Having “High Quality Making-Meaning Conversations”: Human Excellence in the AI AGE!
AI is advancing at a phenomenal rate. AI is going to change how you work. AI is going to change how you live. AI will be your new life partner.
Volatility is the new norm. Technology will continue to advance faster and faster. Technology will get smarter and smarter. You will constantly have to adapt to stay relevant.
To stay in the “AI Game”, we must transform our ways of being. We must recreate/rewire ourselves. We must continuously optimize our Human Performance in ways that allow us to constantly learn, unlearn, and relearn at the speed of change.
That will require you to bring your BEST SELF to your WORLD every day. Becoming your Best Self will require you to take OWNERSHIP of your Ego, your Mind, your Body, your Emotions, your Behaviors, your Thinking, your Listening, and how you “Relate with Others”.
Bringing your Best Self to work everyday will enable you excel at thinking in ways that AI can’t think – such as innovative thinking, critical thinking, going into the unknown and figuring things out; and making decisions when there is not a lot of data.
Thinking excellence, collaboration excellence, and innovation/exploration excellence are all highly dependent upon the quality of the conversations that take place in the workplace. Having “High Quality Making -Meaning Conversations” with others will determine your success and your organization’s success.
I have told many leaders that a key determiner of success in the AI Age will be the “Quality of the Conversations” that take place in the workplace.
Becoming your Best Self is enabled by doing Daily Deliberate Practices. That is what great thinkers do. That is what great athletes do. That is what great musicians do. That is what great warriors do. That is what great learners do. Your biggest competition going forward will be you! Not others. The best way to become a better person is to work daily at improving yourself and holding yourself accountable.
So, what’s the problem? We are our problem. We are not “wired” to be a Highly Adaptive Learner. Our brains are wired to go out in the world and seek (1) confirmation of what we believe; (2) affirmation of our ego – our stories about who we are; and (3) we generally emotionally embrace the 3 D’s: Defend, Deflect, and Deny when our views are challenged by others.
We must rewire ourselves and learn how to be a “Highly Adaptive Learner”. That takes daily deliberate practice using tools to manage your mind, your ego, your emotions, and how you relate to others. Your biggest competition in this new work world is not other people – it is you!
I have recently published two books that deal with this new way of being. A business book: “Hyper-Learning: How to Adapt to the Speed of Change” published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. and a shorter book for individuals 18 years and older: “Own Your Work Journey! The Path to Meaningful Work and Happiness in the Age of Smart Technology and Radical Change” which I self-published on Amazon.
And I have published with COURSERA two Courses: “Human Excellence in the AI Age: Parts 1 & 2”.
Those 3 avenues are designed to help you rewire yourself to be a “Highly Adaptive Learner” who can learn, unlearn, and relearn at the pace of change so you can excel at thinking in ways that AI can’t think; excelling at “Building Caring Trusting Relationships’ with others”; and having “High-Quality Making -Meaning Conversations “with others.
My purpose in this Post is to share with you some of ways of being that will help you excel at “Building Caring Trusting Teams” and having “High-Quality Making-Conversations” with others.
Yes, managing your Ego, Mind, Body, Emotions, Behaviors, Thinking, and Listening are all still important. I have published LinkedIn Articles already on those topics. Today, I am focusing on how to have “High-Quality Making-Meaning Conversations”.
HAVING “HIGH-QUALITY MAKING MEANING CONVERSATIONS”
“A High-Quality, Making Meaning Conversation” is a mutual conversation where each person is striving to be understood by the other and where each person is striving to understand the other.” © p.207 Hyper-Learning Book.
High-Quality, Making-Meaning Conversations are not about competing with others or self-promotion. They are about seeking to understand each other in a caring, trusting manner.
The AI Age will require every organization to Humanize the Workplace: to create a work culture and environment that is more humanistic, emotionally safe, emotionally positive, team-oriented, and highly collaborative - not an individualistic, survival -of -the- fittest competitive environment.
That requires “Caring, Trusting Teams”. Team members must feel trust each other; care about each other as unique human beings and have compassion for each other.
To achieve the best result requires trust; diversity; a common purpose - people agreeing upfront on the purpose of the conversation; and people agreeing on the rules of engagement. All of that requires “making meaning together” being respectful of differences and working through those differences.
