The Cranky Middle Manager Show #316 The Final Cranky Show and the Future of Work with John Blackwell
The Cranky Middle Manager Show #297 Inside the Brains of SLUGS Ellen Weber
Posted on 21. Sep, 2011 by Wayne in General, Podcast
Today Wayne Turmel talks to his old buddy Dr Ellen Weber, about managing SLUGS. Those who are Slow to change, Lack vision, are Unaware of others and suffer Gridlock because of bad tone. We also talk ancient Israeli generals, the suicide of a social media maven and whether Basal Ganglia is a John Cleese character.
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Show notes
0:00 Today we attempt to answer the question: What’s going on in the brains of those who are often hardest to lead- the SLUGs. Psychological testing isn’t new, just ask our dedicatee Gideon.
4:02 The quote of the week is from John Milton. Reality is a construct, and we can choose to make it , fake it or break it.
4:46 Welcome my buddy Dr Ellen Weber back to the show. It’s hard sometimes to manage by the book when the other people haven’t read the same book. We often wonder what’s going on in the brains of those we struggle to work well with. These are the SLUGs…. and that stands for something very specific: Slow to change, Lack vision, Unaware of others and Gridlocked due to bad tone.
8:49 Today’s important term: Basal Ganglia. It’s where we store all our “baggage” and it doesn’t like things that don’t fit their view of the world. It’s why “best practices” can be a vicious trap.
11:39 Now we’re looking at our Working Memory. Dopamine plays a big part in using this to drive change.
14:57 Getting specific examples can be a bit of work, but we talk about getting people to engage and help drive change in the Academic world.The trick seems to be identify what they hate about the status quo, and get them to change that one thing. She also tells a story about a union shop that was full of tension.
19:56 “What the hell are you thinking?” shouldn’t be a rhetorical question. Serotonin plays a big part in forgiveness. Can you work differently with someone if you can’t forgive them? We talk mind-guiding.
22:20 The conversation takes an unexpected turn. Ellen discusses the suicide of social media guru Trey Pennington, and how depression impacts our brains and the way we work. Are you aware of what’s going on with your people?
24:35 Here’s the takeaway. Serotonin can be created and manipulated. As Milton said earlier in the show, the reality is what you make of it and help others create for themselves. Cynics relate cortisol which can be bad news.
27:09 How does working remotely impact our ability to create these positive relationships. Do you “speak and feel heard”? We also go back to Pennington’s death and question the ability to pick up signals remotely. You don’t have to be remote to be ignorant of what’s happening?
Ellen’s resources
Brain Leaders and Learners Blog
Follow her on Twitter @ellenfweber
I certainly have trouble with the phrase ‘Best Practices’, if we are to embrace the individual in the work force, how and who decided how all individuals would approach the same problem. A bit duplicitous isn’t it?
Great point Integro Leadership and I wholeheartedly agree with you! It can be said that “best practices” keep us submerged in traditions – when we really crave the kind of innovative practices stoked by this site.
The brain holds “best practices” in the basal ganglia along with tons of other habits and routines.
Innovative practices emerge from using one’s working memory to try new tactics and confer with others on their effectiveness. So glad you raised this distinction.