idealawg

Goal-setting research needs to be taken with an ocean of salt AND here are some good clues on long-term goals

If you are not yet wary of the results of research carried out in academia being applied to real life, then I suggest you read books such as The Five Percent: Finding Solutions to Seemingly Impossible Conflicts and Psychology's Ghosts: The Crisis in the Profession and the Way Back. When I include science in my presentations, I always recommend that research be viewed as, at best, clues. Today here are some clues for you on setting of long-term goals.

News release from Vanderbilt University:

Get motivated and stay motivated: Eight keys for pursuing long-term goals

Setting a goal—and sticking to it—can be difficult for anyone. And whether you’re a scientist, business leader or Olympic athlete, when it comes to work goals, giving up is not an option because one’s career may depend on it. A new study co-authored by Vanderbilt management and sociology professor Bruce Barry examines how certain types of professionals sustain their motivation and enthusiasm over very long periods.

“People in contemporary economies seem to know that they should ‘think long term,’ when in fact they base their choices and behaviors primarily or even solely on short-term considerations,” wrote Barry, the Brownlee O. Currey Jr. Professor of Management at the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management in a forthcoming paper in the Journal of Organizational Behavior.

Barry and his co-author Thomas Bateman, of the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce, write that long-term thinking is especially hard in American businesses because businesses are often pressed toward short-term success, even if that impedes on long-term planning or goals.

Also the authors wrote that there isn’t much research out there to help business leaders with long-term goals. “The motivational psychology behind long-term pursuits is markedly understudied. We seek to begin filling that gap.”

Professionals who are able to sustain the long-term pursuit of their work goals begin by focusing on a

Mediation is not therapy, and mediation is not a cure-all for conflict: Looking at another option

Recently I was a bit taken aback by a comment from someone who is steeped in a therapy philosophy; even though this person was a seasoned professional, her comment indicated a lack of a basic understanding of the difference between mediation and therapy. Many times over the decades I have run into the difference of purpose, goals, and process between the mental health professionals and the mediators. But I thought by now the two fields understood each other. With mediation having been around for so many years now, I was surprised that there is still confusion.

Do mediators need to be doing more education about their process? Have you run into that lack of understanding these days?

Sometimes though I run into mediators who don't seem to understand their own process; they think mediation can resolve any conflict. I don't share that opinion about mediation's universal power. How about you?

There are many, many methods of resolving disputes in addition to mediation and therapy (and of course litigation). For addressing those most intractable conflicts, I have learned of a new book: The Five Percent: Finding Solutions to Seemingly Impossible Conflicts. (Well, to be accurate, the book is new to me, but has been out for over a year.) The author looks at one approach to disputes probably not resolvable by such methods as mediation or therapy.

From "Intractable Conflicts" (Monitor on Psychology-American Psychological Association):

Intractable conflicts don't seem to respond to traditional conflict resolution strategies, such as mediation. These tactics "not only seem not to have an impact, but they seem to make them worse," says [Peter] Coleman. To understand how these conflicts can be resolved, Coleman and his colleagues employ tools from another field — complexity science. The researchers study conflict in the lab and the field, and they develop models that incorporate some of the most important parameters. Using complexity science to understand intractable conflicts enables Coleman and his colleagues to view them in a different way and find new strategies for interrupting the patterns of violence.

Click to watch a video of Coleman talking about his complexity approach to conflict. More videos here. And here.

I have the book on order and look forward to reading it when I return to Colorado. If I have any questions, the first expert I will turn to will be my old friend Irene Sanders, executive director and founder of the Washington Center for Complexity & Public Policy. Click for an interview of Irene.

Want to know what I learn? Watch for a blog post (or two) here at idealawg.

 

 

Podcast with author of RAINY BRAIN SUNNY BRAIN (one of my favorite books)

This short interview of Professor Elaine Fox is for all the people to whom I have recommended her book Rainy Brain, Sunny Brain: How to Retrain Your Brain to Overcome Pessimism and Achieve a More Positive Outlook. She gives a short overview of one of the best books I've read this year. For those to whom I have recommended the book, perhaps this will be the motivation to read the book—if you haven't already. Click to listen (Guardian).

Bonus: She mentions a study with law students.

