
I like to listen to podcasts when I run, and in the warmer weather, I have a system of grabbing screenshots when I hear something that I want to come back to when I get home. The screenshot shows me a point in time about 1 minute past the bit I want to listen too. In the colder weather, this system fails. It is too hard to get my mitts off, zippers open, phone out, take the picture, put the phone back, and get my mitts back on.
So, when I hear something I like, I have to trust my memory to cue me to a) re-listen to something, and b) know where exactly that something is in the podcast. I actually have a system for b) that works quite well too. I take note of where I am (“beside the red barn”, “just passing the house with the crooked porch” etc.). Then, because I have been traveling these same routes for many years, I will know that I was 42 minutes into my run, and, ta da! I can find the place I want to go in the podcast. Where this system fails is in a). I get home and I forget that I had something I wanted to revisit.
Why am I telling you all of this? The podcast I listened to today was about memory and some of the pitfalls and strengths therein. There were some interesting points that I have reflected on and want to share, especially as they pertain (imo) to leadership. The podcast is a conversation between Rich Roll and Dr. Charan Ranganath, a neuroscientist whose work focuses on memory. (Episode #876).
One of the points that I found interesting is that, when measured scientifically, people are very confident that they will remember a lot of what they are experiencing, BUT, apparently, within 2 hours of any activity or event, we typically only retain about 40% of the details. And in 24 hours, we have retained even less. That seems pretty significant to me!
And given that we all have different experiences and backgrounds; we will all view any event through the lenses those create. This might mean that we pay attention to, and remember, a different subset of details.
In addition, when we replay a memory, complete or not, we strengthen that memory. Just as a path in the woods becomes more worn, deeper, wider and more easily traversed with each traveler, so do the neural pathways in our brain become stronger when we re-use them by re-visiting the memory. This causes whatever little memory we have to be strengthened in time, and I suspect, viewed by us as factual and complete. Did I mention…? In the podcast, it was revealed that memory is more like an impressionist painting than a photograph. So, our memories are more like impressions than facts. I find that concept challenging. What can I trust? What is real? What did I make up, even if unintentionally?
When I reflect on teams that I have been on, and teams that I have worked with, I can see how this has affected the interactions. If there is an issue that I am trying to help a team to resolve, triangulating by talking to each individual first to understand their perspective can be extremely helpful. Sometimes the stories I hear are similar, sometimes they are somewhat similar with different elements, and sometimes I feel like I am talking to people who are all from different teams. If everyone has painted a different picture of events, and is remembering a set of events differently, then how can they possibly find a common space to resolve something? They may not even agree on what the problem is or was.
I know that looking for common ground helps. Where DO they overlap on their thinking? Also, taking a beat to try to understand someone else’s view rather than trying to hammer home your own. And having a forward-looking, solutions focus can all help.
I wonder if dealing with issues right away might help? That way the team could talk things through while things are fresh in everyone’s mind, and, at the very least, name the problem and the key elements to consider. Perhaps talking it through in the moment would, at the very least, help them to understand what the problem is.
Maybe someone could note that down so that there is an aide-mémoire? Then if some time is needed for people to get more information, calm down, or consult others, everyone would be leaving with the best chance of a starting in the same place.
When I thought about leaders, I immediately thought about leaders giving feedback, and, more specifically doing performance reviews on some sort of periodic basis. Given what I described above, I don’t know how effective it is to sit down once a quarter or once a year to gather your thoughts and write up a summary of what you have noticed about someone who reports to you. I am guessing not very!
What if it were possible to make little notes in the moment of something that happens? Perhaps noting what happened, what the impact of that was, and what change is needed (if any). But then if you have done that, what about giving that feedback right there and then, and saving the notes for the summary review?
I need more time to think about other implications, but these immediately came to mind and I wanted to share before I forgot.
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