What does human psychology and brain science teach us about developing effective strategies for our institutions? The ways our brain work to make us successful humans mirrors the way healthy organizations develop successful strategies to overcome threats and capitalize on opportunities.
I recently heard a psychologist discuss the three types of human perspective needed for us to function properly in the world. She put into layman’s terms the brain systems we use every moment we are awake in order to be highly functional. These systems are extremely insightful and relevant as we consider our own institutions of higher education.
It’s both rare and critical for all three to coexist in institutional ethos. Emphasizing just one or two will result in major strategy gaps down the road.
Let’s introduce the three perspectives:
- The Searchlight: Let’s say that I am in a crowded room of people talking with a friend and a mouse runs across the floor. Suddenly my observation system overrides the pleasant conversation with my friend and I am only aware of the mouse as I immediately turn my focus to the mouse’s activity. In order to do this, I must have been passively looking for distractions the entire time I was talking with my friend. My mind would have been constantly refreshing my current situation and looking for more important things to focus on. This passive observation of all of the various inputs is what we could call the “searchlight”.
- The Spotlight: It’s actually amazing humans have the ability to focus attention on one particular input while in a room with many stimuli. I can have a meaningful conversation with a friend while in a crowded room of people and be focused on only what they are saying until a mouse runs across the floor and momentarily diverts my attention; however with the Spotlight perspective I am able to retain my focus on the conversation with my friend. I am able, to a large extent, to block out the distractions of everyone and everything else in the room. This is the spotlight.
- The Motherboard: The Motherboard is the system in the brain that sorts through the inputs from the spotlight and the searchlight. The Motherboard is making decisions on what should be focused on by the spotlight and what can be ignored from observations of the searchlight. The Motherboard is the integration of the other two systems and the decision-making part of awareness. We are not built to give focused attention to everything at once, so decisions have to be made. This is the role of the Motherboard.
Attention Can Go Wrong
This simple model is extremely helpful to understand different ways people (and organizations) focus their attention, and why it may not always lead to outcomes they expect or hope for. A problem with the spotlight could mean that our ability to focus on one thing is not strong (underactive) or it could mean that we can only focus on one thing and we never are able to focus on anything else (overactive). An overactive or underactive searchlight tends to either shift our focus to small distractions around us or to prevent us from noticing the things we need to be aware of quickly. We could also have trouble with the Motherboard, which leads to difficulty with the prioritization of our focus. If any one of these systems is weak, both individuals and organizations can struggle to focus on the right things.
How Does This Connect To Higher Education?
Institutions of higher education could learn something from this basic model of human awareness. I see three lessons we can take from the model to make our institutions stronger.
Clarity: You must be aware of everything happening around you. You must have a searchlight.
Sometimes an organization has the ability to focus on and solve problems, but isn’t either aware of the problems or, even worse, denies the problems exist. This can come from a lack of communication in the organization, a lack of care for what is happening, or a fear and resistance to change. Regardless, it means the problems don’t get solved. Healthy organizations can accurately say what the situation is that they are sitting in, for better or worse. If you don’t know all of your inputs, you have no hope of focusing on the right things. This is why every strategy must start with clarity.
If your searchlight is off, you may miss the threat in front of you or the opportunity about to escape you.
Focus: You must be able to focus on a problem. You must have a spotlight.
A place where other institutions tend to struggle is the lack of focus. They bring a major problem up but are not able to give the problem the attention it deserves or stay on the topic long enough to solve it. The institution knows what the problems are, but has no will to solve them – instead relegating them to the bottom of the agenda.
Maybe this lack of focus is because they are focused on something else and cannot or will not change their focus. Maybe the problem is that they are focused on everything. Either way, the institution is in major trouble.
Acknowledging problems exist is not enough. If we focus on everything, we focus on nothing. If we focus on the wrong things, our strategy fails. As institutions of higher education we have to give real focus to the important problems we face.
If you are aware of the threat or the opportunity, but focused on the beauty of the stars, you still lose.
Alignment: Every part of the system needs to work together.
Alignment keeps clarity and focus working together for the common good of the organization. In other words, the searchlight and spotlight can’t interact without the motherboard.
It’s not enough to have clarity (the searchlight) and focus (the spotlight) if you have no alignment (the motherboard). Alignment ensures all of the information and data being gathered is turned into action that moves the organization forward. Alignment gives the entire organization the resources needed to address the issues at hand. Without alignment, individual business groups are free to pursue their own goals totally out of sync from each other, resulting in a university that falls behind competitors that are working closely together to integrate what they discover through their spotlights and searchlights.
Being aware of threats and opportunities is not enough. Focusing your attention on threats and opportunities is not enough. Your success is dependent on overcoming threats and harnessing opportunities!
Do All Three Perspectives Have A Home At Your Institution?
It takes intentional work and strategic leadership to develop a culture of trust and accountability that allows teams to make actionable progress toward the future. Take a thoughtful look at the leadership team at your college or university: Do you have all three perspectives represented in your cabinet? If someone is struggling to step out of spotlight awareness or searchlight awareness, are there trusted colleagues they can turn to who can balance their perspective and fill the gaps they’re missing?
How the human brain functions should impact how strategies are built. If you answered “no” to any of the questions above, we encourage you to hire an executive coaching for your leadership team or engage with a team of strategists who can fill the gaps you have. An integrated approach is the only avenue toward your institution becoming one that will thrive in a vibrant future.
Need help with your strategy?
Reach out to Nick Willis. TG Three helps colleges get from where they are to where they want to be by developing strategies that create clarity, focus and alignment.
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