Updating Helps Us Achieve

The human mind performs many cognitive tasks that control how well we learn, work and manage life.  They aren’t part of IQ or EQ.  These are “executive functions” like self-control, planning, adapting, viewing things from different perspectives, creating new ideas, storing and retrieving information to perform complex tasks, making decisions, using reasoning or logic to solve problems, and much more.  Development of our Executive Functions starts early – some as early as infancy – and matures significantly during the preschool years.  Our Executive Functions continue to develop through adolescence and well into adulthood.  Some studies suggest that Executive Functions may be even more important for academic success than IQ or EQ.  It’s these cognitive processes that help us get things done.  After all, most jobs do not require genius intelligence or deep interpersonal skills, but they do require us to be able to store and retrieve information, solve problems, show up for work on time every day, make decisions, plan and then update plans. Continue reading →

Cognitive Flexibility Boosts Creativity

When we think of a leader who is “flexible”, we think of someone who is able to modify or adjust his thoughts and behaviors to a new, changing or unexpected situation.  All professionals – and definitely all business leaders — must be able to do that.  But actually, when it comes to Executive Functions, this kind of cognitive shifting or adjustment is actually known as “adaptability”.  It’s like the children’s game of “Simon Says.”  When new instructions direct you to jump on your right foot, cognitive adaptability allows you to quickly switch to jumping just on your right foot.  An example of cognitive adaptability is when restaurants began selling all food as take-out when social distancing and government regulations prohibited dining in for customers. Continue reading →

Fluid Intelligence and Problem Solving

Doctors solve health problems by diagnosing the ailment and prescribing a cure.  Computer programmers solve work flow and process problems by finding faster and better ways to accomplish tasks digitally.  Farmers solve environmental problems — such as drought or flooding, pests, erosion, nutrient depletion, etc. — in order to maximize their harvest.  Even jobs that may not seem like they require much problem solving (mail carrier; chef; receptionist) do require problem solving in certain situations.  Problem solving is a commonly-used skill needed in most occupations.  This cognitive ability is part of Fluid Intelligence, and it is one of the most important Executive Functions that individuals possess. Continue reading →

Decisiveness and Decision-Making

How are you at making decisions? Quick?  Slow?  Or do you procrastinate making a decision?  Do you see-saw back and forth, unsure of what to decide?  Decisiveness is the ability to make clear-cut and timely decisions with the appropriate amount of information.  And decision-making is the ability to efficiently and thoughtfully select one option among different choices.   This is a critically important skill for most jobs.  But not everyone is good at making decisions.  This cognitive ability is one of a dozen or so Executive Functions of the human mind.  For some, it comes easier than for others.  Why is that? Research shows that the brain works like a muscle.  It is strongest when it is rested and well fed.  But, when depleted, it becomes less effective.  This is true of many cognitive functions, but especially focus and decision making.  This should be taken into consideration when making decisions.

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Shifting / Adaptability

A very important executive function that individuals must master to be successful is adaptability.  Adaptability is the ability to modify or adjust one’s thoughts and behaviors to new, changing, and unexpected situations.  Today, one might call it the ability to ‘pivot’ when an unforeseen situation arises. Continue reading →

Planning and Prioritizing

How Do You Eat an Elephant?

The old joke asks, how do you eat an elephant? Answer: one bite at a time.  People are told this when they have a huge project to tackle or their schedule is overflowing with too many tasks.  At the heart of this is the challenge of planning and prioritizing. Everyone knows the feeling of being stuck on a big project. It can be overwhelming when we are presented with a task so immense that we anguish over how to tackle it…or procrastinate because it is so overwhelming.  Most people also know the feeling of having to juggle too many tasks at the same time and not being sure how to keep it all going simultaneously. Continue reading →

Planning and Prioritizing

IQ is not the biggest driver of success.  We give very little thought to “how” we think, but it is our cognitive processes that makes us productive, not IQ.  Executive Function skills are self-management skills used to achieve goals.  It’s how we manage our emotions and attention, reflect upon and revise our tactics as circumstances change, and organize and plan our work and time.  These skills are critical for being productive and meeting the challenges of our professional lives.  That is the key distinction between Executive Functions and intellect or IQ.  A person with a high IQ can understand and discuss complex concepts and yet not be able to write an essay, solve problems, or complete a report.  It’s not because they lack intellect.  It’s because they can’t effectively marshal their efforts toward a specific goal. Continue reading →

In his Ted Talk discussing how working memory allows us to make sense of what’s happening right now, educational psychologist Peter Doolittle put it succinctly when he said, “Life comes at us very quickly, and what we need to do is take that amorphous flow of experience and somehow extract meaning from it.”  That is what working memory allows us to do.  Working memory is essential for logic, reasoning, reading, and IQ.  It also plays a crucial role in learning new things, mastering new skills, and generally following directions.  Working memory is also essential for practically any job.  We use working memory to focus our attention, conduct mental math, solve problems, follow directions or instructions, encode and retrieve information into and out of our own long term memory, maintain stamina during complex tasks, and take notes while listening to a presentation or at a meeting. Continue reading →

Working Memory and Success

Behavior is the big, broad term for everything we do.  It’s just a fancy word for action.  And, for most adults, action equals work.  Most people aren’t paid to just think.  They are paid to do.  To act.  So the mental processes we use to control our behaviors or actions are key to the work we produce.  And we control our behaviors in large part through eight major cognitive processes collectively known as Executive Functions.

We use Executive Functions to regulate our own behavior in a multitude of ways.  Make snap decisions.  Ruthlessly prioritize tasks to make better use of time.  Work late on a project even when hungry and tired.  Color-code or organize items in a particular way in a work area.  Stay focused on a task for several hours.  Handle a major setback calmly.  Saving money toward retirement.  These are all examples of people exercising their Executive Functions in controlling their actions. Continue reading →

Impulsivity and Self Control

Executive Functions are a set of eight cognitive processes that are needed for self-regulating our own behaviors.  Executive Functions make it possible to mentally play with ideas; take the time to think before acting; stop an action that isn’t appropriate for a situation; adapting to an unexpected change; meet novel, unanticipated challenges and make quick decisions; resist temptations; and stay focused. Continue reading →