What Is The Value Of Our Behavior?

I had a great conversation yesterday with a respected individual in our field discussing values and their role in behavior changes (not sure if the person wants to be named so I will protect their privacy, but know that it inspired this blog post!).  As we continue to think about cultural change as it relates to behavior analysis, I started thinking about how community values direct community or cultural behaviors.  Ultimately, it comes down to reinforcement principles (which I will not go in to here, but will direct the reader to the BF Skinner Foundation, where you can access resources describing positive and negative reinforcement).

When we speak of cultural change, the discussion of value can be broken into several sectors.  The first is individual values.  What value does our current behavior serve us?  For behavior analysts we look at this as a functional assessment or analysis, but for people who aren't behavior analysts we can ask ourselves the question of Why?  Why do I keep performing this behavior?  or Why am I not engaging in behavior I want to perform?  When we analyze that, we can then create action steps, defining the behaviors we need to develop and a plan to shape that learning process.

We can also do this from a larger perspective from that of the community.  This can be a neighborhood community, city, state, country, or even global community.  We ultimately need to "Start with Why," as Simon Sinek says, and ask ourselves, what are our values as a broad community.  If we put aside our differences and beliefs, we may find we actually all have one common value from which we can build upon--the value of survival, and the continuation of our species on this planet.  Maybe, we can at least start there.

Want to weigh in?  Leave a comment below!

Shaping the Use of Renewable Energy Resources through Applied Behavior Analysis

As promised in the previous blog post, we will be exploring cultural change as it relates to behavior analysis in the next few weeks.  With this week's celebration of Earth Day, we are exploring ways to increase the use of sustainable resources.

Ultimately, as behavior analysts, we are tasked with the job of using our science to shape socially significant behavior (Baer, Wolf & Risley, 1968).  So what is the definition of socially significant behavior?  Cooper, Heron, and Heward (2007) define this as "Behaviors identified for change must be socially significant to the persons and contribute to the quality of their daily life."  In essence, the definition of social significance lies with the person.

This definition is a bit tricky when we talk about "saving the world" with behavior analysis as Skinner talked about in his works.  For most Americans (and I say most...not all, and I am fully admitting to myself being part of the "most"), socially significant behavior which contributes to the quality of daily life, involves the consumption of goods, most of which are consumed or are produced through non-sustainable energy resources such as oil or natural gas.

So how do we fix this?  As with most behavioral change we should start with small changes.  The biggest change we can make in our lives is to start reducing our use of the nonrenewable energy resources we currently are using.  Some simple ideas to start would be: turn off the lights when the sun comes up, unplug the electronic devices when you leave the house, and spend a few more days with your windows open instead of using air conditioning in the summer.  

As a whole, we should also look to investing and exploring affordable sustainable energy resources such as use of wind and  solar options for energy.  Though for many this can be cost prohibitive, companies should start to explore the current barriers cited for use of this and turn it in to new business ventures.  

Motivation and the availability of reinforcement for engaging in these behaviors, also plays a role, in implementation of behavior change.  Like with any behavior support plan, we should create a larger cultural behavioral support plan to change our behavior of consumption of non-sustainable energy.  We need to essentially make it harder to access non-sustainable energy, and easier to access renewable energy resources, provide realistic incentives for use of these energy resources (that tax credit isn't cutting it), and also look to making it more socially reinforcing to use these resources, instead of gas and oil.

Have an idea on how to do this?  Leave a comment below!

References:

Baer, D. M., Wolf, M. M., & Risley, T. R. (1968). Some current dimensions of applied behavior analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1(1), 91-97

 Cooper, John O., Heron, Timothy E., Heward, William L.. (2007) Applied behavior analysis,  Upper Saddle River, N.J. : Pearson/Merrill-Prentice Hall

How I Found Behavior Analysis

I'll never forget the moment when my undergraduate work study supervisor handed me a book and said, "Here, read this. You will enjoy it after growing up in Philadelphia."

The book was Third and Indiana by Steve Lopez, and it came at an interesting time in my life.  I was going to school at a large Philadelphia university and had just been denied admission to the Music School for the second time, so I was feeling pretty lost considering I trained as a classical flutist for most of my life.  I had just enrolled in "An Intro to Psych" class.  It was an honors class, which meant a small intimate class where we would discuss psychology greats and argue about perspectives on the mind.   It was here I was also introduced to BF Skinner's books: Beyond Freedom and Dignity and Walden Two.

After reading Third and Indiana, which introduced me to a side of Philadelphia I knew existed but had not been exposed to (a side that has interestingly been shifted to other sections of the city as sections are gentrified and re-developed--ultimately just shifting the problem instead of addressing it), I wondered how we could help the larger problems of the city such as violence, drug addiction, and the struggle for 14 year olds who should be setting post high school goals versus learning business and social skills on the streets.  