Another way to approach this is setting upfront the Rules of Engagement which everyone verbally agrees to honor: such as, candor, open-mindedness, permission to speak freely,
“Psychological Safety”, critiquing ideas not people, listening to learn not to confirm, making sure everyone gets to express his or her views in a respectful manner, and not letting others including the highest-ranking people dominate the conversation.
I have worked with clients that went through this process, and some posted their “Rules of Engagement” in every meeting room in their Company. Some of the teams graded themselves after each meeting and continuously worked to improve the quality of their conversations.
A High-Quality Making Meaning conversation not a competitive conversation. It is all about seeking mutual understanding; seeking to understand others and to be understood by others, all in a caring, trusting non-competitive manner that is respectful of everyone’s human dignity. Psychological Safety is the needed outcome. Feeling safe is a necessity!
Making-Meaning together is how you understand the real reasons people are advocating their positions That is how teams can resolve misunderstandings, differences and reach common agreement.
Many Native American Leaders excelled at this. They would meet by sitting in a circle, usually around a fire and they took turns stating their beliefs or positions without interruption. No questions were allowed until everyone in the circle stated their views with the Chief speaking last. They got all the views “on the table “and then they talked about everyone’s position with the purpose of making meaning together. Then the Chief made the decision.
“Our Need for Others: You Can’t Achieve Excellence by Yourself!”.
Our need for others is as old as human history. Our ancestors going back to the hunter-gather days survived because they cooperated and built friendships with others based on mutual trust. Social cooperation was how people survived the longest. Survivors trusted each other and cared for each other.
Your Work Environment
What is the state of your work environment?
Is your work environment competitive?
Do your managers or leaders really know you and do you really know them?
Do your leaders truly listen to your concerns and seek your feedback?
Can you speak freely with your managers and leaders?
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Do you and your higher ups work on building trusting relationships?
Why Do You Need Others?
Please answer that question. What was your answer?
Do you need others to stress-test your beliefs?
Do you need others to help you explore, critique, and learn?
Do you need others to give you truthful feedback?
Do you need others to help you see things differently or see things that you can not see?
We all need “others” to help us be all we can be because we are wired to seek confirmation of what we believe and affirmation of our ego.
Are You an Outstanding Reflective Listener?
Are you fully present with a Quiet Ego and Quiet Mind listening in a non-judgmental manner? Or are you multi-tasking or preparing your response while the speaker speaks?
Are you closed minded? Or are you open minded?
Do you interrupt the listener?
Do you ask questions to make sure you understand what the speaker is saying before you respond?
Do you speak calmly?
Do you smile at the speaker and maintain eye contact?
Do you exhibit positive body language to the speaker, or do you exhibit negative body language?
Psychological Safety
What is your definition of Psychological Safety?
Psychological Safety is a necessity.
Psychological Safety means you feel safe, and you trust the other team members.
Psychologically Safe Environments are evidenced by permission to speak freely; candor, data-driven decision-making, an idea meritocracy, challenging the status quo; disagreeing in a respectful manner, challenging each other’s and leaders views in a respectful manner.
In closing, let me emphasize that "You Can't Achieve Excellence by Yourself"!
We all need Others to help us be our Best Self!
Having "High Quality Making-Meaning Conversations" with others is mission critical for you and your organization!
That requires"Caring Trusting Teams"!
That requires you to bring your "Best Self" to the conversation!
All the best on your Journey!
Chief Executive Officer at EduVation
3moFor over two years, I’ve been sharing and helping groups implement the practices from Hyper-Learning, and what a difference it has made in how we show up—both at work and in the world. The way we’ve grown over the past year is remarkable. The quality of our conversations has taken a meaningful shift, and it’s reflected in how we collaborate. What we’ve truly gained is a shared understanding of the ego’s role—and, more importantly, how to quiet it. Thank you, Ed, for this post
Wall Street Journal + USA Today Best-selling Author/Executive Coach / Award-winning Keynote Speaker Contributor to Forbes, CEOWORLD, Psychology Today, etc. Host of Do Good to Lead Well podcast (top 0.5% ranking).
3moFantastic article Edward Hess! I love your focus on bringing our best selves to every situation and conversation and providing us with a thought-provoking roadmap to do this.