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Cognitive Management: Managing your Organization's Mind

James P. Eicher

Introduction

"If it's not written down, it's not real," a manager emphatically told me. "What exactly do you mean?" I interjected. "Are you talking about project assignments? Reports and presentations? Some type of performance requirement?"

"Well, it really doesn't matter...all I know is if I can't see it, a note or something, it's as if the work didn't really didn't occur, as silly as that sounds. My counterpart down the hall, he can remember everything that's said to him, always talking to his staff. And Sue, she's a doer, always hustling the work she needs to get done and walking her staff through the ropes. Me? I like clear, concise notes and progress reports; something I can look at. The other stuff doesn't work for me."

A bureaucratic requirement for paperwork, or an indication of this manager's cognitive rules? Are stated communication preferences such as these arbitrary and/or capricious? If not, can they influence individuals and organizations in ways that can benefit both? More directly: Does what goes on inside the manager's head influence the management of people, products, services, and organizations?

In this article I will discuss how certain observable behaviors indicate the internal thinking and perceiving, i.e., cognition of managers, and how this information can be used to benefit individuals and organizations in a variety of ways.

Behavioral Styles and Cognitive Styles

It has been customary over the past several decades to characterize leadership and management behavior in terms of styles or types. These typologies have generally fallen under the heading of leadership or behavioral styles. Some well-known examples are: the Blake Mouton Managerial Grid®, Situational Leadership®, and social styles.

Behavioral styles focus on clusters of observable verbal and non verbal behavior that are consistently displayed over time. Each manager, employee, etc., has a main or predominant style, and a secondary, or back-up style. The purpose for learning behavioral styles is two-fold: (1) To determine if a particular set of behaviors (style) is the most effective for accomplishing work tasks and establishing work relationships; and (2) to learn to match another's style for improving work relationships and performance.

The central goal of the leader/manager/employee is to become style versatile or flexible--to be able to recognize and comfortably fit the behavioral style or a person and/or organization to achieve the best work results possible. Research in behavioral styles has been very good at answering the following question: What is a good way for me to approach working with a specific person and/or organization? It has not been a panacea for all of an organization's issues, but has made explicit some of the gray areas of management behavior. Manager's have been able to increase their effectiveness by understanding how their preferred way of behaving influences people and organizations.

But managers do think! Contrary, perhaps to employee's observations! Can we apply knowledge from the cognitive sciences--what goes on inside the manager's head--in ways that can contribute to the effective management of people, products, services, and organizations?

Cognitive styles differ from behavioral styles in the following way: Cognition focuses on observable verbal and non verbal behaviors that indicate internal mental

Behavioral Styles and Cognitive Styles, continued

processes, i.e., thinking, perceiving, decision making, problem solving, etc. Behavioral psychology focuses observable verbal and non verbal behavior without specific reference to the internal mental processes of the individual.

Like behavioral style, aspects of cognitive style are clustered together to form a pattern. But rather than focus on behavioral preferences, cognitive style is based on categorizing the perceptual and information processing preferences which managers use to analyze work tasks, judge other's performance, manage projects, and develop products/services. Developments over the past several decades in linguistics, cognitive psychology, computer science, education, and neurology now allow managers to use the concept of cognitive style in a practical, step by step way.

Knowing your cognitive style provides a powerful augmentation of accepted management and leadership practices, particularly in the context of learning organizations, virtual organizations, developing teamwork, re-engineering business operations and developing knowledge-enabled organizations.

Perceptual Rules and Information Processing

Organizing management behavior around rules of perceptual preference provides tremendous explanatory power. Take Susan for example. She, like most managers, has a voice mail system. Yet she demands that her administrative assistant take all of her calls, including those recorded on voice mail, and write each one down an a standard telephone memo, and then each morning line them up chronologically on the upper right hand corner of her desk. Frank, on the other hand, religiously uses his voice mail system for both sending and receiving messages. And Sam? If he receives a call, he's likely to walk down the hall or to another building and get into a face-to-face discussion, if time and location permit.

In addition to perceptual preferences, another key element of cognitive style is how you process and organize information "in your head" and work environment. One broadly applied model used for understanding information processing preferences is the research on left brain/right brain neurological processing (see Williams, 1983). Much has been researched and written in this area over the past 75 years, and it has vital applications to understanding how individuals think, learn, and behave.

Briefly, left brain patterns of organizing information are indicated by the preference to conduct tasks in a step-by-step manner, pay attention to detail, be concerned about completing tasks in set, fixed time intervals, and the need to know the precise logic behind a job task. Right brain patterns of organizing information are indicated by the preference to conduct many tasks at once, attend to the "big picture/bottom line," complete tasks at inconsistent time intervals, and the need to know the broad theme or general reasoning behind a job task. In Figure 1 on page XX, I refer to left brain patterns of organizing information as vertical, and right brain patterns as lateral, borrowing from the work of creativity author Edward deBono (see deBono, 1970).

In the work world of the manager, these organizing principles are indicated by how the manager wants work tasks completed, e.g., lots of details or the big picture; how communication is conducted, e.g., in depth verbal conversations or a brief "bottom line" overview; or how the work space is organized, e.g., neat, chronologically ordered files, or scattered, spatially ordered piles.