Enter BF Skinner.  After reading Beyond Freedom and Dignity and Walden Two, and debating the possibility of a technology of behavior that could "save the world," and shape cultural development, I drank the Kool Aid.  I was introduced to a professor at Temple who studied with a student of Skinner, and the rest is history.  

Now, I focus on the mission of helping other organizations and people shape development through the principles outlined by BF Skinner.  Though my work has taken me to shape development of ABA therapy programs and businesses, I recently began thinking on how we can go back to the idea of using the technology of behavior to "save the world."  I am interested in cultural change as a whole, starting with my own city and the behaviors that occur on a daily basis.

The biggest question now remains is How?  How do we do this?  I'll explore this in the next few weeks so stay tuned! 

References: 

Lopez, S. (1995). Third and Indiana.  Penguin Books

Skinner, B. F. (1971). Beyond freedom and dignity. New York, NY, US: Knopf/Random House.

Skinner, B. F. (1948). Walden Two. Oxford, England: Macmillan

How Do We Continue To Do What We Do?

 "By the time I was fourteen (and shaving twice a week whether I needed to or not) the nail in my wall would no longer support the weight of the rejection slips impaled upon it. I replaced the nail with a spike and went on writing." Stephen King, On Writing

 This week, as I read Stephen King's memoir, On Writing, I am amazed that at 14, when he was already starting a prolific writing career, he received rejection after rejection...but he still continued writing.  He continued writing even through high school, college, and young adulthood when he made very little from his manuscripts and worked hard jobs to support his family.

So as a behavior analyst, and one who is motivated to shape development of others, I ask, why is it that he persisted even after years of long hard work, where writing did not "pay off" or provide him with enough income to support his family, and why is it that even as a child, he continued to write, after multiple rejection letters?

BF Skinner wrote in his book, About Behaviorism, "The theater and the novel would probably not survive if the dramatist and novelist stayed out of the depths."

So what does this mean?  Ultimately, we need to experience conflict in our lives...to motivate us to keep performing to avoid that conflict (referred to as "negative reinforcement" for my behavior analytic friends).   For some, it means to improve our craft to the point where rejection letters no longer occur (potentially, like in the case of King), and for others this may be just to avoid the task altogether when that first "rejection" occurs.  

It is all dependent on our own history of reinforcement.  

In the words of Aubrey Daniels, "People do what they do because of what happens to them when they do it."

 And that, my friends, is why we continue to do what we do.

References: 

King, S. (2000). On writing: A memoir of the craft. New York: Scribner. Chicago

Skinner, B. F. (1974). About behaviorism. New York: Knopf

Daniels, Aubrey C. (2000). Bringing Out the Best in People: How to Apply the Astonishing Power of Positive Reinforcement, Third Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Education

How to Shape Development: Changing Our Own Behavior

"'There is really nothing you must be and there is nothing you must do. There is really nothing you must have and there is nothing you must know. There is really nothing you must become. However, it helps to understand that fire burns, and when it rains, the earth gets wet.'  Whatever you do,  he smiled, there are consequences, nobody is exempt. Then he winked, and bowed and walked away." -Jack Kornfield, Buddhism for Beginners

I have been contemplating these quotes for the last week.  Kornfield in this quote, makes the observation that "whatever you do, there are consequences," which is interesting.  As behavior analysts we examine the behavior of those around us, and analyze both antecedents and consequences--the environmental variables part of the behavioral contingency.  We do this in schools, homes, businesses, sports and fitness, and animal training.  Kornfield, though not a behavior analyst, a Buddhist Monk, links the above discussion with his teacher, who shared the zen saying above.  The zen saying appears to be saying there is "nothing" we MUST do, but we need to be cognizant of the fact that when we do something, there are consequences, just as "fire burns and rain makes the earth wet."

As parents, teachers, and leaders, we are often tasked with changing the behavior of those around us.  It is important to note, however; as Kornfield says "no one is exempt."  As we shape the behavior of those around us, it is important to keep in mind that our behavior is also being shaped by the environmental variables (such as consequences) that occur during the shaping process of those we support.  Oftentimes, we spend time focusing on changing the behavior of others, when sometimes, it is our own behavior that needs to change.  As we create our behavior plans and development plans, we should also be thinking about how we can change our own behavior in the process.

What are some ways we can do this?  Leave a comment below with your thoughts!

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How Does Buddhism Relate to Behavior Analysis?

Recently, I started reading Jack Kornfield's Buddhism for Beginners.  As I listened to the tenets of Buddhism, I began to realize that there were many similarities between the science of behavior analysis and Buddhism, and after doing some research, I found I was not the only one who also held this opinion.

