People Are Naturally Creative, Resourceful and Whole; Paradoxes and Complexity

Originating with Carl Rogers (founder of the humanistic approach to psychology) in the 1960s, the idea of “naturally creative, resourceful and whole (NCRW)” has become fundamental to professional coaching. But what does this mean? Is it a way to approach a coaching client? A perspective/belief about people? Or a fundamental truth about humanity? Let’s look at each of these, which I think will surface the paradoxes within.

ONE: Holding people as NCRW is an important way to approach a coaching client. To me, this fundamentally means that they have their own answers and it is not the coach’s job to give advice or fix things for them. It also means that, unlike therapists, coaches don’t diagnose their clients. We don’t label people, put them in boxes, or assume we know who they are or what is best for them. Powerful stuff and often revolutionary for the client. Humans are so used to giving and receiving advice that to be asked to tap into our own creativity and resourcefulness can really turn our heads around. And when we are asked, rather than told, we have to look within to find depths of ourselves we often were not previously aware of.

The science of this one is strong. Social science has shown that when we are treated as having autonomy and wisdom, we generally rise to the occasion. Neuroscience shows asking people what they want to do activates a “toward” state in the brain, lighting up areas associated with creativity, learning, and openness.* We want this in our coaching clients, because these are the ingredients for change. Also, when we hold them NCRW and they need to find their own answers, we are activating their neural networks and creating positive neuroplasticity. As one of my coaching students once said to me “Holding people as NCRW means the light bulb needs to go off in their head, not mine!”

TWO: People are NCRW is a perspective/belief. This aspect carries the coaching view into day-to-day life. When we operate from this belief, we treat those around us as having their own answers and their own direction. For example, having learned this concept when my son was about four, I did my best to raise him from this perspective. When people asked me what that meant to me as a parent, I said it was a few things. One, his accomplishments are his, not mine. Two, his failures are his, not mine. Three, he has the right to make his own age-appropriate decisions based on what he wants for his life. Four, my job as a parent is to help him get the information and experiences necessary to make those decisions. Five, I am always here for him as one of his key resources to call on, and he knows that.

Holding this perspective about most people in my life not only makes them feel more empowered (I hope), it saves me from carrying the world’s weight upon my shoulders. I don’t need to take on other’s problems, but, just like with my son, I can be a resource for my friends to help process and sort things out. And honestly, I prefer being treated this way by the people around me as well. I like when my people assume I am NCRW–most of the time. Which brings us to the third point.

THREE: People are NCRW is a fundamental truth about humanity. Ok, things get sticky here in my opinion. Because you know what? As powerful as this is as way to hold coaching clients and even a perspective to live from, I don’t see it as a fundamental truth. The science simply doesn’t hold up. Carl Rogers proposed this as his belief about people, not his research-based findings. And back to the first and second points, it is a lovely, powerful and even revolutionary belief most of the time. But it’s a belief, and that is different from a verified truth.

In my opinion, coaches (as well as many spiritual folks) tend to take this as an absolute truth. People are NCRW. They are all capable of change and growth. They just need to be held in love, given a chance, supported, asked the right questions, etc. Carl Rogers certainly believed this,** but the data does not support it. (Which is, I have to say, kind of sad.)

What do I mean by the data not supporting this? Well, for example, there are personalities who are so disrupted by childhood experiences and/or genetic heritage that they don’t have the a) the motivation and b) the ability to grow and develop. (See The Broken Mug Metaphor.) And honestly, we don’t need to diagnose folks to recognize this. We can look at their behavior. Are they typically conflictual and defensive? Do they always play the victim card and seem to be unable to take any responsibility? Do they act entitled? Are they habitually unable to regulate their emotions? Do they consistently fail to honor promises? When we are dealing with someone who displays these characteristics most of the time, real, sustained change is highly unlikely (and these, by the way, are core traits of people who score high in narcissism).

