What Sway can teach instructional coaches about influence
Monday, September 1, 2008 at 08:29AM The popular business book, Sway , by Ori and Rom Brafman is an example of what I consider be a new genre of book, which I refer to as "edutainment." Books, like The Tipping Point , Blink , and The Wisdom of Crowds , are filled with interesting anecdotes, short sentences, and accessible, compelling stories. The books are fun, but they also make you think, which I guess is the best part.
Sway, is about, as the subtitle says, 'the irresistible pull of irrational behavior," and the book identifies several "psychological forces that de-rail rational thinking." I'll list some of these forces below, and then briefly discuss why they might be relevant to coaches.
Irrational Force #1: The Diagnosis Bias
Since life is so rich and complicated, we all have to make snap decisions about people and events around us. As the authors note, "the moment we label a person or a situation, we put blinders on to all evidence that contradicts our diagnosis" p.7. The trouble, the authors claim, is that these quick decisions, bias our perceptions, and, even more important perhaps, people around us tend to act consistently once we diagnose them. Educators have know this as the Pygmalion Effect .
Implications for Coaches
Coaches need to be careful not to label teachers too quickly. If a coach determines a teacher is weak, they may be blind to the potential of that teacher. A better tactic might be to assume that each teacher has tremendous potential, and that coaching is a way that a coach can help the teach reach that potential. The authors' comments for all us, I think, are also especially meaningful for coaches: we should "remain flexible and examine things from different perspectives … keeping evaluations tentative instead of certain, learning to be comfortable with complex, sometimes contradictory information, and taking your time and considering things from different angles before coming to a conclusion. It can be as straightforward as coming up with a kind of self-imposed ‘waiting period’ before making a diagnostic judgment" p.178. Of course this advice also applies to teachers in the classroom working with children.
Irrational Force #2: Loss Aversion
The authors, citing numerous sources, explain that people are more concerned with not losing than they are with actually making rational decisions. A person who loses a few dollars on the stock market might hang on to stock for a long time, expecting the stock to go up, rather than cut his or her losses. Then as the stock continues to decline, that person, even after losing more and more money, might stubbornly hold onto the stock with the irrational hope that the stock will rise. As the authors say, “our natural tendency to avoid the pain of loss is most likely to distort our thinking when we place too much importance on short-term goals. When we adopt the long-view, on the other hand, immediate potential losses don’t seem as menacing” (p. 172).
Implications for Coaches
This force might be at work at the personal and organizational level. That is, a teacher might not want to change a particular way of teaching, even if it is not working, simply because they've invested time in mastering the practice. So, a teacher might act in a way that suggests that they are thinking, "even though my way of teaching isn't working, I've spent so much time trying to teach this way, that I'm sticking with it." Similarly, organizations that invest massive amounts of time and resources in developing pacing guides, for example, might just not want to abandon that practice even if it isn't working.
Faced with this, coaches need to focus on providing persuasive learning experiences rather than talk and also suggest and promote data based decision making. If more decisions are based on data, better decisions should be made in schools. More importantly, schools will likely make better decisions if they focus on long-term thinking rather than quick fix solutions.
Irrational Force #3: Value Attribution
People, the authors tell us, "over estimate their ability to form objective opinion" (p.86). One way this happens is that we value things, ideas, or people based on the context in which we view them. The authors explain that "When we encounter a new object, person, or situation, the value we assign to it shapes our further perception of it, whether it’s our dismissal of a curiously inexpensive antique we find at a flea market or our admiration of a high-priced designer bag in a chic boutique” (p. 51).
Implications for Coaches
This one has really got me thinking. I believe the implication here is that we have to be strategic about how ideas are spread across a school. Coaches, I'm thinking, might want to make sure that they don't give away their services too easily, for fear that it might seem that coaching isn't that valuable. Also, it makes a lot of sense for the superintendent and other major leaders in a district to be involved in any large group presentation about coaching, so that teachers see that important people in the district value coaching as a way to move a district forward. Finally, bringing in respected outsiders to a district might also encourage others to view initiatives as being very valuable. I'm still thinking about other implications, but I think this force is very important.
Irrational Force #4: The Primacy of Fairness
The authors cite many studies that show that people are more motivated by a need to be treated fairly than a need to get a good deal. People, will turn down a deal that is beneficial to them if they think they are not being treated fairly. When they feel cheated, in fact, people would rather treat the cheater a lesson than achieve their goals. I'm not sure this is irrational, but it does have implications for coaches.
Implications for Coaches
The authors point out that people will be more likely to feel they are treated fairly if they are involved in whatever they are experiencing. As the authors explain, “When we make decisions or take actions that will affect others, keeping them involved will help ensure that they feel the process is fair… A potentially divisive situation can be transformed into a collaborative effort, allowing people to evaluate the facts objectively, rather than be swayed by the sense that the process was unfair” (p. 180).
Clearly this makes sense for coaches, and explains why the instructional coaching process, based on reflective, respectful conversations, is quite effective. Coaches need to ensure that teachers know they are equal decision makers in the process and that their voices really are heard by their coaches.
Irrational Force #5: Money Versus Altruism
The Brafmans explain that when we are offered money to do something it affects one part of the brain (which they call the "pleasure center"), and when we are asked to do something for altruistic reasons it affects another part of the brain (which they call the "altruism center"). Further, the authors comment that "it turns out that when the pleasure center and altruism centers go head to head, the pleasure center seems to have the ability to hijack the altruism center" (p. 144). This means that if you ask people to something for moral reasons, and then offer them money, their motivation might actually go down, rather than up.
Implications for Coaches
Coaches and leaders of coaching programs, I think, would do well to really emphasize the moral purpose behind coaching work. Also, coaches and program leaders need to think carefully about offering money as the way to get people to attend workshops and other professional learning activities. If people do it for the cash, they might not see the real value in what they are doing. It might be wiser to especially emphasize the good that is being done through various professional development activities. This is not to say that teachers shouldn't be paid for their time, but that payment should never be the real reason for the work. By keeping improving student achievement as their main goal, coaches can actually increase the likelihood that teachers will be motivated to implement new, better ways of teaching.
Next week, I'll be reviewing an outstanding book about the power and potential of conversation: Margaret Wheatley's book Turning to One Another .
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