March is Brain Awareness Month so the bookstore was overflowing with intriguing selections for me to take on vacation.   I have a lifelong passion for brains.  How do they work? What happens when they are broken? How do you get the most out of your brain?  For instance, I am intrigued by the notion that many of the behavioral observations that have been made about the brain, behavior, cognition, and personality over the course of thousands of years can now be confirmed through imaging techniques such as the fMRI or the PET scan.  Indeed, there is no better time than now to learn about the brain, appreciate individual differences, and to be wowed by it’s wonders.

The first book I read was The Edison Gene/ADHD and the Gift of the Hunter Child by Thon Hartmann (By clicking the link, you can also read the American Psychiatric Institute’s review  of the book).  There is ongoing controversy as to whether ADHD is a real disorder or if it is the gift of creativity and adaptability in it’s highest form.  Thomas Edison, left school after only 3 months of formal education and was labeled, “a problem child, stupid and difficult” by his teachers.  He set his father’s barn on fire to see what would happen.  He laid on goose eggs to see if he could hatch them.  His mother had to move his laboratory into the basement for fear that he would blow up the house.  Of course, without Thomas Edison, there would be no light bulbs, no phonographs, and no motion pictures among other critical inventions.   The author makes the case that medicating or trying to “break”  the highly creative types like Edison, our society would not move forward.    As I read the book, I imagined the Thomas Edison types to be intuitive- thinking-perceiving types  ( ENTP  and the INTP) using the Myers-Briggs terminology.  Another parallel terms would be right brain thinking (holistic, random, intuitive and a “could be” focus) versus left brain thinking (linear, sequential, concrete,and a “what is” focus).

I agree with the author’s assertion that people are wired differently and are therefore more adept at various tasks.   Some individuals tend to remain open to changes in incoming data and adapt accordingly while others prefer structure, organization and consistency. Neither style of thinking is superior to the other.  (more…)

“When Gallimore and Tharp studied John Wooden in 1974, they were surprised to find that he distributed praise and criticism unevenly.  What’s more, he was open about this: …Wooden would say, “The good Lord, in his infinite wisdom did not make us all the same.  Goodness gracious, if he had, this would be a boring world, don’t you think?…each one of you deserves individual treatment that is best for you.” (The Talent Code, p 184-185)

The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle, released in May of 2009, asserts that “Greatness isn’t born. It’s grown. Here’s how.”  The book outlines 3 critical elements that foster talent namely deep practice which is slow, targeted, practice that depends on careful refinement of errors;  ignition or motivational fuel that can be triggered by any number of events such as pursuing a goal because someone you admire did it, or the presence of some other force that creates value or passion.  The third element is receiving master coaching and Coyle calls these coaches, “The Talent Whispers.”  Hmmmm.  Now that captured my attention!  As a long-time speech therapist, a mother, and more recently, a life coach, I was intrigued to read what qualities the author felt were present in master coaches.

The first quality was age(Coyle calls it The Matrix).  More than half the coaches that Coyle studied were in their 60′s or 70′s.  That makes sense if wisdom comes with age and one doesn’t get set in his ways. Either one can happen. Ironically, Jungian type development theory suggests we develop our dominant psychological  function up to age 7, our auxiliary or supporting function up to age 20,  the third preferred or tertiary function in our 30′s and 40′s, and the inferior, or least preferred function after that.  When we are young, much of our energy goes into developing our core and then when we get to be old salts, we can turn our attention to completing our personality.  Therefore, an older coach can draw on more perceptions and exercise greater depth of judgment.

Another desirable quality is being able to be laser sharp with coaching directions (the GPS Reflex). Try this. Do that. Layer the next skill upon the new skill.  The other day, I was reading an article in my favorite magazine, “Scientific American Mind”   titled “A New Vision For Teaching Science.” The United States ranks 25th among developed nations in math and science.  The nations that lead the way advocate revisiting topics moving from basic to sophisticated views.  Refining to create deeper understanding.

Theatrical honesty or basically “being a character” apparently contributes to the effectiveness of a master coach. Coyle mentions coaches with snow-white pompadours and black leather jackets, turban-style head wraps and  track suits. Personal style.  When I think back to the teachers I had (or my kids had) that captured attention, many of them did have a unique quality that made them more interesting: Mr. Craft throwing erasers, Mr. Henrich with his classroom that looked like a living room, or Mrs. Chang the piano teacher from China who would complain, “You have no ENNNERGY in your fingers!!!  ENERGY! ENERGY!!”

Perceptiveness rounds out the list of virtues that make up a master coach. Master coaches want to know as much as possible about each student so they can customize their communication to fit the larger patterns in a students life.  Individual differences matter and the coach watches for the qualities that make someone unique.  I use the MBTI results as a springboard for an interactive dialogue to make the connection between personality type and learning style. I wonder how I can address this client so his/her brain is primed to take in information and grow from it.  In the coaching parlance, there is the concept of resonance.  What makes an individual light up and want to know more?  Of all of the qualities attributed to a master coach, this one seems to be the most critical.  Like cracking a lock on a safe, listening for the tumblers to click is just as important as turning the dial.

The Talent Code is worth reading particularly because of  the thought provoking nature of this topic, the pursuit of excellence.  Many of the concepts in the book are another angle on what is already intuitively known about the formula for success: practice, passion and a teacher to show you the way are key elements in harvesting talent.  What makes this book interesting is the references to the role of myelin, the fatty substance that coats nerves cells as it responds to these elements, adding speed and accuracy to movements and thoughts.  While it’s  tempting to believe that the formula of 3  key components  as identified by the author would optimize myelination ,  the holy grail for the foundation for greatness,  with the brain, it’s seldom that simple.

The book Organizing For Your Brain Type by Lanna Nakone is one of the most useful books I have ever purchased. No doubt I will write about it more than once simply because there is so much to learn that condensing it into one blog post would not do it justice. In this particular installment, I will give a brief description about what the book is about then describe how we used it in an unconventional way at our family reunion.

This is a book about organization. What makes it unique within the “declutter, feng-shui, get organized” genre though is that it recognizes that there is more than one way to skin a cat and it is based on brain types.  The book opens with a survey of 50 multiple-choice questions that delineate your brain type: Maintaining, Harmonizing, Innovating, or  Prioritizing.  The author draws on the work of Dr. Arlene Taylor, a brain functioning specialist, to define the four types.  For instance, the Maintaining type is a traditional organizer, one who is habitual, accurate,  punctual but perhaps a little rigid.  The Harmonizing type is holistic, and nurturing but maybe too sentimental to throw anything away.  The Innovating type, who is usually known as “the type who can’t get organized”, is creative, adventurous, but also easily sidetracked.  The last type is Prioritizing  which is a logical problem solver but a little on the judgemental side. (more…)