Hayes (2002) and Diller & Lattal (2008) also wrote articles outlining the similarities between the science of behavior analysis and Buddhism.  

So what are they?  Diller & Lattal (2008), wrote in their article, "Behaviorism and Buddhism: Complimentarities and Conflicts," that there appear to be many "complimentarities" between the two.  They argue that with Buddhism, there is the idea that the individual is connected with their environment just as in behavior analysis we look at the learner also being interactive with their environment.  Buddhism emphasizes the goal of gaining knowledge then applying that knowledge to generalize societal improvement.  As B.F. Skinner wrote in his book Beyond Freedom and Dignity, as he discusses the need to make socially significant behavioral change through our science, "What we need is a technology of behavior to prevent the catastrophe which the world seems to be inexorably moving,"

Steven Hayes (2002), also discusses in his article "Buddhisn and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy," that the empirically validated "third wave" behavior therapy Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (Hayes, 2004) and Buddhism have many parallels, the main being looking at the behavioral characteristics of the human attachment to suffering.  In Buddhism, Kornfield argues that it is a part of life, but it is through the awareness of it and the compassion towards others we can free ourselves from the attachment of suffering.  In Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, this comes in the form of cognitive defusion  or becoming unentangled from our thoughts and feelings (Hayes, 2004), yet still acknowledging that they are present.  This, Hayes argues, provides a scientific grounding for the practices of Buddhism.

References:

Diller, J.W., Lattal, K. (2008). Radical behaviorism and Buddhism: complementarities and conflicts.  The Behavior Analyst, 31(2), 163-177

Hayes, S. C. (2004). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Relational Frame Theory, and the third wave of behavior therapy. Behavior Therapy, 35, 639-665.

Hayes, S.C (2002). Buddhism and acceptance and commitment therapy. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 9(1) 58-66

Kornfield, Jack (2001). Buddhism for Beginners

Skinner, B. F. (1971). Beyond freedom and dignity.

Have thoughts on this topic?  Leave a comment below! 

Five Fabulous Quotes from Women Who Shaped Development

In honor of International Women's Day on March 8th, we want to share five of our favorite quotes from women who shape development or shaped the development of others in their lifetime.  We hope you enjoy!

Have a favorite quote?  Comment below!

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How to Learn to Pivot through Failure

I am reading Kristen Hadeed's book, Permission to Screw Up: How I Learned to Lead by Doing Everything Wrong.  This book has really helped me reflect the last week on how I've developed my own leadership skills through various failures.

As a child growing up, I have always been a perfectionist.  I had to get perfect grades, and excel in everything I set up for myself as a task.  My first failure hit me hard senior year of high school when I was denied admission to the music school I wanted to attend, to become a concert flutist.  I was devastated.

I entered college my freshman year undecided with the hopes that I could re-audition in the spring for fall entry into the music program.  I studied flute with a doctoral student in the hopes to get better.  In the spring, I auditioned again, and again, another denial.

This was also the time I met my mentor, who brought me in to the field of behavior analysis.  Once I experienced the second failure, I pivoted and focused my attention on becoming a Board Certified Behavior Analyst after support and discussion with my mentor (who was also a classically trained musician, and worked on that skill on the side).  Looking back at this time, I felt like it was the biggest failure, and I would never succeed in life.  What it really taught me was when we come up against challenges, we need to learn to pivot our direction (much like hiking when you come to a block in the path, or a cliff, you must pivot your direction around or away from it), so that we do not drown in our failures.  This lesson has come up for me time and time again throughout my practice and development as a leader in the field.

Pivoting is important because it helps us to re-focus our energy on a new project, or new skill to develop.  At this stage in my development, I don't look at failures as failures, but rather as "triggers" to pivot to a new idea or project.  

Want to hear more about my story?  Here’s a podcast I did with Coaching for Leaders host, Dave Stachowiak!

Have your own "failure" experience to share?  Leave a comment below!

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Why Coaching is Important

In the world of Behavior Analysis, we follow a professional code which guides our performance while working in the field.  Part of this performance describes working within the realm of our competency and training, maintaining our competence through professional development, and supervising others in the field as they gain their credential.

While obtaining my BCBA credential, I had to gain 1500 hours of supervision while working in the field, with 75 of those hours being directly supervised by a supervisory BCBA (this description is not approved or endorsed by the BACB.  Go to www.bacb.com for more information on the BCBA credential).  During this time, I was directly coached by my BCBA mentor as I learned new skills to gain competence in the field.  Post-BCBA certification, this coaching is no longer required, except in instances where there is a behavior change procedure needed where a BCBA is not trained in the protocol.  This training can be acquired through professional development and consultation.

