Month: May 2017

Bias: How We Interpret the World with Our Feelings

ias is the noise above reason and wisdom, but is it always bad?  What role does it play in decision making and in governing our actions?

It is always easy to believe the voice of my own bias. I have always heard it. ~ www.jaywren.com

Bias: How We Interpret the World with Our Feelings

Bias is the visceral, negative, or positive feelings that we have about a person, place, or thing.  These feeling simplifies our lives to interpret the world to our liking.  It bypasses our ability to reason.  Also, it is that noisy voice that drowns out wisdom.

Although perceived as bad, like any emotion, biases have positive and negative effects.  It is an emotional voice that tells us what to think and do.

This voice is an essential element of human nature.  Patriotism, faith, political ideology, and fandom sit atop our biases.  The powerful effect of bias can bring us together to form successful groups.  In the sports or business, the voice of our feelings motivates us to become more powerful competitors.

Additionally, these feelings can make life fun.  The excitement, love, and joy we feel for our sports team, political party, religion, or family members come from these feelings.

We hear the word “biased” often from the proud parent who brags about a child.  The parent closes with, “Of course, I am not biased.” Nod, nod, wink.

Furthermore, these feelings bring us internal peace.  They help us overcome doubt and fear.  Bias can create healthy, positive emotions that carry us through periods of uncertainty.

At other times, bias can create tension when our feelings conflict with the feelings of other people.  Discussing religion, sports, politics, and other personal feelings in any place where people don’t share those feelings can undermine the bonds of loyalty to a team or a company.

A Healthy Relationship with Our Biases

Since bias has beneficial effects and adverse effects on how we think, having a healthy relationship with these feelings is important.

The first step in building a healthy relationship with our biases is recognizing that we have them.

Unlike the emotions that float through our daily lives, biases become hard-wired to our beliefs.  These feelings respond to triggers. When we hear or see things that instantly and subconsciously stir our emotions, the noisy voice of bias can drown out the voice of reason.

We believe in the things that we like.  We get angry when we hear or sear things that we don’t like.  When we interpret the world as good or evil based on our emotions, it is difficult for us to know what is true or false in the world.  Likewise, it is easy for biases to deceive us into making bad decisions.

How to Use Your Emotions to Make Better Decisions

Emotions: How do some people keep a clear mind to make intelligent decisions? Is managing emotions a skill anyone can learn?

There are no bad emotions. There are only bad uses of emotions. ~ www.jaywren.com

Emotions Have Positive Purposes

All feelings help us interpret our world and make decisions.  Even anger, doubt, and fear have positive benefits.  Anger can help us protect ourselves and the people we love.  Doubt helps us avoid doing things before we prepare. Fear can save our lives by avoiding danger.

Additionally, feeling positive is healthy.  When we feel good, we enjoy life more.  Positive feelings reduce mental stress.  Consequently, positive states of mind reduce the unhealthy physical stress that comes from mental stress.

Used correctly, our feelings can give us greater opportunity for success.

Too Low and Too High

When we overreact out of anger or fear, we risk damaging relationships and even our safety.  Additionally, when we let doubt drive us to inaction, we do not take risks that are part of growing personally and professionally.

Can we have emotions that are too high?  Absolutely.  When we are emotionally highs, we see a world of abundance.  And that’s fine up to the point. However, these highs can lead us to spend money and make commitments beyond our means or best interests.

Think Through the Action

The solution to making intelligent decisions in the face of highly charged negative or positive emotions is to think through the action.  I can ask myself, “What are the consequences of acting on my emotions.”
Personal Case Study #1: I am angry with my boss and with other people around the office.  When I vent my anger, am I damaging my relationships and putting my job at risk?

Thinking through my actions to the damage that my actions might cause can reduce the anger that I feel.

Furthermore, I can focus on what changes I can make in myself to reduce the anger I feel toward the people in my office.  I can get more rest, eat healthy snacks, and reduce caffeine.

Personal Case Study #2: I am jubilant about a pay raise and decide to buy a new car.

Before I buy the car, I can think through the costs and whether my pay raise makes the car affordable. Making an expensive purchase is never in my best interest.

Conclusion

All feelings are healthy.  However, sometimes I must do a few things to make my emotions work for me and not against me.

4 Traits that Form the Foundation of Great Teams

Great Teams: Why is it that some organizations always create great teams?  Additionally, why is it that other organizations never create great teams?

Creating the foundation for great teams is fundamental to the management of any organization. ~ www.jaywren.com

4 Traits that Form the Foundation of Great Teams

On every list that I read, Google, and on a broader scale, the parent company, Alphabet, is the number-one rated place to work.

This rating is not by accident.  Google gives services and support that include free food and on-site doctors.  The services make it easier for employees to stay at the Google offices during the work day.

However, Google has taken successful steps to do more than give conveniences to workers at the workplace.  The company has conducted studies to fine tune the composition and the management of teams.

Team Spirit

Team spirit or esprit de corps is the feeling of enthusiasm, commitment, and loyalty to the other members of a team.

Feeling team spirit binds your desire for success and the team’s desire for success.

Brawls in the office or between business competitors are not anything anyone welcomes.  However, an example of the power of team spirit becomes in in competitive sports.  It is this element that causes bench clearing outbursts to come to the defense of other team players.