Good idea to teach civil servants selected theories of persuasion? A couple of points of view

An article by Richard Thaler, who co-authored the book Nudge with Cass Sunstein, appears in yesterday's New York Times. He is pleased that "behavioral science is to be included in the required curriculum for civil servants [in Britain]. He writes, "Other countries, including our own, should take note."

Not everyone agrees that such a move is wise: Click to read "A message to the illiberal Nudge Industry: push off" (Spiked).

And is the science really sufficiently settled and proven? Read my post "How irrational are we? Before you answer, listen to this interview and read this article about behavioral economics."

What do you think?

4MAT: One scheme for getting your message heard, learned, acted upon

When reading an excellent post on flipping the classroom (see below for my posts on flipping*) at User Generated Education, I was reminded of a book I had not removed from my shelf in a long time. The first image in that post reminded me of Bernice McCarthy's book The 4MAT System. Click to read about an edition newer than mine.

The 4MAT System (also here) includes a circle of learning that looks deceptively simple. When planning and evaluating a presentation you will be giving, asking yourself the System's questions about each quadrant of its circle can improve your message. Although you don't have to use each quadrant, at least thinking about all four may sharpen your talk, your seminar, even your article. (Given how helpful the system has been in the past, I wonder why this book is languishing on my bookshelf?)

Two notes: McCarthy is a believer in learning styles; regular idealawg readers know that I am not. Nevertheless you can skip those pages, read the rest and still derive benefits and value.

Second, from the examples, you may get the idea that The System only applies to school-aged students. Not at all. Years ago, I saw a very good presention by Maude Pervere (read about her here about halfway down) at Professional Development Consortium on how use 4MAT to teach lawyers.

To take it deeper into the legal profession, I believe that it could be taught to lawyers to help them communicate with clients, opposing counsel, co-workers—and juries. Have you used 4MAT?

*Past posts on flipping the classroom (which may or may not be consistent with the 4MAT System, depending upon how flipping is used):

• Resource for those interested in the flipped classroom
• Flipped classroom discussed at Harvard Law
• A newish approach to improving education: Would it work for law students? Lawyers?

Image credit: About Learning.

Mismatches in time frame orientation can cause conflict: Lawyers & mediators, do you watch for this potential snag?

We don't all see time in the same way, and mismatches can cause misunderstanding, disputes, confusion. When I learned about this diversity of time orientation, aspects of many conflicts I saw as both a mediator and as a practicing lawyer made more sense.

I first became aware of time frame orientation many years ago when I took the Johnson O'Connor assessment and then referred at least 20 other people to their testing labs. Then, for a number of years, I administered The Highlands Ability Battery (THAB) to many clients, both individually and in group settings. (THAB is based on Johnson O'Connor.) As a result of these experiences, I came to appreciate very highly the value of knowing a client's time perspective or orientation.

What is time frame orientation? (Note: What Johnson O'Connor calls foresight is the same is what Highlands labels time frame orientation.) THAB's definition at the company's Web site:

Measures the individual's comfort with future projects and goals. People are divided into short-term. mid-term and long-term time frames. An individual with short-term orientation will want to work with tasks and problems that can be finished within a short period--i.e. in a few months. An individual with mid-term orientation will seek tasks and problems that have implications for other projects over a longer period--i.e. one-four years, An individual with long-term orientation prefers to work on long-term projects [five to 20 years out] that require strategic planning and execution of more distant goals.

In short, THAB sees the ability as the measure of how naturally you consider the impact of present actions on future plans. You can see where a difference in time frame orientation could have a marked effect on how a lawyer most effectively works with a client, both in the process of the lawyer-client relationship, and in the actual content of the case. For example, a person who scores in the long-term orientation range may have a problem bringing matters to closure; for them, there is always tomorrow so they may procrastinate or not focus on today.

In addition to these assessments, a couple of books can give you insight into how our notions of time are very individual.

First is The Time Paradox: The New Psychology of Time That Will Change Your Life. For a short peek into the focus of the book, watch this video about past, present or future orientation. I am not sold on all that is presented in the book or the video, but the time lenses covered are certainly another good way of reminding ourselves of time diversity. (H/T: Scoop.it Science-News.)