During the course of my certification, I have looked to models outside of our field to gain coaching experience rather than traditional lecture based models of professional development, and have become involved in a few behavior analytic coaching groups that foster training and professional development within our field.  I have found that personally, the models that foster peer interaction, and direct feedback and mentorship from a coach, have developed my skills better than the traditional professional development model of "training."  I think that more research needs to be done to evaluate the effectiveness of these models of professional development overall, but as a personal anecdote, this has been very helpful in developing my skills as a leader and behavior analyst.  As another benefit, these coaching groups have also provided me with peer support.  Sometimes in the field we operate alone, or as executives we find it difficult to connect with individuals that are our direct reports, so these groups have provided social reinforcement as well!

Interested in learning more about Coaching?  Shaping Development developed these groups in the form of our BCBA Supervision and Behavioral Leadership Coaching Groups.

Feel free to check it out!  We hope we can help you shape your development!

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How to Conquer Processes and Scale Your Business

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I have been focused on scaling since I read Michael Gerber's, The E-Myth Revisited, and Verne Harnish's, Scaling Up, but have struggled to put their tips in to action.  This week, I focus on some of their strategies.

For both of my businesses, it is important for me to develop processes that scale, so that I can delegate tasks to individuals within the organization chart.  I focused this week on developing my organization chart for the businesses, and then filled in each role's description or processes.  I then assigned each role with my name so that at least on paper, I can see I am accountable for those processes.  As I worked through this exercise, I could see roles that I could start delegating to other people (hiring a virtual assistant), or tasks that could be delegated for one time jobs (see: www.taskrabbit.com).

Ultimately, as Gerber discusses in his book, the goal of any small business is to create repeatable processes that can scale, and that can essentially be replicated by multiple people.  This can be accomplished by creating processes so that they are clear and simple.  After brainstorming, and researching tools that could help with this, I decided to use ScreenCastOMatic to help with these processes.  Each day this week, I turned on the program, and screencasted my process as I accomplished the task.  This way, I can break each process down by the organization chart, and share with those I hire along the way.

Have tips to share on scaling businesses?  Leave a comment below!

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The Four Tendencies: A Behavior Analytic Perspective

"The Four Tendencies explain why we act and why we don't act" -Gretchen Rubin

In Gretchen Rubin's new book, The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better (and Other People's Lives Better, Too), she discusses the premise that every human being falls into one of four categories of personality types: The Obliger, The Upholder, The Questioner, and The Rebel.  The Obliger's primary motive is to respond according to what other people want them to do; the Upholder responds according to internal and external events that cause them to "do the right thing," while the Questioner, questions all elements of their environment before they respnd, and finally, the Rebel responds by performing the polar opposite of what someone asks or tells them to do.

From a behavior analyst perspective, on the surface, these categories and explanations of behavior come from a mentalistic perspective, which can lead to circular reasoning ("well I'm an Obliger, so that is why I did that, because I am an obliger;" or "I'm a Questioner so I asked that question, because I am a Questioner.")  Rubin also states in her introduction that the Four Tendencies are innate, and never change (though a few paragraphs later she disputes this argument saying that they can change.)  As behavior analysts (and as Rubin herself also states in those later paragraphs), we know behaviors can change depending on the environmental variables that occur around those behaviors.

So despite our differences, is there a place that we can meet in the middle?  After thinking on it, I think there is a place we can meet, and it is through Relational Frame Theory.

"Human beings seem especially able to abstract the features of such relational responding and bring them under contextual control so that relational learning will transfer to events that are not necessarily related formally but rather are related on the basis of these arbitrary cues (“arbitrary” in this context means “by social whim or convention”). (Hayes, 2004)"

In this book, Rubin is actually creating relational frames of personality types, which to her, can explain human behavior.  As a behavior analyst, these categories are arbitrary, because by looking at the behavior itself performed under each heading, she is categorizing responses by contextual control, or function.  Each of the behaviors or even the "motivation" that surrounds each tendency, can be explained and grouped according to function.  The Obliger engages in behavior to obtain social reinforcement, the Upholder to obtain both social and internal reinforcement, the Questioner engages in behavior to escape a meaningless statement or request (in their perspective), and the Rebel engages in behavior to escape social demands.

Despite our differences, there is real value in this book, especially in Rubin's chapters on "How to deal with (insert personality type)."  In these chapters, she is actually outlining useful behavior intervention strategies, that we can use as parents, teachers, leaders, and managers to shape development and respond to behavior that occurs according to each of these functions.  Some of the strategies in these chapters I have already started to implement within my own life and the behaviors I've encountered, and they are solid behavior intervention strategies backed through research in our field.

References:

Rubin, G (2017). The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better (and Other People's Lives Better, Too). Harmony 

Hayes, S. C. (2004). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Relational Frame Theory, and the third wave of behavioral and cognitive therapies. Behavior Therapy, 35, 639-665.

