My "Why" Behind Solving the Puzzle of Human Behavior

Growing up, I always felt a special connection to my great aunt Bertha Friedman, even though we never had the chance to meet. Her desk sat just outside my bedroom door, piled high with research documents and letters from her career. In the 1930s, when most women weren’t even considering going to college, my great Aunt Bertha earned a doctorate in child psychology.

Pouring over her doctoral dissertation, "Foundations of the measurement of values," I discovered a kindred spirit. Like Aunt Bertha, I held a curiosity to decode the factors that shape an individual's choices and actions. Her careful look at what we value, creative ideas for measuring behavior, and honest tackling of research problems really connected with my own desire to understand what drives people.

Reviewers praised Aunt Bertha's work as a sophisticated piece of philosophy. They saw her main goal as helping teachers guide their students by highlighting the values that drive their success. Some pointed out the flaws in defining value only by behavior, but her ambitious and thorough analysis, challenging existing beliefs, still made a significant impact.

As my own career unfolded, I found myself drawing continual inspiration from Aunt Bertha's legacy. Her passion for unraveling the "why" behind human behavior became my own guiding star. In every role, from an Higher Ed professional with a focus on student development to a business leader wanting to motivate her team, I sought to decode the values and attributes that enable an individual to thrive, and to align them with environments that unleash their full potential.

These aspirations ultimately led me to Talent Acquisition and Learning & Development, where I saw the opportunity to translate Aunt Bertha's insights into practical tools for building outstanding teams, unlocking employee performance, and motivating through shared values. Through aha! Talent Experts, I strive to carry forward her mission of matching people to roles and contexts that ignite their motivation and unique talents.

Looking back, I realize that Aunt Bertha's groundbreaking work did more than lay the intellectual foundation for my own journey. Her fearless pursuit of knowledge as a woman in an era of limited opportunities modeled the very values of curiosity and impact that guide my work today.

As I partner with clients to build high-performing teams - Dream Teams, I often think back to that desk outside my childhood bedroom. I may never have met Aunt Bertha in person, but her legacy remains my constant companion and inspiration. By advancing the science of human motivation and potential, one insight at a time, I hope to honor her enduring impact and empower others to find their own purpose. Just as she illuminated my path, together we can light the way for generations to come.

Foundations of the Measurement of Values

Bertha B. Friedman

Teachers College Record 1947 48:7, 1-2