People who specialize in treating those high in narcissism (if and when they even seek treatment, which is rare because they typically don’t see themselves as the problem), such as Dr. Ramani Durvasula, say that in order for these folks to truly heal, grow and change, it would take an almost superhuman effort. Years of therapy and the kind of self-reflection, taking responsibility, and understanding of having an internal locus of control that is completely foreign to their personality type– as well as the way they have constructed the world. Is it possible? Yes, with years of work. Is it likely? No.

There are other mental health issues that also call into question the idea of everyone being NCRW, such as schizophrenia, severe depression, debilitating addiction, etc. Maybe in these cases the useful question is, in what way is this person NCRW? (Also a great question for parenting.)

And what about the rest of us? Are we always NCRW no matter what? I’m not. Sometimes I can’t see what is going on right under my nose, and I need my people to point it out, not just ask me what I think I should do. It’s rare, but sometimes I honestly need someone to jump in with some home truths and unsolicited advice. And yes, we can parse words here, but in terms of the idea that I have my own answers, I don’t always.

For example, there was the time I found myself in an abusive relationship and, like many targets, couldn’t see it. I kept telling myself it was getting better, it wasn’t so bad, he was doing his best, etc. My friends could see it though. But because they are all coaches, bless them, they just kept supporting me in my choices. Finally, one day in frustration my business partner said “You’re bringing your bad relationship into our relationship!” and it was like a bucket of cold water over my head. I woke up. I remember thinking in that moment, “Holy shit, she’s right. I do have a bad relationship! I’m one of those people with a bad relationship. I’m living in a delusion.” I treasure that moment.

FOUR (Bonus): We can hold a paradox between people being NCRW on the spiritual level and being NCRW on the human level. This one is a personal favorite and the way I resolve the paradox sometimes. As a deeply spiritual person, there is part of me that wants so badly to believe in the goodness of all people. And yet, I now realize that this belief is a bit naive and was even part of what kept me stuck in a relationship with an abusive man. So human level sometimes means giving up on people because they are just not honestly committed to (or capable of) real change. We need to have good boundaries with some people who don’t treat others well and are not devoting their energy to creating a better world. And we can still hold them in love on the spiritual level, understanding that perhaps they still are NCRW, but only on a soul level.

And thus, this is my best attempt at understanding both the power of NCRW and the paradox of what it may truly mean.

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* For example, see: A Case Study of the “Pygmalion Effect”: Teacher Expectations and Student Achievement, https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1066376.pdf and Coaching With Compassion Lights Up Human Thoughts https://sites.bu.edu/ombs/2010/11/21/coaching-with-compassion-lights-up-human-thoughts/

**A good article on Carl Rogers’ views can be found here: https://www.simplypsychology.org/carl-rogers.html

Honoring Brilliance, Respecting Wisdom

Scrolling through Facebook this morning, I saw some heartfelt thoughts from a friend on her sadness at the division between Millennials and Boomers, and it made me think (as many things do) of the power and magic of integration — this time between the generations.

Honoring Brilliance

Allow me, for a minute, to go to the brain. Our wonderful Prefrontal Cortices, which give us access to empathy, long-term planning and direction, abstract thinking, delaying gratification, and so on, are still developing well into our twenties. (When exactly can vary from person to person, with men maturing more slowly on average. Some say 25 is a safe bet, but it can be anywhere from 21 to 30.) The connections between mid-brain areas are gaining in stability, and we have a far greater ability to manage our emotional experience (aka predictions) as we enter our mid- to late twenties. Decision-making becomes more rational, empathic, and thoughtful.

But here’s the kicker–this time of development is also one of our most brilliant. The ability to make astonishing connections, come up with new ideas, innovate, and think creatively is high. This is likely because the brain’s grey matter increases during childhood and peaks in early adolescence. Part of what we know as prefrontal cortex development is actually a function of a process known as synaptic pruning, where the brain literally gets rid of connections that aren’t used, as well as the laying down of the myelin sheath, which strengthens neural connections so they are stronger and more reliable. In other words, young people’s brains have a ton of potential in terms of ways of thinking, while the more mature adult brain has done its pruning, laid down a great deal of myelination, and has its patterns of thought reinforced over years of use. (See neuroplasticity for more on this subject.)