Have you read the book?  Feel free to leave a comment below!

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Two Ways to Find More Time in Your Day

I often hear the complaint, "But I just don't have any more time in my day!"  or "There is only 24 hours in the day, how can I possibly get everything done?"

Time can be one of our most valuable assets.  One of the major goals I had for myself this year when I planned it out (see How to Plan for This Year's Goals), was to "find more time" in my day where I can be focusing on thinking and writing, rather than running all over.  Three weeks in, and things are not perfect (always room for improvement!), but I have managed to create a system to allow for more time in my day to think, read, and write.  Here's how I did it.

1) "Limit Screen Time": Phone, iPad, TV

There are lots of new movements out there with the rallying cry to limit screen time (see Arianna Huffington's "Thrive" movement).  Part of my ongoing issue with screen time is that I operate 75% off of my phone for marketing on social media, as well as operations through apps.  I have been noticing more tension headaches since the end of last year, so I decided to try to focus on it.  My first attack was to just be more mindful of the time I was on the phone.....that did not work.  I'm a visual person, so then I decided to practice what I preach, and utilize Applied Behavior Analysis strategies (see How to Use ABA to Improve Productivity), and made things visual.  This was accomplished by setting alarms on my phone to remind me mid-day to shut off my phone from 12-2 (Lunch), and then at 8:30pm to shut it off for the night.  I have to say, the annoying alarm worked!  I went from being focused on the phone from 7am-10pm, to having a few more hours in my day where I could unplug and decompress, and allow for time to think and write.

2) Timeblocking

This strategy has taken me more time to do (no pun intended), but I am seeing improvements in using this strategy to where I feel I am seeing more strategic tasks being accomplished.  The concept of timeblocking has been around for awhile.  Cal Newport can be credited with the idea in his book, Deep Work.  My personal strategy for using timeblocking has been to block off portions of my day where I am limiting screen time, and focusing on one specific task.  I have organized my calendar in this way, so that way I know I am busy at that time, and do not overbook myself.  I have also started setting calendar alerts to remind me 15 minutes before that time starts to wrap up what I am doing, and start the new "deeper" work.  This has been extremely helpful because then I am sticking to my commitment.

What other strategies do you use to find more time in your day?  Leave a comment below!

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How to Use ABA to Improve Productivity

"Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is the science, derived from the principles of behavior, applied systematically to improve socially significant behavior."  -Cooper, Herron, and Heward (2007)

With that said, how can we use ABA to increase our productivity in our day to day lives?  The key here is the phrase "applied systematically to improve socially significant behavior."

So what are the "socially significant behaviors" that we need to increase in order to maximize our productivity? This is the first question we should ask, before we come up a productivity plan.  By first defining the behaviors we need to improve, we can then hone in on strategies to increase the occurrence of these behaviors in our everyday lives.

I recently completed this exercise myself at the start of the New Year, and my outline of my goals for my "12 Week Year" (see the blog post, "How to Plan for This Year's Goals").

First, I defined the behaviors I needed to increase (for me, they were: delegating, organizing my current systems, and creating engaging content).  Then I came up with a plan for each that included antecedent strategies to make these behaviors more likely to occur.  Some of these strategies included visual deadlines outlined on my 12WY spreadsheet, downloading and learning social media marketing tools to assist in creating engaging content, and developing task analyses for each of my systems so that I would be able to delegate to staff.

For each of these behaviors, reinforcement is built in to their performance.  By delegating and organizing my systems, I will have access to more time to spend doing more preferred activities in my businesses, or more personal time to meditate and read.  By creating engaging content, hopefully, I will be helping others develop, which for me is a major reinforcer!

Have additional strategies to use ABA to improve productivity?  Leave a comment below!

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Three Steps to Teach Preschoolers to Follow Directions

Guest Post by Jill Fuller, MEd.

There is a myth that applied behavior analysis (ABA) can only be used for individuals with disabilities. Well, I am here to tell you this practice can be used for any individual, in any setting! Additionally, you can use ABA to help with teaching preschoolers to complete adult requests, a task previously thought to be impossible by us mere mortals, the parents of preschoolers. How you ask? Read to find out!

Before getting into how to increase your preschoolers’ completion of adult requests, I must provide some notes.  It should be noted that preschoolers are not expected to be 100% compliant, as it would be dangerous to teach a child to comply 100%, because then you could inadvertently teach them to comply to inappropriate requests from peers or strangers.

Stephenson and Hanley (2010), provides us with some research to support teaching preschoolers to perform adult requests. The results established two conclusions. First, the probability of compliance to requested tasks increases when you use the proximity, position of adult and child, physical contact, and vocal attention. Second, the researchers found that when you pair these with an adult using three-step prompting, the probability of the child performing the requested task is even higher.

