Navigating Changes Successfully in the Workplace

by Danny Mucinskas

Over the past year, Marga Biller of Project Zero’s Learning Innovations Laboratory and The Good Project’s Danny Mucinskas and Howard Gardner have been involved in a collaboration with the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM). The purpose of the project has been to design a research-based course that combines our expertise in the concepts of “good work” and “unlearning.” Earlier this year, we completed an initial abbreviated offering of the course for a small group of employees at SIM (link to earlier blog here).

This summer, we completed an expanded new version of the course, titled “Navigating Changes Successfully in the Workplace,” for a group of unemployed learners who had previously been working as PMETs (professionals, managers, executives, or technicians). The Singaporean government has been actively involved in encouraging programs that aim to reskill or upskill workers to meet the demands of a changing economy. Certain sectors of Singapore’s economy, including travel and tourism, have been negatively affected recently by the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.

During the sessions, facilitated by Marga and Danny, learners were encouraged to reflect on their perspectives and actively share their views in discussions with one another. Through the use of probing questions and prompts, conceptual frameworks, and case-based dilemmas, the sessions allowed learners to explore their own attitudes, behaviors, and assumptions about their working lives. The development of a habit of internal reflection was especially important for this group, at a time when they were in the midst of moving from one career to another, often after having been laid off.

Similar to the first pilot, this second round of the course explored the meaning of “good work” and “unlearning” in practice, applying these ideas to real-life situations. We asked participants to consider their mindsets deeply, using exercises about the values, identities, and expertise. We then explored processes of habit formation with the goal of forming habits that support the achievement of good work that is excellent, ethical, and engaging. Finally, we looked at the ecosystem of resources and relationships around participants that they could draw upon in their work, as well as how to connect with and bridge misalignments with others.

Post-course feedback was gathered in surveys and interviews and was generally positive, with participants responding that they were highly likely to recommend the course to others. One individual shared, “As the world is constantly facing challenges and changes, I think the ability to learn and unlearn is very important.” Another stated, “My habit of doing things determine[s] the outcome of the things I'm doing. I need to reflect on my goal, focus on [my] desire[d] outcome, and adjust my cycle of habit.”

Overall, participants in this pilot seemed to derive value from the ideas we presented because of the relevance to their current circumstances, namely their job search and the introspection associated with moving career sectors. They also strongly recommended allotting more time for future students to engage even more deeply with the activities, indicating the power of the exercises we shared for sparking group discussion.

Our team looks forward to further developing the course in collaboration with partners from SIM and to learning as we potentially reach new audiences.

Good Resources

by Dr. Shelby Clark

There is so much “good work” happening in the world, that it’s often hard to keep up with it all in this age of information. Each month we share with you our Top 5 articles, but in this vein, we wanted to spend some time sharing with you some of the ways that we are finding out about some of the good work happening in our world, whether that is academic research, practitioner-based, professional, or otherwise. Keep in mind, this is certainly not an exhaustive list and we hope to add to it in the future. Moreover, we hope you’ll send us your recommendations as well!

Newsletters you might want to sign up for… (links in titles)

Vox’s “Future Perfect” 

“Finding the best ways to do good.”

McKinsey Shortlist

“Our best ideas, quick and curated.” 

The Decision Lab

New behavioral science insights in your inbox every month. 

John Spencer- The Creative Classroom

“...weekly tips, tools, and insights all geared toward making innovation a reality in your classroom.”

Podcasts for potential listening… (links in titles)

Speaking of Psychology 

“Speaking of Psychology is an audio podcast series highlighting some of the latest, most important, and relevant psychological research being conducted today.”

A Slight Change of Plans

“Dr. Maya Shankar is a cognitive scientist who studies how our minds work and how we change. There are few things in life that are as complex and messy—and potentially magical—as change. On A Slight Change of Plans, you’ll hear intimate conversations that give an unvarnished look into how people navigate changes of all kinds and use that change to ultimately grow.”

Work Life with Adam Grant

“Organizational psychologist Adam Grant takes you inside some truly unusual places, where they’ve figured out how to make work not suck.”

Short & Curly

“SHORT & CURLY is a fast-paced fun-filled ethics podcast for kids and their parents, with questions and ideas to really get you thinking. It asks curly questions about animals, technology, school, pop culture and the future.”

Back to School: 5 Articles Worth Sharing

by Kirsten McHugh

The “back to school” season is always a busy time of year for teachers, parents, and students. The load seems particularly heavy this September. Many of us believed the pandemic would be subsiding by now, and yet the Delta variant has left us in much the same spot we were in at this time last year. 

Thankfully, there are a lot of amazing folks out there lending their professional wisdom and perspectives to support good work in education---and to help us push through the not-so-good things happening in the world. Take a look below for some particularly insightful resources and reads from the last few weeks. 

