I had the pleasure to read Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink for our group project. I think a lot of the ideas presented in this book were great and made a lot of sense, he talks a lot about the disparity between research in science and how businesses go about motivating people. Businesses nowadays put a lot of focus on rewards and punishment, something the author calls "carrots and sticks", without noticing that those things are actually hurting the performance instead of enhancing it in the long run. He then goes in to the two types of people, X & I, and the elements needed to become a Type I who follows this new way of working.

"The secret to high performance isn't our biological drive or our reward-and-punishment drive, but our third drive - our deep seated desire to direct our own loves, to extend and expand our abilities, and to make a contribution"

A lot of the time, people only look at biological drives and the use of rewards and punishments as the main drives for human behavior. They overlook the fact that there is this third drive, the fact that people will preform a task that they genuinely enjoy doing just because their incentive to doing it is that they love it. There is passion behind it. When you do something you love, your not worried about the external rewards, the reward is how the action makes you feel. It is intrinsic motivation, not external. But that is not what is going through the heads of most CEOs and bosses these days. It is true that jobs these days have become more complex and less "automatic" so to speak. Not as many jobs are rooted in routine work, they have started to really rely on creativity non-routine action that require self direction. This is where rewards and short term goals can be a bad thing instead of a good thing. Pink says that they narrow our focus and make the worker try and get to the reward the quickest way possible, even if that means cutting corners. If intrinsic motivation is involved, there is a good chance carrots and sticks are not the best option, unless the reward is unexpected.

"Effort is one of the things that gives meaning to life. Effort means you care about something, that something is important to you and you are willing to work for it. It would be an impoverished existence if you were not willing to value things and commit yourself to working towards them." 

- Carol Dweck

Pink teaches that there are two types of behavior in the world: people who practice type X behavior and those who practice type I. Type X is the type of behavior that most businesses seem to nourish, they are the people who are "fueled more by extrinsic desires that intrinsic ones". Type I is the opposite, they care more about satisfaction than reward. They are the type that outperforms in the long run, and Pink believes this type is the default behavior of all humans based on how children act. The society we live in teaches us how to be type X people. But there is good news, we can become type I people if we achieve 3 things. 

Autonomy.

 I always thought management would be so important and needed, but this book kind of changed my mind and made me thing about it a bit more. I said earlier that self direction is important, and therefore management becomes a problem with type 1 behavior. People have to have autonomy over what they are doing, when they do it, how they do it, and with whom they are doing the task with. If we manage our own selves, we care more about what we are doing and not worrying about the constraints placed upon us. 

Mastery.

"The desire to do something because you find it deeply satisfying and personally challenging inspires the highest levels of creativity, whether it's in the arts, sciences, or business" - Teresa Amabile

People do their best work when they reach flow. You reach this flow, or mastery, when you feel engaged in what you are doing. The best tasks to give a person to reach this mastery are tasks that are not too simple but not to challenging either. It is all in the joy in pursuit than reaching the end goal. 

 Purpose.

"We know that the richest experiences in our lives aren't when we are clamoring for validation from others, but when we're listening to our own voice - doing something that matters, doing it well, and doing it in the service of a cause larger than ourselves"

In being a person with type I behavior, we have to be doing something that gives us a purpose in life. We need to feel that what we are doing matters, and that we aren't just wasting our time in a day to day task.

Reading Drive really helped me to understand leadership better. It's not about management, it really is about relationships and trust in the people under you. One thing still holds true in my mind, something that I touched upon in my first blog, and that is the fact that being a good leader means you have to work to find the passion in others. Getting the task done is great, but the main goal is to get the people that you are leading to really love what they are doing - then you never have to worry about the task not being again, because it will get done if people love doing what they are doing and have the type I behavior. This is something that is similar between my outlook and Daniel Pink, and with this whole class I think. 

Before though, I thought the idea of rewards and punishments were something that came with leadership. You had to think of incentives to get people to do what you want them to do. And that still holds true, its just that there are better ways of doing that. I never really thought about rewards as being hurtful, same thing with goals. I thought they were necessary, not something that narrows our minds and puts us in a race so to speak. I firmly believe if you love what you do you won't cut corners like that, and you don't need a reward. 