Three step prompting can be remembered as “tell, show, do.” 

1) Tell

Step one: provide the preschooler with a request. Then wait three to five seconds to see if the child will perform the request. If the child does, provide positive reinforcement promptly “(I love how you followed my instructions!”). If they do not, move onto step two.

2) Show

Step two: repeat the request, while at the same time modeling or gesturing to what you want the child to do. Again, wait three to five seconds to see if your child completes the request, and if they do, provide reinforcement promptly.  If the child still does not perform the request, move to step 3.

3) Do

Step three: repeat the request, in combination with going over to the preschooler and then physically prompting them to what was requested, an example would be hand over hand. Continue to provide physical prompting until the task is complete.

If you apply these strategies, not only will you be happier, but your child will be as well!

References:

Stephenson, K. M., Hanley, G. P. (2010). Preschoolers' compliance with simple instructions: A descriptive and experimental evaluation. Journal of applied behavior analysis. 43. 229-47. 10.1901/jaba.2010.43-229.

Wilder, D. A., Allison, J., Nicholson, K., Abellon, O. E., & Saulnier, R. (2010). Further Evaluation of Antecedent Interventions On Compliance: The Effects of Rationales to Increase Compliance Among Preschoolers. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 43(4), 601-613. doi:10.1901/jaba.2010.43-601

How to Plan for This Year's Goals

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Back in July of 2017, I took the leap to form Shaping Development, my first venture in owning my own business.  In October of 2017, another opportunity presented itself and I also formed Operant Coffee.  Starting both LLCs took an amazing amount of courage, but thanks to my executive coach, Dave, (see Coaching for Leaders) for introducing me to the concept of The 12 Week Year* by Brian Moran and Michael Lennington, I was able to strategize and organize my tasks into the remaining 12 weeks of the year. 

In special education, the process of breaking larger tasks into smaller tasks is called "chunking."  In behavior analysis, we call it a "task analysis."  Whatever you want to call it, I think the only way I was able to accomplish as much as I did the last three months was by breaking everything down into the 12 Week Year.

The concept of the 12 Week Year is simple.  Ultimately, you break three months of tasks into 12 weeks (or 3 months).  The first 12 weeks are laid out with the tasks per week, and then the 13th week is set aside as a planning week for the next 12 weeks (52 does not evenly divide by 12 :-).  The idea is that instead of focusing on the whole year, which can seem overwhelming, you focus on your goals for 12 weeks at a time, allowing that 13th week for troubleshooting. 

Moran and Lennington have lots of tools to assist you in doing this when you purchase their book/system.  It also can be done simply using an excel spreadsheet as I did, where I just outlined the 12 weeks by date, and divided the sheet up between the two businesses.  As I move forward into the next year, I am spending this week reviewing what I accomplished, and outlining what's next for the next 12 weeks.  I hope that you will also find this system helpful as you move in to the next year!

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How Parents Can Build Social Skills Through Behavior Skills Training

Guest post by: Jill Fuller, MEd.

As a parent, you want to do everything in your power to help your child. The question often becomes how to go about helping them? This question may be more complicated to figure out if you have a child with a developmental disability.

Individuals diagnosed with developmental disabilities often have deficit in social skills. While the clinicians you work closely with try and improve your child’s social skills they may have trouble improving this deficit because their access your child is limited to how many hours of services per week they see your child. The clinician can only expose the individual to a limited number of environmental settings. However, it is important for your child to practice the social skills they learn in different environments and circumstances, and with variety of people. This is where parents can really be wonderful facilitator in their child’s treatment. Parents are with their child in novel settings, situations where the parent can help facilitate acquisition.

A proven and researched method that parents can use to improve social skills is social skills training. While there are many types of social skills training, one proven intervention that increases social skills is a multicomponent treatment package, sometimes known as behavioral skills training (BST). BST is comprised of four components: instructions, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback.

1) Instruction

During the instruction component of BST, it is important that directions be understandable and specific.  A parent can do this by providing a rationale for why the skill is important. For example, one such rationale may be “it is important to say, ‘excuse me’ so others know you want to get by and can move over.” Other ways a parent can insure their instructions are understandable and specific are to state all the steps to complete the skill either visually or vocally, and then have their child demonstrate understanding by asking questions about the instruction, or receptive directions (i.e. “Find the card that says “My turn.”)

2) Modeling

The modeling phase of BST allows your child to have several chances to view you perform the desired skill. There are five methods that can be use during the modeling phase to make sure your child benefits from modeling.  First, say that you will be modeling the skill while they observe. Next, verbally describe a scenario, or physically set up a scenario where your child will need to use this skill. For example, “you are on the playground you want to play with a friend.” The parent then follows the scenario by modeling the correct, and if appropriate developmentally incorrect, behaviors. To make sure your child is clear on what steps were done correctly the parent should explain what steps were shown correctly. Finally, allow time your child to ask any questions they might have.