1. The Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues at the University of Birmingham in the UK is well known for their work on character. This fall, their team of researchers has put together two free workbooks on Character Education. One workbook is intended for primary schools, and the other for secondary (link here). You may also wish to listen to their podcast, “Conversations on Character” (link here). In particular, Series 2, Episode 6 focuses on going back to school. 

2. The discussion of mental health on college campuses is hardly new, but COVID restrictions and the threat of closures brings a new level of stress and anxiety. Last week, The Chronicle of Higher Education published a piece examining the impact of COVID on the mental health of college students (link here).

3. The mix of students teachers will welcome into their classrooms at the start of school is never entirely predictable, although experience gives seasoned educators a general sense of what to expect. However, due to the pandemic, students’ educational experiences over the last year and half are all over the map. How are teachers planning to assess their students’ progress and get everyone up to speed? The Atlantic explores this predicament and offers suggestions about how teachers might think about the topics they choose to cover, and which to let go of, as they move through this unprecedented academic year (link here). 

4. Without federal mandates in the US, states and school districts are left to make their own decisions about how to best manage COVID restrictions at school. Superintendents and school board members are finding themselves in the political crosshairs. Facing backlash and sometimes fearing for their safety, many are questioning whether they want to remain in these positions. NPR shares the experiences of board members in two recent articles (links here and here).

5. Many kids have missed out on key social interactions (and growth) due to COVID. It’s safe to say that, in going back to school and interacting with many more peers and adults, big and small mistakes will be made. Instead of resorting to punishment, how might we respond more effectively to difficult situations? Greater Good Science Center suggests a different approach (link here).

Good Work, Compromised Work, Bad Work… And Ego

by Howard Gardner

In late July, I received a message from the USIA. For a brief moment, I thought it might be from the United States Information  Agency or Intelligence Agency, but it was actually from an organization that I had not heard of—The United Sigma Intelligence Association.  USIA informed me that , along with linguist Noam Chomsky and mathematician-physicist Edward  Witten, I was the winner of their annual prize. I don’t consider myself to be modest but I was astounded—and humbled—to be grouped with two of the outstanding scholars of our time.

I googled the USIA. I learned little about the organization online but noted that it had many outstanding figures as advisers—including several whom I knew personally. I wrote back to the agency and asked whether there were any requirements in connection with the award. I immediately heard from the director, saying that there were no ‘asks’—the organization hoped that my work would “inspire other talented people and help them further their love for humanity.” I notified a few organizations to which I belong that I had received this recognition and considered that the end of the matter.

In a few days I had occasion to write on several matters to my colleague and friend Steven Pinker (I entitled the e-mail “Sundry on Sunday.”)  I noted that, along with entrepreneur Jeff Bezos and historian Yuval Harari, Steve had received the USIA award the previous year.  He made light of this recognition and his role as an adviser, saying that he often agreed to lend his name to support organizations.

This past week—an unexpected twist. I had  inferred that the USIA award went only to three persons each year. But two individuals whom I also knew were informed that they had also received the USIA award for this year.  And undertaking more due diligence than I had, they had begun to wonder what was the USIA, where was it housed, how and by whom was it funded, and did it in fact issue the books, podcasts, and other forms of publicity that are mentioned on their website.  And not quickly receiving satisfactory answers, my colleagues so far have not accepted this recognition.

As someone who has studied and written about work—and particularly ‘good work’—for many years, I am left with a conundrum:

Could this be good work—in which case, the organization indeed has undertaken legitimate activities, actually makes appropriate use of its advisers, and reaches young people whom they seek to inspire?

Could this be compromised work—in which case the organization may have good intentions, and hopes to achieve its goals, but has gotten off to a slow start and exaggerated its achievements thus far?

Or is this basically a scam (aka ‘bad work’)—an effort to bring attention to an organization which is not legitimate and which may exploit well-known names in ways that are not sanctioned, not legitimate? 

From my grandson, I have subsequently learned the ‘sigma’ is often used online in a frivolous way—which did not give me confidence in this particular brand of sigma!  Perhaps we are being stigmatized!

And I have to ask myself: Did my own ego prevent me from doing the due diligence that I should have done?

---

Updated October 2021

Writing in mid October 2021, after consulting with several individuals, I know a lot more about USIA. It is clear that this is not a genuine organization in the sense that American professionals assume. The leadership is new and is not aware of how USIA has operated in the past. There is no recognized process for adding advisers or choosing award winners. What astonishes me is that new award winners are regularly added as are new advisers—I suspect that, like me, these individuals were flattered to be informed of this award and did not bother to ask probing questions. At this point, USIA is best described as a reputational Ponzi scheme.