Reading this book really made me think about myself and my career goals, and what I see myself doing. I never ever want to be in a type X role. I want to love what I am doing. When we talked about values, purpose was my top, so being in an environment where I can practice this type I behavior is critical. Work needs to be pleasurable!

 

It's really great that the blog for this week is all about the Tuckman model, considering that the first session I attended at the conference on leadership and civic engagement was all about the different levels and the various team building activities that can be done in each step! Funny how the world works like that...

Anyway, this model and what it means. I'm much more limited, as a freshman, when it comes to picking a really good group experience to be the base of my talks in this blog. I've decided that the best example that I have right now is my experiences involving Drackett/Neilwood Gables Community Council.  

Forming

All the people in this world let's come together, more than ever, I can feel it, can you feel it?

The stage where it all begins. Everyone is coming together with a purpose. In my case, we were coming together in order to make the DNG complex a better place and provide great fun for everyone. This was a time of ice breakers, and a lot of them. We all got to know each other better, got into the swing of how things would work, stuff like that. We were going to be a team now, in our little cohorts and then together as a large group. We got a feel for how things were going to go and how the group meshed, although the structure was based on previous years we were all new to this group regardless of position.

Storming

Now that we had come together, knew how meetings were going to run, different ideas began to come out. How were we going to vote on money forms? Whose idea would take precedence? How would we choose what we are going to do and what we will wait on? How will the meeting be run and how will everyone be involved? During this stage there was a lot of change until we found a way that things worked and worked well. This was a relatively short stage for our group, I think. A major part of it was that our advisers were very much a part of the action and keeping us on track. They kept us going in the right direction and offered support when we needed it, which was more often that it is now. Also, individuals began to feel more comfortable and, just as our book says, opinions began to emerge. The general body is made up of representatives from each floor, and now that we began to feel more comfortable as a group, we didn't have that big of a problem was saying something if we wanted to. If things weren't the way we thought they should be or someone had an idea on how we could so something different, they would voice it to the group. This wasn't something that would happen if we were in our forming stage so much. 

Norming

This is the stage I would say DNG CC is in now. Well, more of a limbo between this and the next stage really. Norming is where the group establishes how things will be done. Now that we have been together as a group for over a quarter, our meeting run a lot smoother and the members all know what is expected of them. Input and feedback from the adult advisers occurs less and less often because we know how to keep ourselves on track. We began to brainstorm details for the group and the different activities we would introduce to the complex. Money form voting became much easier too because we knew the process better and the questions that needed to be asked before everyone felt comfortable with passing them. 

Preforming

Almost there! Now that we are in this mode where we cycle through meetings much quicker. Everyone knows what is expected and we have started to put ideas into actions. We have had a lot of successful activities be planned such as Bottle Caps for Boobies, numerous alcohol alternative events for Friday nights, movie nights, group dinners, and more. Our executive board throws in some new twists like fun activities every now and then so no one gets bored, but we are very much so in a rhythm and getting things accomplished. Small groups are in charge of activities in their field (service, general programing, cultural awareness), but the larger group is in charge of marketing and making sure that the events are not only up and running, but the residents of the building are aware and there. 

Adjourning

This is a step that will be faced eventually, since Drackett is freshmen only and none of can stay to keep it around, but I think it is also a fresh step for any group. I guess when the time comes it will be more of a semi-adjournment, because a whole new group of students will pick it up next year. I've been in groups that have dissolved themselves before though. For example, in all of middle school I was in girl scouts and a part of a very active group. As we got older, all the members could put less and less time in and we weren't accomplishing the goals we had set for ourselves to do projects. At that point, it was time for us to go our seperate ways instead of trying to keep up an essentially dead group. I feel like any group that no longer has a purpose should either revisit the forming stage or adjourn. Not all groups are meant to go on forever, and if no one is going to put the effort into the purpose it is probably time for them to close up shop. 

When I read the prompt for this week's blog and noted that it was to be about self identity through Jung Typology, I'm not going to lie - I was pretty excited. Anyone who knows me well will tell you that I'm a bit of a weirdo when it comes to personality tests, true facts. I find them really interesting, and enlightening. Also when I was in high school I was going through a bit of a crisis where I had no idea what I wanted to be anymore and just decided that things like this would maybe provide the answer to me I guess, haha. (hey, it kind of worked! I have a better idea what I'm doing). I would not blame anyone in the least if they decided not to read this post of my pointless ramblings about it because I'll tell you now, that is probably all it is going to be!

