# Presentation: 513595

## Performance LeadershipUsing Coaching Skills to Drive Improved Performance at NASA

**NASA Headquarters Washington D.C.**
**29 June 2006**

**Performance Leadership*****Using Coaching Skills to ******Drive Improved Performance at NASA***

## 1. Theory -  A brain-based approach to coaching

**2. Application**** -*** Where and how to use this*

## A definition of coaching

**A definition of coaching**

*Help people think better, don’t tell them what to do*

##  Trying to coach someone to:

** ****Trying to coach someone to:**

***Focus more on results***
***Focus more on people***
***Be more motivated***

## How effective at 

***coaching are we?***

## A

- B

*Desire to positively*
*influence someone*

*Having a *
*positive impact*

## The hard truth

**2.  Those that do, take a long time**
**The useful part is brief**

**The hard truth**

*Help people think better, don’t tell them what to do*

## A

- B

*Desire to positively*
*influence someone*

*Having a *
*positive impact*

## Why change is hard

*Help people think better, don’t tell them what to do*

**• ****Homeostasis**

**• ****Error detection**

**• ****Our models are wrong**

**• ****Social awareness**

## Neuroscience says...

*Help people think better, don’t tell them what to do*

**Neuroscience says...**

## Neuroscience says...

**connection machine**

*Help people think better, don’t tell them what to do*

**Neuroscience says...**

## We love new connections

***making changes in themselves.***** **Marvin L. Minsky (1986)

**We love new connections**

- “Have you heard the one about the...”

## Disconnections irritate

- various maps are in conflict.
- A mental impasse has been reached,
- which we revisit until resolution.

**Disconnections irritate**

## Neuroscience says...

**Neuroscience says...**

*Help people think better, don’t tell them what to do*

## GENES

**ENVIRONMENT**

## Slide 16

## Slide 17

## Neuroscience says...

**everything it can**

**Neuroscience says...**

*Help people think better, don’t tell them what to do*

## Hardwiring

**Hardwiring**

**Working memory**

*Versus*

**Used for:**
- • Understanding
- • Decisions
- • Remembering

**Challenges:**
- • Limited capacity
- • Easily distracted
- • Easily confused

- Massive capacity, minimal effort needed

## We’re unconscious about 

*most of what we do*

**In other words...**

*Help people think better, don’t tell them what to do*

## Neuroscience says...

**driven by our hardwiring**

**Neuroscience says...**

*Help people think better, don’t tell them what to do*

## “Neurons involved in sensing 

*“**Neurons involved in sensing *
*become active in advance of *
*receiving sensory input.”*
- Jeff Hawkins, ‘On Intelligence’ (2004)

## Slide 23

## What we expect is 

*what we experience*

**In other words...**

*Help people think better, don’t tell them what to do*

## Neuroscience says...

**is nearly impossible**

**Neuroscience says...**

*Help people think better, don’t tell them what to do*

## It’s an attention economy

**in the brain.**

**Focus**** creates and **
**reinforces connections.**

## The brain is a quantum world 

- ‘The question you ask has an
- impact on what is observed’

## Quantum Zeno Effect (QZE) 

- Attention density

- Excited state

- Unexcited state

## Quantum Zeno Effect (QZE) 

**Quantum Zeno Effect (QZE)**** **

## Neuroscience says...

**create and turn into hardwiring**

**Neuroscience says...**

*Help people think better, don’t tell them what to do*

## Slide 31

## Our default approach

_**Our default approach**_

***• ******Help others think***
***• ******Focus on solutions***

***• ******Think for others***
***• ******Focus on problems***

_**Coaching**_

## The four faces of insight

**The four faces of insight**

**1. Awareness**

**2. Reflection**

**3. Insight**

**4. Action**

## The four faces of insight

**1. Awareness of a dilemma**

- We focus on conflicting maps that
- have not been able to be reconciled.

## The four faces of insight

**The four faces of insight**

**By EEG:** Alpha band waves arise, signifying external stimuli being shut out of the senses to focus on internal processes.

## The four faces of insight

**The four faces of insight**

**By EEG:** Sudden burst of gamma band activity,
- associated with complex cognitive processing.
- Represents a change in internal circuitry.