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Reference

https://www.amacad.org/publication/compromised-work

Questioning Identity and Discrimination with GCI’s Newest Ambassadors

by Lynn Barendsen

In late July, I led a virtual Good Project session for 36 high school students from around the world, participants in the Global Citizens Initiative LEAD Challenge (link here). These students represented 30 different cultural heritages, spoke 28 languages, attended 30 schools, and hailed from 14 different countries. To say it was a diverse group is a bit of an understatement.

The LEAD Challenge Program focused on Leadership, Ethics, Advocacy and Design Thinking, and over the course of one week, students gathered virtually to learn skills and collaborate on an advocacy campaign for a nonprofit organization, APOPO (link here), which fights tuberculosis and works to uncover landmines. Attending sessions with Teaching Assistants, led by experts in a variety of fields, and working in small groups, they were asked to apply their learnings to a real world challenge. Following the program, students are then encouraged to bring what they’ve learned back to their home communities and work to solve local issues of their choosing.

This was the first year for this program, and GCI’s online debut, designed in part in an effort to continue its efforts to build community and global connection in spite of the challenges of the global pandemic. The Good Project team has attended the GCI Summit (an in-person opportunity) for numerous years, both in Cambridge and in Tokyo, so we are familiar with its mission and its methods.

During my short hour with this international group, I offered a brief history of The Good Project and the nature of our research, but we spent the bulk of our time engaged with an ethical dilemma about discrimination (link here). In this dilemma, Elena, a high school student, who immigrated with her family from Mexico at a young age, witnesses discrimination towards her father and others. She wonders if she should hide her ethnicity as she applies for internships in order to eliminate the possibility that she might receive similar treatment at the hands of hiring managers. Ultimately she decides to represent herself truthfully. In small breakout groups, students used a “See, Think, Wonder” thinking routine to further consider Elena’s situation (link here). The question “What do you see?” asked students to focus on and unpack the information and the facts of the story. “What do you think?” asked them to consider Elena’s decision and what they might have done if they faced similar challenges. Finally, “What do you wonder?” asked more far-reaching questions, including additional questions about the dilemma itself and about good work in general.

The breakout groups outlined the relevant information about Elena’s situation thoughtfully. Her choice was described as a decision between hiding her Hispanic heritage or being true to herself. Some pointed out that she assumed that she would be subject to discrimination because of her ethnicity, while others pointed to the existence of discrimination itself as fact. Calling out the inherent injustice of discrimination, one student pointed out that race and ethnicity are not equal to one’s abilities. 

Asked to consider what these facts made them think, students identified with Elena in multiple ways. They asserted that she is at an age where she will begin to question “everything,” and if she is finding herself ready to compromise her values, she should perhaps also ask herself why she is working in the first place, questioning “Is it for money, or for something else?” Some recognized that she and her family might be struggling financially, and if this were the case, some students suggested that hiding her identity might be the more prudent choice. Asserting that the inherent inequities in society made the situation difficult, one student wrote, “In my opinion either option is commendable because they both have their hardships.” Although most students were behind Elena’s decision to be true to herself, several explained that they would understand if she felt she needed to make a different choice.

Finally, asked to consider what Elena’s choice made them wonder, the breakout groups had a number of thought-provoking questions. Not surprisingly, with such an action-minded group, some turned to the possible solutions, wondering “what can companies do to eliminate discriminatory hiring practices” and what steps should be taken to “become inclusive enough so people will not be put in a situation like this?” Some responses asked straightforward, important questions, including “Why are managers still in charge if they are discriminatory?” and “What percentage of hiring managers are white?” Other students became more philosophical in their musings. For example, one participant explained that the word “good” is subjective, and wondered if there are “any universal moral values that hold true at all times?” Another probing question asked, “What makes certain societies give superiority to specific races/ethnicities?” Finally, one student asked, “To what extent can you break technical/legal rules for the sake of remaining on the moral high ground?”

Although our conversation together was brief, it was clear that the discussion prompted some important reflection. Participants recognized that experiences like Elena’s “have a larger impact on our personal view of ourselves and our families.” At the same time, they also questioned the nature of this impact, asking, “Should marginalized people be burdened with the task of being ‘brave’ and ensuring respect for their community? Is that a burden at all? What do we owe to each other and ourselves?”

Using this dilemma as the basis of our discussion, I also encouraged the students to consider larger questions about the nature of good work, its relevance in their daily lives, and how they might learn to reflect upon good work on a regular basis.

The challenges of online gatherings are by now way too familiar to educators, and in particular, the issues of community building across such a diverse group are especially complicated. Our brief hour only scratched the surface, but during that time the group was engaged and shared a passion about the topics we discussed. I look forward to hearing about what comes next for this idealistic and talented group.