In the office, team spirit brings the team together to overcome challenges and frustration.  The power of team spirit instills confidence from the support among team members.

When there is conflict in a team, esprit de corps enables teams to tackle problems without attacking each other.

Engagement

There are two points at which great teams engage.  One point of engagement is in the work.  Team players engage to collaborate on the work of the team.  At the second point, team players engage each other for feedback and contributions to projects.

Great teams have members who engage with their work and with other members of the team.

Trust

When team members trust each other, they don’t focus on the negatives of personality.  Instead they focus on helping each other achieve successful results for the team.

For example, Jim doesn’t like Bob.  Every time Bob says something, Jim says something critical of Bob.  Therefore, Jim does not trust Bob.  He feels unsafe around Bob.  Bob may shut down and stop helping the team. Furthermore, he may retaliate against his team member, Jim.

However, when team member build trust, they feel safe and support each other.

Love of Purpose and Working Hard

One of the characteristics and great teams is love of purpose.  Another is working hard as a team.  New England Patriots coach, Bill Belichick, is famous for signing veteran role players who become successful main players for the Patriots.  I remember one interview in which a sports reporter asked Coach Belichick how he managed to find so many players who were minor players across the league and yet became major players for his team.

His response was that he looked for players who loved football and who worked hard.

Reduce Turnover with These Powerful Steps

The most valuable assets of any company walk out the door at the end of the day.  Ensuring that those assets return the next day is the obligation of all managers. ~ www.jaywren.com

Reduce Turnover with These Powerful Steps.

With these steps, you will reduce turnover and increase the value of your employees.

Match Jobs with Job Skills.

Matching skills and tasks increases employee self-esteem and job satisfaction.  Furthermore, matching skills with tasks increases the success of the company.

Make Leadership Available.

Regular feedback helps employees adjust and focus. People who feel support from leadership have more confidence. Additionally, the presence of supportive leadership increases the bond between leaders and team members.

Resolve Problems Quickly.

Quickly resolving problems reduces stress.  Furthermore, it accelerates the progress of the work.

On the other hand, letting problems drift along reduces the progress of the team’s work.

Set Clear Goals and Deadlines.

Employees must know the goal of the project.  Knowing what they are trying to do allows employees to solve problems effectively.  Furthermore, it reduces stress from uncertainty.

Before the project starts, set milestones. These milestones keep teams on track with a sequence of deadlines.  Setting milestones ends procrastination.

When goals and deadlines are clear, employees become more engaged in their work.

Train and Retrain.

Encouraging employees to complete scheduled training increases their value to the company.

Additionally, reviewing skills development increases a sense of value to the company.

People who grow in skills in a world of evolving technologies carry the company through changes over the long-term.

Keep Commitments.

Never make promises.  Don’t promise pay raises or promotions.  Things change.  Pay raises and promotions don’t always happen as scheduled.

However, make commitments you can keep.  If you schedule time to meet with employees, keep that commitment.  Additionally, if you make a commitment to support an employee, keep that commitment.

Show Employees That You Value Them.

Make employees know that you value them.  Show value for their time.  Express your interest in their health and their family.

Feeling valued increases loyalty.

Interview Preparation: Three Steps That Will Land You the Job

Interview Preparation: Are you frustrated with rejection when you have the qualifications for the job? These three steps will help.

Fifty percent of the effort for the best interviews is in the preparation. ~ www.jaywren.com

There are three distinct steps in preparing for an interview.

#1 Interview Preparation: Everything About You

In the first step, review your qualifications.  This step will organize your thinking about the things you want the interviewer to know about you.

In writing your resume, you will have begun to work on this step.  Ensure that you can discuss from memory the dates and places where you where you have worked.  Furthermore, prepare to present your qualifications as accomplishments.

In the United States, applicants for jobs in research, education, and medicine often use a curriculum vitae.

# 2 Interview Preparation: Everything About the Company

The second step in preparing for an interview is to research the company and research the people at the company where you are interviewing.

The Internet is a powerful tool in this step.

Research the directions to location of the interview. Your smartphone can direct you to the location.  However, having to follow your smartphone in traffic is stress that you don’t need.  Additionally, know where to park before you arrive at your destination.

Furthermore, is this a location where you want to work?
Then, research the details of the company business.  What is unique about the company?  Why do you want to work for this company?  Can you explain to the interviewer the reasons you find the company attractive?

Additionally, learn about the people you will meet.  Are these people you want to work with every day? Can you tell the interviewers why you are excited to meet them?

Thoroughly understand the experience and qualifications listed in the job description.  If the company does not publish a job description, find job descriptions for similar jobs at other companies.

#3 Interview Preparation: Everything About the Match

Prepare to discuss how your qualifications are a match for the job and for the company that is interviewing you.  In this step, merge the preparation you have done on presenting your qualifications with your research on the company.

Furthermore, show how you experience makes you the perfect match with the job requirements.

Based on your research, make a list of the things you don’t know about the job and the company.  Prepare questions that you fill in the gaps between what you know and what you need to know.

Do mock presentations.  Become confident that you can show that you are the best candidate for the job.

In Conclusion

You are competing against other candidates.  Most of them have the qualifications to get the job.  Separate yourself from the competition by using the steps in this article to prepare for the interview.

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