3) Rehearsal

During the third component of BST, the rehearsal phase, your child will practice the skill being taught. They should be told directly that it is now their turn to practice the skill. The parent then verbally describes a scenario, or physically sets up a scenario where they need to use the skill, and your child can practice the steps and skills previously modeled to them.

4)  Feedback

The fourth, and final component, is feedback phase. During this phase it is important that the feedback is given quickly after your child’s rehearsal; in the best-case scenario within ten seconds. This feedback should include at least two positive comments. The feedback should contain more praise then correctives. Finally, if your child skipped a step during the rehearsal phase the parent should repeat that step and return to the rehearsal phase.

References:

Dogan, R. K., King, M. L., Fishetti, A. T., Lake, C. M., Mattews, T. L., & Warzak, W. J. (2017).  Parent-implemented behavioral skills training of social skills. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 50 (4), 805-818.

Miles, N. I., & Wilder, D. A. (2009). The effects of behavioral skills training on caregiver implementation of guided compliance. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 42, 405-410

Stewart, K. K., Carr, J. E., & LeBlanc, L. A. (2007). Evaluation of family-implemented behavioral skills training for teaching social skills to a child with Asperger's disorder. Clinical Case Studies, 6, 252-262.

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Five Skills Of Healthy Teams

Recently, I was asked the question: what are the five components of healthy team behavior?

This question made me think about the teams I have been a member of, managed, and lead.  After much thought, I came up with these five skill sets: organizational skills, functional communication, social skills, problem solving skills, and emotional regulation.

1) Organizational Skills

Organizational skills are essential in teams to make sure key tasks are broken down and defined clearly.  Once this occurs, responsibilities of the team as a whole can be shared, delegated, and everyone is clear of their job and responsibility.  This is also where clearly defined job descriptions and performance expectations are outlined and communicated to all team members.  For assistance in organizing these tasks, see this blog post:  How a Task Analysis Can Transform Your Life.

2) Functional Communication Skills

If there is a want or a need from the team, this is expressed and carried out by leadership.  Leaders of teams should hold 1:1 meetings with team members to make sure their individual wants and needs are being met, but also as a collective whole, giving all team members a safe space to communicate their needs.  For more information on holding 1:1's see this blog post: Four Strategies When Holding 1:1s.

3) Social Skills

Key social skills that need to be displayed by all team members are the following interpersonal skills: eye contact when communicating, polite tone of voice, and making sure there is a safe space for transparency among team members.  Team members should be able to hold conversations with all members of the team, in a healthy team culture.  For more strategies on building a healthy team culture, see this blog post: Two Ways to Build Team Culture.  

4) Problem Solving Skills

Problem solving skills are essential to any team.  These behaviors include conflict resolution when there is discord with team members, but also includes those moments where there is an issue with a client or customer.  It is important to observe and measure how the team works together to problem solve, as opposed to relying on just one team member or a few of the team members to problem solve.  Once these data are collected, team performance goals in this skill set can be created and shaped.  David Marquet's book*,

Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders

is an amazing testament to this as he discussed how he turned his ship, the Santa Fe, into the worst performing ship in the US Navy to one of the best performing ships in the US Navy.  

5) Emotion Regulation Skills

Emotion regulation skills of a team can be defined as providing support to one another when a team member needs assistance in those moments of conflict or in those moments of frustration.  As team members, however; we should keep in mind the larger picture of the team's performance goals, so that in our assistance, or conflict with a fellow team member, we can avoid an escalation in conflict by displaying verbal outbursts or passive aggressive behavior.

Have additional skills to suggest as "healthy team behaviors?"  Leave a comment below!  

*Please Note: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. 

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Two Ways to Build a Team Culture in the Workplace

How can we build team culture in the workplace?  This is a question that comes up often when new leaders take over teams.  Here are two ways behavior analysis can help with this.

1) Define Your Team

The first step to building your team is to define who makes up the team, and what behaviors they will need to perform.  Often, leaders come in to situations where the team has been divided up, either by the tasks they are to perform, or by preference of whom they want to interact with.  In defining your team, you need to know how all of the people who are assigned steps of the operational process (see last week's blog: How a Task Analysis Can Transform Your Life) can work together and perform with direct and clear communication.  It is also helpful to create a mission statement (even if it is an informal one) for your team so that everyone is working towards a common goal.  Often, leaders create this mission without input from team members, but it is helpful to hold one-on-one sessions with team members so that all have a say in the mission (see: Three Questions to Ask When Creating a Mission Statement for further information).

