Human Resources Office of Models of Change That Help Us Understand Our Reactions Rosie Barry Organizational Effectiveness, OHR

Human Resources Office of Agenda Traditional perspectives of change New ways to understand and manage change, using neuroscience What can we each do?

Human Resources Office of VISION

Human Resources Office of Activity Discuss with a partner(s) a change that you’ve gone through. Does this model describe what you experienced? Can this model apply to positive and negative changes?

Human Resources Office of What new research is showing us The parts of the brain used for survival are the same parts that light up under inter- personal stress Our social motivation is ruled by the ideas of –minimizing threat –maximizing reward

Human Resources Office of Why do we care? Knowing what drives threat responses and reward responses means we can adjust our behavior We can set up our interactions to minimize the sense of threat We can think about adjusting our interactions to make them rewarding

Human Resources Office of We Are All Individuals What we think creates our brain pathways. The things we think about most have deeper brain pathways. We can choose to think positive things as well and build new circuits.

Human Resources Office of The SCARF Model A way to understand social brain stimuli and the responses that are triggered S tatus C ertainty A utonomy R elatedness F airness Rock, David, “Managing with the Brain in Mind” Strategy & Business 56 (2009): 2-10

Human Resources Office of Status Our importance, relative to others Pecking order, sense of seniority

Human Resources Office of Certainty The ability to anticipate or predict

Human Resources Office of Autonomy Sense of control and/or the freedom to choose

Human Resources Office of Relatedness Sense of belonging to a social group or work team

Human Resources Office of Fairness Feeling free from bias, dishonesty, and injustice An individual’s sense of fairness is linked to personal values

Human Resources Office of What Can We Do? Knowing what drives threat responses and reward responses means we can adjust our own behavior.

Human Resources Office of Impacting Status Reduce the threat by getting information Offer to participate in planning Help to create a safe environment for learning Provide regular positive feedback Acknowledge the positives

Human Resources Office of Impacting Certainty Clarify roles and responsibilities Create a plan, short-term if needed Set small goals that can be achieved and adjusted over time Limit the number of things on which to focus Consider, and discuss, multiple realities

Human Resources Office of Impacting Autonomy Identify what I can control Ask for clear parameters for decision-making Break large challenges into small steps Consider possible options Identify my own and other talents within our team

Human Resources Office of Impacting Relatedness Find ways to reach out to new people Encourage casual discussions Create and use “buddy” or mentoring systems Demonstrate trustworthiness

Human Resources Office of Impacting Fairness Help to create clear expectations and ground rules Look at things from multiple perspectives Increase involvement and communication about significant things

Human Resources Office of Activity Discuss with a partner(s) a change that you’ve experienced. How does the SCARF model describe people’s reactions? Which of the SCARF characteristics is probably more important to you and is more likely to be triggered during change?

Human Resources Office of We Can Make Choices SituationAttentionAppraisalResponse

Human Resources Office of We Can Understand Our Habits Habits are hard to break Thought patterns can be changed Paying attention to things can rewire habits Focus on what’s right, not what’s wrong Work at regulating your thinking

Human Resources Office of We Can Build Resilience Work at building resilience; have it ready when you have challenges It’s about energy Exercise, yoga or meditation Stop ruminating – this builds negative wiring. Schedule a time each day for it and get over it

Human Resources Office of More Things We Can Do Practice giving yourself six seconds Focus on the positive; maintain a hopeful outlook Consider play; think of problems as challenges Study what works for you – modes of learning Make connections with positive others Celebrate accomplishments Practice choice -- choose what you pay attention to and opt for positive reactions; this is regulation

Human Resources Office of Activity With a partner(s) discuss what you might want to start, stop or continue doing as you develop more resilience with change.

Human Resources Office of Questions?