 INFJ. I've taken this test a few different times and have consistently received this type code, and I have found it to be really fitting to my personality. They stand for Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Judging.

Introverted. internal. territorial. concentration. depth. intense. limited relationships.

When I first looked at this, I felt like there was no way it could be right. I don't consider myself an introverted person - especially now. Maybe when I was younger, OK. But now I'm a big people person. The more I read into it the more it made sense though. I was so ready to through a negative connotation on the word introverted and just assume it meant shy and didn't want to talk to people. Because of it being matched with my other letters, it does make sense for me. Being an introvert in this case just means that I need time away from the group to reflect, maybe more so that others. I'm a private type of person who isn't about to share my whole "book" with anyone, I really need to trust you in order for me to feel like I can tell you things. It's kind of a paradox really, I guess. I love people and helping people and feeling for people, but there is truth in the fact that I have a few people that are really close to me and those people are just about the only ones that know most everything about me. And it is true that I am more of a "deep" person, I'm not one who enjoys small talk so much. I'd much rather talk about the things that really make a person, I like those deep bond and connections and what is on the inside.


Intuitive. hunches. future. inspiration. head-in-the-clouds. fantasy. imaginative.

Our book says something about intuitive people being more of the big picture type of thinkers, and I think that is me in a sense. The words above certainly are like me. Growing up I was always one for fiction and fantasy books, and I'm a sucker for any sort of inspiring quotes. You should see my dorm room - I'm lucky my room mates are the same way and have a ton of quote posters on every available space of wall. Also, apparently my N is the reason why I might really like these personality tests - because intuitive people like are always looking to improve their self and identity since they rely on their instincts a lot. This manifests in my relationships and being able to kind of "read" people too. A lot of my friends have told me that I'm a really good listener and always seem to know when something is wrong and the best thing to say. I guess this might explain it.


Feeling. values. subjective. intimacy. personal. humane. harmony. sympathy. devoted.

Feeling made a lot of sense to me, especially after taking strengths quest, considering my belief, connectedness, and empathy strengths. I'm without a doubt a relationship person. I've always been the type that is really loyal to my friends and family and always say I don't know what I would do without them. I really love my friends and rely on them a lot to get me through. I'm always going to stand up for them and be the "protector" type, along with my "counseling" type that is always here for them. I'm a really personable person and I really do enjoy helping others. I've always been one to do service work and want to make a difference in the lives of others. I'm definitely the type to empathize with others and try to put myself in their shoes. And I LOVE deep talks and heart-to-hearts.


 Judging. settled. fixed. plan ahead. completed. deadlines.

I never know what to say about this one. One time when I took this test I actually had P, so I'm kind of thinking that I am very on the line about the last letter and normally am closer to the J. I love the whole "everything happens for a reason" outlook on life and try to be open about things and very flexible. My friends have all said I'm more of a passive person and that just goes with the flow. And this is true, but it was be no surprise that a whole lot of stress falls on my because part of me gets funny when things aren't for sure. I'm very guilty of thinking towards the future and what is going to happen, and I freak out a little bit if I don't know what is happening.


I feel like at the end of the day, I'm just one big mess of oxymoronic tendencies when it comes to my personality, to say the least. I live for relationships with people, especially deep relationships, but at the same time have to have time alone. I love listening to everyone and helping them solve their problems, but I am the type to not really let people in easily to help me. I like order and everything settled in my life, but at the same time I feel like I should just go with the flow. I'm ok with this though, it just means I'm flexible I guess.

When it comes to how my personality plays out in leadership, I guess it would be right to say that I am more about relationships than the analytical side of things. I like making sure everyone is getting along and accomplishing the task the best way possible, and that good is coming from what we are doing. I'm not the type to do something if it goes against my value system. This quote says it well: "INFJs tend to be idealists, and because of their J preference for closure and completion, they are generally doers as well as dreamers."

Congrats if you made it through that!