Figure 1 represents a simplified model of cognitive style. It depicts how individuals prefer to receive information regarding learning and attending, how an individual might organize or process the initial information, and then how he or she might prefer to communicate and express what he or she has learned and organized to others.

A Model of Cognition for Management

Figure 1.

Applications

Below are some brief examples of how to use awareness of cognition to improve communication, thinking, problem solving, learning, and teamwork.

Rapport, Performance and Problem Solving

Let's go back to the opening statement by our veteran manager. Was her preference to receive and categorize information from her employee's in a visual, written format arbitrary? Probably not. Chances are she has a (albeit subconscious) preference to receive work-related information in a visual format which caters to her perceptual preference. Similarly, her peer down the hall prefers to talk to his employees to get the scoop on what they are doing and monitor work behavior. And what about their boss? He's a "hand's on" kind of guy, the kind who likes to "get his hands dirty" and get in the "thick of things." He's always walking around, poking his nose into labs, cubicles, and the lunch room. Capricious? Or an indication of perceptual pattern?

These seemingly random and trivial patterns indicate a portion of the cognitive style each of these manager's use. Specifically, these are perceptual preferences each of them has for attending, learning and communicating. Roughly categorized (see Figure 1), perceptual rules are organized around the three major information gathering sensory organs--the eyes (visual preference), ears (verbal preference), and the body (tactile preference). Thus each manager has a cognitive style which reflects visual ("show me"), verbal ("tell me") and tactile ("walk me through it") rules of perception. Once you know the cognitive style of another, you can them match his or her style to maximize the chances of communicating your particular ideas and concepts, and problem solving work tasks.

Briefly, the categorization of perceptual and cognitive preferences by sensory mode was initially categorized by behavioral scientists Virginia Satir, John Grinder and Richard Bandler (see Satir, et. al. 1976). Their model emphasizes understanding the sensory preferences individuals demonstrate in their thinking and behavior, and matching sensory preferences to develop cognitive rapport. Others such at Howard Gardner (see Gardner, 1985) have expanded both the research and applications of understanding different types of learning and thinking processes.

So do you manage by memo (MBM--visual)? Manage by phone (MBP--verbal)? Or manage work by walking around (MBWA-tactile)? Each of these particular ways of managing information is systematic and changeable through skill practice. The manager who stays locked in the office and glued to the phone; the manager who passes notes and memos; and the manger who walks and observes may be captive to his or her own perceptual preferences. Rapport can be developed, problems more easily solved and performance enhanced when cognitive styles are understood, matched, and communicated to others.

Communication and thinking can be improved by understanding how others perceive the world and conceptualize work. Conscious knowledge of cognitive styles allows individuals to develop flexible responses to communication based on objective criteria and not "personality", leading to a more effective use of an individuals skills and competencies.

Cognition provides the skills and competencies to develop rapport with others, and creatively solve problems based on mutually understood thinking styles.

Applications, continued

Learning Styles and Learning Organizations

When designing your work place for continuous improvement and learning, it is necessary to know the learning style of the individuals, managers, customers, suppliers, etc., in order to operationalize the learning organization. Knowing and instructing in a broad, flexible "menu" of learning styles assists the learning organization with adapting to change and new information.

A clear example of this is in the areas of employee and customer training. Each employee and customer has an optimal learning style, for example, when learning new computer software.

Some learn best by watching the images, text, and icons on the screen. Memory and retrieval is such that the act of looking stimulates bother comprehension and retention (a visual learning style).

Some individuals learn easiest by verbal explanation, question and answer, and real time conversation about the mechanics of the program. The words and description of the steps and concepts are sufficient for comprehension, memory retention, and problem solving (a verbal learning style).

Finally, some individuals learn best by doing "hands on" work, and must sit at the keyboard, practicing and getting a "feel" for how a program works. In this case, the sensori-motor act of using the computer is necessary to enable memory and comprehension of computer skills (a tactile learning style).

Each work practice has associated with it a learning curve which is a measure of how quickly an individual learns a given task and becomes productive. Conscious application of learning styles can speed up the learning process, making individuals productive more quickly, and potentially improving work accuracy and quality.

Note! There are obvious applications of cognition for individuals in training and development. Formal classroom lectures, when augmented by the use of concrete models and visual aids, are usually very effective and engage the learner on many level. Many of the "creative training techniques" practitioners use in training are based on cognitive techniques.

In summary, providing each learner with the optimal style will increase both the speed of learning and the amount of retention.

Cognition is the technology which facilitates the understanding and practice of learning.

Virtual Teams and Virtual Organizations

In the process of re-organizing and re-engineering organizations, more and more leaders are relying on a "virtual" structure to maximize efficiencies and costs. Briefly, virtual organizations are characterized by their shifting locations and involvement of remote employee sites, the temporary time frame of a job which is focused on the successful completion of a project or task, and the cross-functional job knowledge and flexibility of employees. The virtual structure demands that the leader/team members manage the flow of information--around the globe--extremely well.

