All Feedback...

"All feedback is projection." Or so I have heard.  However, with my natural suspicion of absolute statements, I tend to temper that somewhat.

The underlying idea is, I think, often sound, and it is something I sometimes discuss with clients, particularly when they have received feedback that they don't recognise and find hurtful.  So it can be valuable for them to consider what such feedback says about the person who gave it. Normally it reveals quite a lot, as what people give feedback on is the stuff they are interested in, or attend to, or (in some cases) are highly sensitised to. 

So that exploration can help the client get over their upset, and possibly learn something useful, or at least generate some hypotheses to consider. And interestingly, once the are over their anger and defensiveness, they sometimes realise that the feedback wasn't wholly irrelevant to them after all...

As a coach, of course, one can take that logic a step further. That is, one can treat what a coachee says about others as data  about the coachee.  It is often very illumintaing of the coachee's values, aspirations, fears and so forth; and exploring the questions that arise with the coachee, as objects of curiosity, can open up some insightful reflections.

And then there is the third level: as a reflective practitioner, I can ask myself: What does what I feedback (or am inclined to feedback) to a coachee say about me? Often it is things I already know (I don't like interruptions, for example...) but every now and then, that question can bring me up short, and raise further questions. And that, of course, is fantastic material to take to supervision.

So what feedback would you like to give me about this post?  And what does that say about you?...

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With thanks to Jon Tyson and Fares Hamouche  for sharing their
photos on Unsplash 

Thinking Environment Day of Practice and Discovery

I am pleased to announce that theWebsite for the Thinking Environment in Higher Education Day of Practice and Discovery, is now live. 

We are limiting the numbers to 50, to ensure maximum opportunities for participation in the practice, so book early to avoid disappointment!

For details of the day, the different sessions, and of course the venue and price, see the website. www.teinhe.co.uk

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me, or any of the names on the website that you recognise.

There's no early bird discount, for two reasons. One is that we have made the price as affordable as we can: it just covers the room hire, food and incidental expenses (such as this website). The second is that one of the components of a Thinking Environment is Equality, and we would not like to have people paying different prices for the same event. 

We look forward to welcoming you to this day of practice and discovery!

Dress to be smart

One of the many fascinating things I learned on the Psychology for Coaches programme that I am undertaking, under the leadership of the excellent Marie Stopforth, is the idea of Enclothed Cognition.

We were discussing embodied cognition - all the somatic stuff - and then Marie told us about the work of Adam and Galinsky. 

Apparently (and I am sure I am reducing a sophisticated experiment to very crude term, but you will get the idea...) they got a random group of people, divided them randomly into two groups. One group (1) remained in their normal clothes, while the others (2) were dressed in white lab coats,  They were then given cognitive tasks to do.  And group 2 did significantly better.

Then, they got another group, and split them in three. Group 1 were in their normal clothes.  Groups 2 & 3 were in white lab coats. However, Group 2 were told they were doctors' coats and Group 3 that they were painters' smocks. Group 2 outperformed both of the other groups. 

Interestingly it was actually wearing the lab coats, not just identifying with them, that made the difference.

I found this fascinating, because it suggests not that others perceived them differently depending on how they were dressed, nor even that they felt better (higher status or whatever), but because it had an impact on their cognitive performance. 

That raises all sorts of interesting questions: was that - at least in part - the impact of academic gowns - and school uniforms, come to that? What is the impact of making hospital patients dress in pyjamas or hospital gowns on their self-efficacy? Should I smarten up to think smarter?

So don't be surprised if next time we meet I'm wearing a gown, or even a lab coat.  I'm just running an experiment...