2) Motivate Team Performance

Once the team and the behaviors are defined, now is the time to come up with strategies to motivate the team's performance.  Many organizations use incentive systems of positive reinforcement, where "points" or "bonuses" are tied to specific job behaviors to increase performance.  Leaders should not just use these systems to increase job performance (or use revenue as a method of measurement), but define measures to increase social performance and communication of team members in the workplace.  

Environmental changes can also motivate team performance.  If the organization has a "closed door" culture, encourage open doors, or an open floor plan meeting space with refreshments for employees to take breaks away from their desks and engage in dialogue.  Depending on the budget, team building days where team members can pair up with people they don't normally interact with in an activity outside the office can also help increase communication.  Holding informal lunch meetings can also help to increase dialogue among team members, and as the leader you can invite and facilitate these meetings, but be sure to group participants in groups that normally do not interact, giving them space to engage in open communication with each other.

Have additional strategies to build team culture?  Leave a comment below!

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How a Task Analysis Can Transform Your Life

Picture the following scene.  You are ready for lunch and all you can think about is making a grilled cheese sandwich.  What are all the steps involved in that process?  

1) Locate the bread

2) Locate the cheese and butter

3) Open the bread and take out two slices

4) Spread the butter on both sides

5) Put the cheese on the bread

6) Put the pieces of bread and cheese together, etc.

...well you get the idea. 

In behavior analysis, this process is called a task analysis--and it can transform your life.

When teaching children, we often use task analyses to teach daily living skills such as brushing teeth or handwashing, but most behavior chains (skills that involve multiple behaviors) can be broken down into a task analysis.  This includes organizational behaviors such as standard operating procedures, as well as executive functioning skills such as decision making and problem solving. 

So how can this transform your life?  The biggest way a task analysis can transform your life is by combating that overwhelming feeling you have when you have a large project, or a goal for skill acquisition that you need to shape in a client or staff member.  By breaking the large skill or project into a sequence, a task analysis can help you focus on one step at a time and organize the process.  By breaking it down into small component parts, you can also collect more accurate data to measure skill acquisition, thus giving you information on the specific steps you need to focus on, as opposed to having to focus on the whole large process.

Have a strategy to share on how task analyses have transformed your life?  Comment below!

Want more ideas on skills you can focus on for a task analysis?  Check out our ebooks!

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Six Books to Shape Leadership Development

*Please Note: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. 

People often ask for book recommendations, especially when it comes to shaping leadership development.  To assist, I've compiled a list of six books that have shaped my leadership development, in the hope that you will also find them helpful!

1) Pivot by Jenny Blake

This book came for me at a time that I was experiencing a leadership crisis.  I was feeling burned out as a leader, and I needed to figure out how to "pivot" my role in the organization or in my career.  The guidance in this book helped me to structure my daily activities, and create goals with actionable plans.

2) Deep Work by Cal Newport

As a self-proclaimed "multi-tasker," I wore that label as a badge of honor--a behavior that had been reinforced as I moved along in my career.  This book effectively changed that behavior. Newport discusses the benefit of scheduling blocks of time to limit distraction.  Instead of focusing on many "tasks," the blocks of time are guided by your focus on one task at a time that will have a greater impact on your development as a leader. 

3) Good Authority by Jonathan Raymond

This book is probably the only book that I have purchased for people in my organization who I was shaping into leadership positions.  Though Raymond is not a behavior analyst, he illustrates many principles proven through organization behavior management, and illustrates through his stories, the necessities of effective delivery of feedback.  This was incredibly helpful for me as I was developing my staff in their roles.

4) Bringing Out the Best in People: How to Apply the Astonishing Power of Positive Reinforcement by Aubrey C. Daniels

This book was my first primer in leadership development, as I read it during my Master's program, studying Organizational Behavior Management.  Of particular note, this book was the guiding force behind the "Kudos" system I implemented with my direct reports, to shape their behavior interacting with each other in the workplace.

5) The Five Temptations of a CEO by Patrick Lencioni

This book was the book I wish I read when I first entered a leadership position.  Lencioni tells a tale, in a "Christmas Carol"-style to illustrate behaviors to avoid as a leader, and the simple behaviors we should perform while in those roles.  You should also check out the other titles by Lencioni: Four Dysfunctions of a Team and Death by Meeting.

6) Start With Why by Simon Sinek

This book forced me to look at my narrative as I was addressing my staff.  Instead of focusing on statements such as "We need you to..." and "We have to do x or z," it helped me to think about crafting a narrative for my staff when discussing protocols and instructions, to show the larger picture of why we were doing what we were doing.  This was also the book that helped me narrow down a mission statement for my organization, and to use that mission to guide our "daily huddles."

Have any additional books to add?  Leave a comment below!

 

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