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Reflective Questions

December 31, 2019
General, Reflections
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Reflective Questions

At this time of year, it seems customary to take a moment to reflect on things. As an aid, please allow me to invite you to reflect on some or all of the following questions, either by yourself or in the company of others:

  • How relevant has joy (and flourishing) been in your life in the past year? Is that something for just yourself, for your loved ones, or for folks more widely?
  • What was the biggest source of joy in your life in the past year? Does that suggest any kind of change of focus from where you choose to focus you attentions presently?
  • Who matters to you (including yourself)? And how much are you in touch with these folks’ needs?
  • How often in the past year have you made some kind of (refusable) request of people around you in the pursuit of getting some of your needs met? Did you feel able to explain your needs in any detail?
  • What groups and/or communities have you felt an affinity for? How in touch are you with the collective needs of these groups or communities? Are you moved to attend to those needs?
  • Can you recall any specific instances where you were the victim or perpetrator of violence (in the broadest sense)? How did that make you feel? Did the violence achieve its intended result? Were there consequences?
  • Can you recall any occasions in the past year where you felt some special or peculiar empathy with other(s)? Did you have the opportunity to express or share that feeling with anyone?
  • In the past year, how often have you really talked (spoken openly and listened fiercely) with others?
  • Did you experience any epiphanies in the past year?
  • Do you feel you found some answers to questions that have long been nagging at you, in this past year?
  • What part has spirituality played in your life this past year? Do you imagine you’d be happier with more (or less) spirituality in your life in the future?
  • Do you recall occasions in the past year where you’ve acted from the heart, out of non-judgemental (and non-romantic) love? How did that go?

I wonder how you respond to these questions – I’d love to hear about those responses.

– Bob

Discretionary Effort

December 27, 2019
Culture change, Organisational effectiveness, Psychology
1 Comment

Discretionary Effort

“Discretionary effort” is a term often uses to describe the extra effort that some folks choose to put into whatever they’re doing. In the context of the workplace, it can mean things like working extra (unpaid) hours, attending to things outside of one’s immediate responsibilities, helping folks in addition to doing one’s own work, and so on. It’s a close cousin of that bête noire of organisations everywhere: “Employee engagement”. (Engaged employees are those employees who, amongst other things, contribute by way of discretionary effort).

I’ve worked with numerous managers and executives that ache to see more discretionary effort from their people. But discretionary effort is just that – discretionary. At the discretion of the folks involved.

When folks choose to put in extra hours, they do so because they’re motivated to do so. Sometimes this motivation is intrinsic (e.g. joy or pride in the work), and sometimes it’s extrinsic (e.g. bonuses, praise, threats – whether real or implied, etc.).

Of those managers and executives I’ve worked with, none have understood the psychology behind discretionary effort. Many have tried to incentivise it or exhort their people to greater discretionary efforts. Few have sought the psychological roots of intrinsic motivation (for which see e.g. Dan Pink’s book “Drive” – which explains these roots as “autonomy”, “mastery” and “purpose”).

Aside: Intrinsic motivation, and the conditions which help it to emerge, is the hallmark of the Synergistic mindset, and conspicuous by its marked absence in the working conditions fostered by the Analytic Mindset – Cf. the Marshall Model.

If we but think about it for a moment, extrinsically-motivated discretionary effort is not actually discretionary at all (although we do all have a choice in the face of workplace violence). Extrinsically-motivated extra effort is coerced, forced, obliged – or done for the reward(s), in which latter case it’s not “extra”, unpaid, effort per se.

So, real discretionary effort, much sought after as it is, is down to intrinsic motivation only. And as my popular post “Six FAQs” explains, we cannot coerce or force intrinsic motivation. We can but set up the conditions for intrinsic motivation to happen, and thereby hope for discretionary effort to emerge.

“We can’t change someone else’s intrinsic motivation – only they can do that.”

And, by extension, we can’t increase someone else’s discretionary effort – only they can choose to do that.

So, if like so many other managers and executives, you’re aching for more discretionary effort, what will you do about it? What will you do about understanding the psychology behind intrinsic motivation, and about creating the conditions for intrinsic motivation to emerge?

– Bob

P.S. I’ve conscious chosen to NOT explore the morality – and rationally – of expecting employees to contribute “free” hours above and beyond their contractual terms of employment. I’d be happy to pen another post on the pressures of business, and in particular the pressure of the “runway” – a common cause of such urges for “Beyoncé time”-  given sufficient interest and demand.

Further Reading

What exactly is Discretionary Effort? ~ Jason Lauritsen (blog post)