams that make for interesting discoveries. Once you have a perfect balance of plants, filtration, scavenger fish or shrimp, slow-moving fish, and fast-moving schooling fish, you have a fun and exciting tank to sit and watch.

Watching these tanks and their interactions, the anthropologist in me started relating the experience to human communities where relationships and experiences of groups and individuals contribute to everyone’s success. Jumping to the work dynamic, every team has its own community, though how that community succeeds depends entirely on its composition. It’s easy to build an organization where everyone thinks, behaves, and reacts similarly in any given situation. When running in a maintenance mode this type of organization will work very well, though will be less able to creatively solve new problems.

Adding some diversity to a community brings new perspectives and encourages creative approaches to solving problems. Of course, there are levels of diversity, and the more diverse a community, the more creative and innovative that community can be. Indeed posted an excellent article that outlines 20 benefits of a diverse workforce, and they are considerable!

It can also be very uncomfortable at first, just as when adding a new fish species to a tank can be tense as fish try to figure out their place in the tank With all opportunities to develop, being uncomfortable is a good thing. The breadth of knowledge that comes from different cultures, experiences, specialties, mindsets, and perspectives opens the community to new levels of success.

While diversity is important, inclusion and a sense of belonging are where the real magic happens. When adding new fish to a tank, the dynamics of the fish interaction change as the tank accepts that new species. Then, instead of schooling in a tight group or hiding behind the plants or rocks, the fish explore and interact with others in a natural, interesting way. In a work community, it’s just as important to help everyone feel comfortable and accepted, and their views and experiences welcome. Forbes has an outstanding article on the power of inclusion, which takes diversity a step further. Diversity is great, but if team members do not feel comfortable, they will remain reserved and withhold the value their perspectives and experiences could bring. Every manager should make it their priority to make sure every single direct report feels safe and comfortable sharing their perspectives. If they do not feel safe and comfortable, not only will you lose the value of their perspective, you likely will not have them on your team for very long.

I love to watch the fish in my tank as they explore, interact, and enjoy playing with each other. Their social interactions are fascinating to watch, and they provide a calming experience. It continues to bring me new insights into how a community can work, and how building a community can be a rewarding experience. Having a diversely stocked tank has been a fantastic allegory for the benefits of diversity, inclusion, and belonging within the workplace.