Volume 2, Issue 6, June 2023
Welcome to Volume 2, Issue 6 of The Root.
In order to support our growth, we require a strong network of roots. They anchor us and serve as a conduit for nutrients to help us develop and deliver on our goals.
This month, I’m taking a different approach – it’s been a busy month, and I feel I’ve been inspired by multiple books and content. For June, I’ll highlight some key topics from a few books on my shelf – most are those I read during my Master’s of Organizational Learning and Organizational Change – which was so instrumental to me as a biotech leader.
Each month, I aim to highlight books, articles and/or podcasts related to the chosen topic. I hope you will find helpful information to identify and manage burnout before it overtakes your daily life.
Thank you for following along our journey to Aspire to Grow.
Check us out at www.aspiretogrow.co <the .com domain was taken, but I like to think of it as “.co” for co-create>.
Off the Shelf – My Book Picks
This month, I’m choosing to share books that have a common theme – how do organizations reflect, learn and adapt to changing environments in order to achieve and stay relevant. I’d love to you know, how is your company might be addressing these concepts? Or are you finding that reflection and learning compete with productivity?
Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
In Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman , I was enlightened to realize the benefit of the two ways of thinking, and the bias that our own intuition can lead to. It’s so good to go back to these concepts, especially in today’s business climate. Do our intuitive judgments still hold true in this new post-pandemic climate?
System 1 and System 2
Kahneman reminds us of our fast (System 1) and slow (System 2) thinking, and the benefits and potential perils of each.
- System 1
- It’s super intuitive and very fast
- Very automatic and quick
- System 2
- Controlled thinking
- Involved in complex assessments
- Involved in agency, choice and concentration
This book highlighted the benefit of breaking down complex situations to understand any potential differences in my approach. System 1 brain wants to act and produce (very much our society today), but System 2 wants to be the thoughtful, cautious thinker to make sure we aren’t making a mistake or have overlooked anything.
Do you know when you are exhausted after a busy day of complex thinking? That’s System 2 at work (cognitive strain is occurring). It’s less automatic and takes more energy. System 1 on the contrary experiences cognitive ease. It takes less energy when we are dealing with seemingly familiar topics.
I could spend a whole newsletter on this book – but, I’ll just say – it’s life changing. Consider reading it.
Teaming: How Organizations Learn, Innovate, and Compete in the Knowledge Economy by Amy C. Edmondson
In her book, Teaming: How Organizations Learn, Innovate and Compete in the Knowledge Economy, Amy Edmondson (Doctor Mother of Psychological Safety) discusses the importance of team learning in this new complex environment.
Edmondson reminds us that in order to stay competitive in the complex and changing business environment, we must focus on collaboration with interdependent activities and learning. Learning in real time (“Execution-as-learning” similar to “Reflection-in-action”) helps us learn as we go. After action reviews are not as useful if we wait until the end of a large, complex project.
In the regulated pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry I’ve spent my entire career, there is no better model for complex and changing environment with rapidly changing requirements, patient needs and regulations (except perhaps technology). Many times, long clinical studies are adapting to new regulations or changing patient paradigms while trying to answer complex scientific questions. Teams are constantly reacting to changing plans.
Learning requires diverse input from multiple stakeholders in settings with Psychological Safety (see diagram below). Learning and adapting requires honesty, communication and these four pillars of teaming:
- Speaking Up
- Honest, direct conversations Asking questions
- Seeking feedback
- Discussion learnings (including errors)
- Collaboration
- A growth mindset within and beyond the team to drive the process
- Experimentation
- Adaptive and iterative approach to action
- Feedback loops are critical
- Reflection
- Questions, observations and discussions of processes
- Reflection in action – weekly, monthly or after key milestones to apply learnings
Team based work is the “engine of organizational learning”. Organizational learning in real time is critical to business adaptation and survival in complex marketplaces.
The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization – Peter M. Senge
Dr. Senge may be the favorite of all the authors of my graduate work. His work on The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization, was enlightening for me to understand how organizations could effectively adapt (rather than react) to changes in their environments to continue to pursue their vision.
As a biochemist involved in R & D, my mind lit up when I read his words. Senge reminds us that learning organizations are those that question why things are done rather than defending the traditional ways of past successes. He outlines five disciplines needed for innovative learning organizations, those that will need to adapt to meet ever changing environments.
The Five Disciplines
Senge mentions that each of the disciplines are essential to build out separately and to work together to build new capabilities and capacities:
- Systems Thinking (see above: Thinking Fast and Slow)
- Businesses are composed of interrelated actions (think of how important aspects are to a single clinical trial or technological system)
- Watching the full system over time for unique patterns is critical to learning
- Personal Mastery
- This is a process of gaining proficiency and clarity in our goals and vision.
- It takes the right people to want to learn and gain mastery in order to do the same a learning organization
- A learning organization is one that benefits from its employees gaining personal mastery and commitment.
- Mental Models
- Deeply ingrained assumptions that lead to how we understand the world and actions to take
- How are companies and leaders changing their shared experiences and assumptions to understand current markets and competitors
- Balancing inquiry (exploration) with advocacy (support)
- Building a Shared Vision
- Provides an opportunity for common identity and sense of purpose
- Sharing guiding principles and practicesCreating a shared future picture
As Senge mentions, “Team learning is vital, because teams, not individuals, are the fundamental learning units in modern organizations”. They are also the fundamental “doers” in organizations.
Senge deems Systems Thinking as the Fifth Discipline of a Learning Organization – as it is the wholeness of the interrelated components that allow the employees, teams and organizations to reflect, learn, adapt and thrive.
Continue to do great things 🌿
That was a lot for one newsletter – but I hope you found some useful nuggets. It was fun to revisit these for me. You’ve made it to the end of June – Summertime is here. Stay hydrated, write down your weekly wins (no matter how small), get fresh air, and continue to do great things.
Be kind to yourself.
Sincerely, Kathleen
Please reach out for a free virtual coffee!
I’d love to chat about coaching, leadership, professional and personal growth after 50 and gardening (just checking if you actually read this – but yes, I’m happy to talk birds and gardening, too)