Second is a book not yet available in the US titled Time Warped. Click to read more about the author Claudia Hammond's theories about time in "Every second counts" (The Guardian), an article to which I linked earlier this week. Excerpt:

[Hammond] also looks at our sense of time aesthetically and discovered that people visualise time in offbeat ways. Some see it as curling around like a Slinky or a roll of wallpaper; others may view days of the week as rectangles. ...

Click to watch a video of Hammond talking about time at the 2012 annual conference of the British Psychological Society.

Finally, consider regulatory focus theory. Some people

Another way to incorporate images, pictures, drawings in conflict resolution

As readers know by now, I am always looking for effective and beneficial ways to incorporate images and visual thinking processes, both personally and professionally. For example, take a look at the terrific graphic recording of my presentation last Saturday at the 19th Annual Northwest Dispute Resolution Conference.

Today I was in e-mail contact with Fredrike Bannink, author of two books I often recommend: Handbook of Solution-Focused Conflict Management and 1001 Solution-Focused Questions: Handbook for Solution-Focused Interviewing.

She told me of a creative way that she uses images in her mediations. With her permission, I pass her wisdom on to you:

I agree with you that pictures and drawings can be very important in our work.
In mediation I sometimes invite my clients to make 4 drawings on a big sheet of paper, folded in 4 parts, based on my 4 basic Solution Focused Questions.

What are your best hopes?
What difference will that make?
What is already working?
What will be the next sign of progress/your next step.

I find it amazing to see what comes out of these drawings, which the clients explain to each other.

That's a fine idea, don't you agree? If you read her books, you will see Fredrike has many good ideas.

Because I am hearing of more and more visual processes such as this one being used by mediation practitioners and trainers, I am optimistically looking forward to the use of images increasing greatly, hugely, enormously in the field of conflict resolution. It will be one of the many changes we can incorporate to bring dispute resolution into the brave and illuminated new world of the 21st century.

Download chapters from two books on the teaching of negotiation

Hamline University School of Law has made available (in pdf) chapters from

• Rethinking Negotiation Teaching: Innovations for Context and Culture
• Venturing Beyond the Classroom

The copyright notice from the site:

Feel free to use the chapters in your teaching and training. There is no charge for use in your teaching or training provided that copies are distributed at or below cost, you notify us (spress01@hamline.edu) that you are using the material and describe the context, and you provide attribution as follows: Copyright 2009 DRI Press, Hamline University School of Law, Author and Chapter Title.

Transformative Mediation: An Annotated Bibliography

Click to read the bibliography [pdf] compiled by the Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation.

Retirement mediation: When couples don't agree on how and when to quit working

Couples may seek mediation when ending their marriage but they also may consult with a mediator when ending their careers. For those of you who have not heard of that use for mediation, take a look at this article and you may see why this use of mediation is obvious.

From "How Couples Decide When to Retire" (Wall Street Journal):

Let's say you have managed to stay married—or even remarried—by the time you hit middle age. Get ready for one more marital hurdle.

The odds are your spouse won't feel the same way you do about when to retire. A recent study by Fidelity Investments found that well over half of couples—62%—disagree on the timing of their respective retirements.

...

"There's a lot more for a couple to negotiate now," says Maximiliane Szinovacz, a professor of gerontology at the University of Massachusetts Boston. "It's no longer one retirement and one drastic transition." Indeed, some negotiations seem to go on and on, ... .

Another article is aptly titled "Get Real" (Investment Advisor):

“I think our profession [investment advisors] tends to paint retirement as being too pretty and unrealistic,” says Robert Laura, president of Synergos Financial Group in Howell, Mich., and author of “Naked Retirement.” “It’s often depicted as an idyllic life of leisure filled with contentment and joy. But just like any other phase of life, it can come with a dark side that’s not usually discussed and rarely planned for.”

A book reviewed in USA Today may provide more clues about how to navigate this turn in a marriage:

A "myth about retirement is that as long as you're financially secure, everything else will fall into place," they write. "But money, in and of itself, does not buy love, companionship, friendship, respect, self-esteem, joy or a sense of being part of something greater than oneself. This essential life lesson, once learned, can bring a great deal of comfort and joy in the second half of life."
That's hard to argue with. How do you prepare for a happy retirement?

Click to read more about the book The Couple's Retirement Puzzle: 10 Must-Have Conversations for Transitioning to the Second Half of Life. Or here.