Nature and Nurture

Nature and Nurture
Dean Lea
Tupelo Group, LLC
Learning Session V
October 5–7, 2005
Baltimore, MD
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This I Believe
National Public Radio
“In all of us there is a story that
shapes who we are and what we
believe.”
—Edward R. Murrow
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A Balance Between
Nature and Nurture
“We’ve been seduced into asking the
wrong question by those who hope that
the social order they want is inborn, or
those who hope they can write the one
they want on our uniquely long human
childhood.”
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In 1925,
John Watson asked us to…
“Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-informed, and my
own specified world to bring them up in and I’ll
guarantee to take any type of specialist I might select –
doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief, and yes, even
beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents,
penchants, tendencies, and abilities, vocations, and
race of his ancestors.”
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Prospero on Caliban:
“A devil, a born devil, on whose nature
Nurture can never stick, on whom my pains
Humanely taken, all, all lost, quite lost…”
—The Tempest, IV, I, 188-190
William Shakespeare
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Retention
What’s the major reason employees are looking to
leave their present position?
‰ A. Getting away from a failing company.
‰ B. For more total (including incentive and bonus) money.
‰ C. Lack of career growth and development, often
blocked by a bad boss.
‰ D. More suited geography or better location.
‰ E. For a better fit with their skills—discovering and
banking on their strengths.
Source: 100 Things You Need to Know: Best People Practices for Managers and HR.
2004. R. Eichinger, M. Lombardo, D. Ulbrich
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How Environment Shapes Traits
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Quality and quantity of language the child is exposed to
Amount of play
Express affection
Availability of toys
The presence of parents
The presence of other children
The natural expression of emotion in the household
Intellectual expectations (riddles, questions, problemsolving, etc.)
• Control/limits/discipline—e.g., too many toys or too few
toys
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Which Traits are Inherited?
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Leadership
Imagination
Aggressiveness
Autism
Weakness of will
Person vs. object
orientation
• Susceptibility to
addiction
• Vulnerability to stress
• Traditionalism
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Shyness
Obsessions
Quickness to anger
Depression
Empathy
Engageability
Language facility
Maturation rate
Alcoholism
Excitability
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Assumptions of Old & New
Old
New
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Nurture is dominant …
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Nature is dominant …
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Weakness can be
strengthened …
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Some weaknesses cannot be
strengthened due to genetic
predisposition …
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Assess for performance
gaps …
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Assess for performance gaps
& trait infrastructure gaps …
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Teach to strengthen …
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Redesign job to offset
infrastructure gap …
Source: CentACS
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Nature – Nurture: A Summary
___% Inherited
___% Environmental
___% Other
• Emergenesis/epistasis…(i.e. chance)
• Maturational differences (need situation to bring out the
trait)
• Natural self-submerged (from fear, ambition, etc.)
By six years of age broad personality traits are
apparent.
Source: CentACS
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Nature – Nurture: A Summary
60% Inherited
20% Environmental
20% Other
• Emergenesis/Epistasis…(i.e. chance)
• Maturational differences (need situation to bring out the
trait)
• Natural self-submerged (from fear, ambition, etc.)
By six years of age broad personality traits are
apparent.
Source: CentACS
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Nature – Nurture: A Summary
___% Inherited
___% Shared Experience
▪ Family, parents…
___% Unique Experiences
▪ School, peers, life events, learning…
____% Measurement Error
Source: Ridley, Matt, The Agile Gene: How Nature Turns on Nurture, 2003
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Nature – Nurture: A Summary
40% Inherited
10% Shared Experience
▪ Family, parents…
25% Unique Experiences
▪ School, peers, life events, learning…
25% Measurement Error
Source: Ridley, Matt, The Agile Gene: How Nature Turns on Nurture, 2003
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Development
As it stands in the nature/nurture debate, the percent influence
on adult personality, skills, and traits is approximately:
‰ A. All nurture. People are born a blank slate and a person’s upbringing
and life experience create the whole adult person.
‰ B. Mostly nurture. Although there are a few things that get influenced or
determined by the jumble of your DNA at birth, the vast majority of who
you get to be is influenced by upbringing and life experiences.
‰ C. About half and half. There is an equal influence from your DNA, your
upbringing, and life experiences, although the effects vary widely
depending upon which trait you’re examining.
‰ D. Mostly nature. The jumble of your DNA determines a lot of who you
end up to be because most behavior has its origin in your body structure
and chemistry. Nurture shades nature but not by that much.
‰ E. All nature. People are born with predispositions toward certain
behaviors and behavior patterns, and there is not much that nurture can
do to change it.
Source: 100 Things You Need to Know: Best People Practices for
Managers and HR. 2004. R. Eichinger, M. Lombardo, D. Ulbrich
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Development
What is the order of influence on how a person
ends up as an adult?
‰A. Biological makeup, peers, parents.
‰B. Peers, parents, biological makeup.
‰C. Parents, peers, biological makeup.
‰D. Parents, Biological makeup, peers.
‰E. Biological makeup, parents, peers.
Source: 100 Things You Need to Know: Best People Practices for
Managers and HR. 2004. R. Eichinger, M. Lombardo, D. Ulbrich
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Assumptions
1. There’s a balance between nature and
nurture.