## The four faces of insight

**The four faces of insight**

- •  Adrenaline-like substances are released
- • Dopamine-like substances are released

## The four faces of insight

**The four faces of insight**

-   Insight brings short term urgency for action
-   Action increases attention density
-   Attention density deepens new connections

## Attention

- New maps are delicate creatures that require careful nurturing to become a part of our selves.

*Help people think better, don’t tell them what to do*

## Positive feedback

*to hear occasional laughter to cement*
* **it’s neural circuitry.*
*Encouraging sounds help mark a synapse *
*for preservation rather than pruning.”*
- Thomas B Czerner, ‘What makes you tick’, (2001)

**Positive feedback**

## Neuroscience says...

**Neuroscience says...**

*Help people think better, don’t tell them what to do*

## I’d like to ....., but.....

**Let’s do an exercise...**

## How long have you been thinking about this?
How often do you think about this?
How important is this issue to you?
Which part of this do you most need to think about?
What’s the central issue here?
How clear are you about what you need to do? 
How could I best help you here?

***How often do you think about this?***
***How important is this issue to you?***
***Which part of this do you most need to think about?***
***What’s the central issue here?***
***How clear are you about what you need to do? ***
***How could I best help you here?***

**Example thinking questions**

## Free Will vs Free Wont

**Half a second**

**Voluntary**
**Movement**

***Brain signal***

***Desire to move***

**Free Will vs Free Wont**

- 0.3 sec

- 0.2 sec

- Veto power

- Libet (1983)

## 1. Theory -  A brain-based approach to coaching

**2. Application**** -*** Where and how to use this*

## Choose your focus

**Choose your focus**

## 7 steps to change

**7 steps to change**

## Dance Toward Insight

## Create new thinking

**Create new thinking**

## Where to apply this

**  ****Skills**
**  ****Problem solving**
**  ****Decision making**
**  ****Performance feedback**

## Skills coaching

***• ******I want to run more effective meetings***
***• ******I want to get through emails more quickly***

## Problem solving

***• ******I’m having a real problem with one of my team***
***• ******I’m having a problem with this project***

## Decision making

***• ******I’m not sure which one of these people to hire***
***• ******I don’t know which project to focus on first***

## Performance Feedback

***• ******Great performance***
***• ******Good performance***
***• ******Poor performance***

## Big take aways today? 

***1.  What insights have you had?***
***2.  What do you need to do to turn these***
***     ******insights into habits?***
***3.  What do you need to do, to ensure ***
***     ******this really happens?***

## References

**- J.J. Ratey (2002) ‘*****A User’s Guide to the Brain,*****’ First Vintage Books Edition**

**-M. Jung-Beeman, E.M. Bowden, J. Haberman, J.L. Frymiare, S. Arambel-Liu, R. Greenblatt, P.J. Reber and J. Kounios (2004) *****PLoS Biol.***** 2(4):e97.**

**-T. B. Czerner (2001) ‘*****What makes you tick,*****’ Wiley & Sons**

**-J.M. Schwartz & S. Begley (2002) ‘*****The Mind & The Brain*****,’ Regan Books**

**-R. Carter (1998) ‘*****Mapping the Mind*****,’ Weidenfeld & Nicolson. University of California Press**

## References (cont.)

**G. Roth, ‘The Quest to Find Consciousness’ (Jan. 2004) *****Sci. Am. Mind, *****32-39.**

**-D. Dobbs, ’Fact or Phrenology?’ (April 2005) *****Sci. Am. Mind, *****24-31.**
**-M. Maletic-Savatic, R. Malinow & K. Svoboda, ‘Rapid Dendritic Morphogenesis in CA1 Hippocampal Dendrites Induced by Synaptic Activity’ (1999) *****Science***** 283, 1923-1927**
**-G. Edelman (1992) ‘*****Bright Air, Brilliant Fire,’***** Basic Books, New York **
**-J. Schwartz & B. Beyette (1996) ‘*****Brain Lock,’***** HarperCollins, New York**
**-J. Hawkins & S. Blakeslee (2004) ‘*****On Intelligence*****,’ Times Books, New York**