Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2021 - 55

SRINI PILLAY, M.D.
SCIENCE OF
LEARNING
PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT
AND THE BRAIN
When most people think about personal
or organizational performance, they
think about setting and hitting target
goals. If this were as simple as it sounds,
why do most people have trouble
performing at their best?
According to Keller and Schaninger
at McKinsey & Co., " Performance is what
an enterprise does to deliver improved
financial and operational results for its
stakeholders. " But focusing solely on
performance will not bring about the
changes that organizations want. Instead,
performance metrics must also be
accompanied by a consideration of how
effectively people work together to pursue
a common goal. Called " organizational
health, " this factor goes hand-in-hand
with performance and refers to an
organization's level of internal alignment,
quality of execution and capacity to renew
itself to sustain high performance in an
ever-changing external environment.
Alignment, execution and innovation
remain challenges, especially at a
time that is being called " the great
resignation. " Insights gleaned from
brain science may offer a perspective
in optimizing organizational health that
truly helps people to enhance their
performance when applied artfully:
* Efficient task execution requires brain
synchrony, which is highly dependent
on the quality of attachment between
team members.
* Movement can improve cognitive
performance.
* Deliberate practice is far less
impactful on performance than we
think. There are often remarkable
differences between two people who
practice for the same amount of time.
In fact, it accounts for less than 1% of
performance when it comes to many
forms of work.
Looking at these factors, organizations
can explore scalable programs that
enhance attachment, promote movement
and go beyond practice.
FOCUSING SOLELY ON
PERFORMANCE WILL
NOT BRING ABOUT
THE CHANGES THAT
ORGANIZATIONS WANT.
ATTACHMENT
Based on the team attachment levels,
a program to strengthen interpersonal
connection and psychological safety is
likely to enhance performance, given
that improving attachment also improves
performance.
Questions to ask:
* Does it seem like people on the team
are synchronized and safe to connect?
* Is this team-specific or part of the
culture?
* How can I design a program to facilitate
attachment and psychological safety?
MOVEMENT
Frequent
breaks
can reinvigorate
the brain, and there are several things
that companies can do to enhance the
chances of this happening.
Questions to ask:
* Have we designed spaces so that
people can move about with ease?
* Have we made movement a cultural
norm by encouraging people to stand
or walk about during meetings?
DELIBERATE PRACTICE
Training programs must involve more
than mere practice.
Questions to ask:
* Have we incorporated feedback
mechanisms? Is the practice
meaningful?
* Is the experience of the practice
enjoyable?
* Has the goal of agility been
incorporated?
Overall, performance enhancement
in humans would benefit from a
multipronged approach, which brain
science may significantly inform in
measurable ways.
Dr. Srini Pillay is the CEO of
NeuroBusiness Group. He is a Harvard
trained psychiatrist and neuroscientist,
on the Consortium for Learning
Innovation at McKinsey & Company,
and author of " Tinker Dabble Doodle
Try. "
Srini
is
also
co-founder,
medical officer and chief learning officer
of Reulay. Email Srini.
TRAINING INDUSTRY MAGAZINE - PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT I WWW.TRAININGINDUSTRY.COM/MAGAZINE
| 55
chief

https://www.scottbarrykaufman.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Macnamara-et-al.-2014.pdf https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/a-better-way-to-lead-large-scale-change https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33249213/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33249213/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5919946/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7461852/ https://www.hbr.org/2017/05/your-brain-can-only-take-so-much-focus https://www.trainingindustry.com/magazine

Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2021

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