Applications, continued

Virtual Teams and Virtual Organizations, continued

A clear example of this is when world-wide remote operations must be managed to optimize price, costs, research and development, manufacturing quantities, and speed-to-market delivery of a product. The main link or linchpin in this setting is the ability to secure and deliver the correct information: interpersonal, financial, and technical. Deliberately developing the most efficient ways to process the information and problem solve issues--by conference call (verbal), electronic mail (visual), or face-to-face negotiation and relationship building--(tactile) optimizes the results.

Using the most appropriate means of electronic communication can ensure product/service success when approached as a conscious, step-by-step management tool.

When assembling and developing teams, it is important have a mix of cognitive styles to ensure balance and creativity. Many times individuals are on teams which they describe as unproductive and conflict ridden, or synergistic and dynamic, where all members are a "good fit." But teambuilding is often a hit or miss proposition, where the results are not predictable, and the construction based too much on intuition. Objectively knowing about the requirements of a cognitive task and matching up team members by cognitive style can take much of the guesswork out of teambuilding and enhance productivity through smooth development.

Cognition provides the technology to effectively and deliberately manage decisions in virtual organizations where information is the key commodity linking products, services, and individuals.

Creating Knowledge-enabled Organizations

As organizations seek to re-engineer and re-organize business processes, the need to assess knowledge-based performance has become critical. Accurate assessment of knowledge-based performance can allow organizations to better distribute resources, reduce business cycle time, enrich decision-making, and realize fiscal performance gains (see Quinn, et. al. 1996).

But what is knowledge-based performance? And how can cognitive psychology be applied? Knowledge-based performance involves analyzing the value-added processes and procedures of individuals in an organization, and determining which processes and procedures are critical to the organization's success. For example, this may involve developing an innovative biotechnology process for creating new types of drugs, or determining which of your company's best practices contribute to overall productivity and quality, or developing a corporate-wide data base that permits every individual in a company to share knowledge, experience and information about customers, products and procedures.

The common thread which links these examples is determining the individual and organization knowledge "assets" that allow organizations to create new products and services. Key to this will be cataloging the core competencies of an organization, and assessing the cognitive knowledge, skills and motivational habits of those who contribute to the organization's success.

Cognition provides models and processes for understanding knowledge-based transactions, and determining the intellectual assets of an organization.

Summary: Managing Your Organization's Mind

This discussion of cognition suggests a fresh analysis of organizations and a new set of tools to do the job. Understanding cognition and other information system psychologies will help managers and individual contributors to accurately value knowledge, improve learning and communication, and lead to less hierarchical, more team-based organization structures. The following premises underlie a cognitive approach to managing organizations:

•Knowledge and knowledge only produces goods and services.

•Information is the primary commodity of all business and management transactions.

•Organizations are living, thinking, information processing systems.

•Worker are primarily learners--THEREFORE the function of management is instruction and development.

•How you organize your thinking is how you organize your work unit.

Managers tend to create a work environment that reflects the type of information they prefer to attend to, their preference for organizing the information, and their preference for work output. But managers need to break out of their habitual ways of thinking and decision making in order to more effectively manage in the information age. The cognitive sciences can help managers be flexible to design more efficient processes that take into account information from the total organization--suppliers, customers, partners, etc.

Cognitive management and behavioral management, together, offer new tools for leaders to effectively manage today's information driven organizations. The flexibility and versatility gained when using conscious--as opposed to simply intuitive--knowledge of cognitive style allows an individual to improve communication and thinking in a deliberate--and enjoyable!--manner.

References

deBono, Edward. Lateral Thinking. Harper and Row: New York, 1970.

Eicher, James. Making the Message Clear. Metamorphous Press: Portland, OR, 1987, 1993.

Eicher, James, John Jones, and William Bearley. The Neurolinguistic Communication Profile. Organization Design/Development: King of Prussia, PA, 1990.

Gardner, Howard. Frames of Mind. New York: Basic Books, l985.

Quinn, James, Philip Anderson, and Sydney Finkelstein. "Managing Professional Intellect." Harvard Business Review, March-April, 1996

Satir, Virginia, John Grinder, and Richard Bandler. Changing with Families. Science and Behavior Books: Palo Alto, CA, 1976.

Senge, Peter. "The Learning Organization Made Plain." Training and Development Journal, October, 1991.

Williams, Linda. Teaching for the Two-sided Mind. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1983.

James Eicher is the creator of Cognitive Management, a theory of management which applies research from the cognitive sciences to organization and management behavior. Jim is also co-author, with John Jones and William Bearley, of the learning instruments The Neurolinguistic Communication Profile; Rapport: Matching and Mirroring Communication; Post-Heroic Leadership: Managing the Virtual Organization and The Conflict Style Profile: Managing Resolution Through Communication Reframing.

Jim has taught numerous seminars for Xerox, Nortel, Northrop Corp., Sony, The Los Angeles Times, Simon and Schuster, Reuters, Chevron, Symantec, Intel, Levi Strauss, and Abbott Labs, among others. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Theoretical Linguistics for the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a Master's degree in Educational Psychology from UCLA.

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