2. “Every individual nature has its own
beauty.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
3. “Make learning the constant and time the
—Larry Weed
variable.”
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Strategies
1. Understand personal systems
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Vision (personal & work)
Values
Personality profile
Experiences
Strengths
Weaknesses
Learning style
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Understanding People
“ Sure, I got my talents,
Who doesn’t.
It’s not about who you are
But who you wasn’t.”
—Weston Lea
Age 18
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Learning Strategies
ACTION
Quickly map out experiences or tasks and do them, run
quick tests, try things and see how they work out
THINKING
Visualizing and thinking through a situation, using clear
problem solving methods. Creating models, predicting
outcomes, using intuition
PERSONAL
Checking your feelings and learning from them,
monitoring self-talk and internal dialogue, reflecting on
personal experience
PEOPLE
Involving others in your learning, asking others for
advice or alternative perspectives, learning by
observing role models and other people
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Strategies
2. Be selective in what you target for
change. Consider:
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Importance to your success (vision)
Current level of performance
Your natural talents and traits
Competency difficulty
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More Difficult
Difficulty of Personal Change
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Personality characteristics
Habits
Attitude
Knowledge
Time and work management
Job skills
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Strategies
Moderate High
Low
Skill Level
3. Use appropriate improvement strategies
Caution
Caution /
Leverage
Leverage
Caution /
Substitute
?
Leverage /
Develop
Substitute
Develop
with Support
Develop
Weak
personality trait
or talent
foundation for
this competency
Moderate
personality trait
or talent
foundation for
this competency
Strong
personality trait
or talent
foundation for
this competency
Propensity / Personality Trait Fit
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Develop Strategies
• 10%
– Self-paced learning, independent study
– Reading
– Coursework
• 20%
– Feedback
– Role Models
– Relationships, coaching, mentoring
• 70% (Real Work)
– Tasks, frequent opportunities to practice
– Part-time assignments (on & off the job)
– Full-time assignments
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Support Strategies
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Reward / incentive systems
Modify the environment
Provide tools
Inspection and reviews
Set boundaries
Frequent feedback
Systems, processes
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Substitute & Caution Strategies
• Substitute
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Job redesign
Set boundaries to minimize the need for the competency
Delegate
Automation, tools
Job change
• Caution
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Compensate strategies
Incorporate stress reduction activities
Build in recovery time
Exercise and diet
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Leverage Strategies
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Development strategies
Teaching, mentoring, coaching
Increased challenges
Increased scope
Increased variety
Advance education
Research, work with thought leaders
Predict trends and what the next “big” development in
your area of skill will be
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Strategies
4. Create feedback systems at all levels
- Measurement
- Honest conversation
- Performance appraisals
- 3600 feedback
- Dialogue
- Assessment
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Feedback
In general, how much feedback do people think they
get to improve their job performance and manage
their career growth?
‰A. More than enough.
‰B. About the amount they say they want.
‰C. About the amount that they need.
‰D. Enough; about the right amount; sufficient.
‰E. Less than they want and need to grow and
develop.
Source: 100 Things You Need to Know: Best People Practices for Managers and HR.
2004. R. Eichinger, M. Lombardo, D. Ulbrich
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Feedback
What is the effect on others of a person asking for
and seeking negative feedback?
‰ A. Others often think the person lacks selfconfidence.
‰ B. Others expect the person to be defensive if they
respond and therefore don’t.
‰ C. Others think more positively of the person.
‰ D. Others respond by actually increasing positive
feedback to counter the request.
‰ E. It has no measurable impact on others.
Source: 100 Things You Need to Know: Best People Practices for Managers and HR.
2004. R. Eichinger, M. Lombardo, D. Ulbrich
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Feedback
Which of the following is the most true about
managers/supervisors in delivering negative
feedback/criticism to direct reports?
‰ A. Most managers/supervisors find it hard and
uncomfortable.
‰ B. Most managers/supervisors find it hard but most
do it.
‰ C. Most managers/supervisors find it uncomfortable
but not hard.
‰ D. Most managers/supervisors find it easy but
uncomfortable.
‰ E. Most mangers/supervisors give adequate negative
feedback easily.
Source: 100 Things You Need to Know: Best People Practices for Managers and HR.
2004. R. Eichinger, M. Lombardo, D. Ulbrich
30
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Feedback
When people seek positive feedback only, what is
the effect on others?
‰ A. Others often think the person lacks selfconfidence.
‰ B. Others expect the person to be defensive if they
respond with any negative feedback and therefore
don’t give any.
‰ C. Others think less positively of the person.
‰ D. Others respond by actually increasing negative
feedback to counter the request.
‰ E. It has no measurable impact on others.
Source: 100 Things You Need to Know: Best People Practices for Managers and HR.
2004. R. Eichinger, M. Lombardo, D. Ulbrich
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Strategies
5. Apply the nature and nurture
philosophy, methods, and tools to hiring,
staffing, and development decisions.
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This I Believe
I believe in people and
the power of reciprocity.
“ People will treat others the way people first
treat them.”
—Robert Cialdini
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So…
“Start where you are
Use what you have
Do what you can.”
— Arthur Ashe
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