I’ve seen this in action directly with my own millennial, at the time of this writing a senior in college and a Philosophy major, like his mom (back in the day). As we talk about what he is reading and pursuing, I find myself struggling to keep up, and not just because I don’t remember what I read 30 years ago. Even when he explains what he is thinking completely and carefully, there is a quickness of connection lacking in me, one that I know I had at his age. I remember being able to dance at the top of those tall trees, making subtle and astonishing arguments and parsing through a dense paper seeking truth when my brain was younger and more flexible.

Respecting Wisdom 

But my brain honestly works differently now. That quick lightness of thought and connection has been replaced with–I think the best word for it is–wisdom. Part of this wisdom is an increased aspect of intuition (which we believe is a system of interrelated factors that give us below-conscious-processing insight and knowledge), arising from what I have experienced. At this age, my brain can find patterns between the experiences of 54 years, quickly having a sense of what may be going on. Researchers call this “contextual intuition.” I think of it as a storehouse of micro-memories that the brain accesses below conscious awareness to help us recognize patterns. This aspect of intuition explains why a doctor who has spent 20 years treating tropical diseases may see a new patient and immediately “know” what is ailing them, while a new intern needs to look up all the symptoms.

My brain is also more patient at this age. I find myself willing to wait to see how things play out, to trust that I don’t have to know everything right now, and even that there are many things I will never know. The adolescent brain is on a track to make sense of everything–this is its job, after all. But not all is readily apparent, and wisdom shows us that sometimes patience is the best strategy, knowing what needs to unfold will do so with time.

Wisdom also has given me a better sense of when I am operating from my emotional experience and when I am thinking things through, while the adolescent and young adult brain can be carried away emotionally without realizing it. And I should add that learning NOT to say or write things sometimes unfortunately did not happen when I magically turned 25. I am still learning this, but it’s easier and I have more awareness of what is happening than when I was in my teens and early 20s.

Lastly, I think my brain is more integrated. This is strictly a hypothesis, but from observing my own son, his friends, and others’ children, it seems to me that the prefrontal cortex develops somewhat asymmetrically. In the right hemisphere, we tend to have more empathy and human relationship skills, while in the left we have more of the planning and sequencing aspects. My own left hemisphere was on a bit of delay–I honestly didn’t have much access to focus and direction until about age 27, while I had empathy and concern for others from a much younger age. My son was the opposite–he was able to plan and execute from early adolescence, but understanding others begin to develop a bit later. Wisdom–and great leadership–comes with the ability to do both.

Integration

And so, once again, as I said above, I find myself thinking about integration. I am astonished and want to nurture all the brilliance of our world’s young people. After all, these are the brains figuring out how to make biodegradable plastic out of banana peels and clean up the oceans with a giant vacuum cleaner. They deserve our respect. Yay young brains!

AND, I want to give due respect to the wisdom of the older brain. Nothing can replicate true context, patience, emotional regulation and dual-hemisphere processing. It has to be experienced for oneself, and grown over the course of a lifetime.

So why have a war? When the young brains feel honored and the older ones respected, we can partner in leadership and together make an even bigger difference in the world.

For more on this topic, see Dr. Dan Siegel’s book Brainstorm: the power and purpose of the teenage brain.

Four Ways to Parent Above the Line

In honor of the start of the 2017-2018 school year, yourcoachingbrain is taking a break from coaching to focus on the challenges of parenting. 

Maybe it’s the start of another school year or the fact that my son at age 21 is now “officially” an adult, but I have been thinking a lot about parenting lately. Particularly in terms of how we both survived – and even thrived – during his teenage years.

And we didn’t have the easiest time at first, to be honest. At age 13 he went through an international move and his parent’s divorce. One day we’re living on 50 acres overlooking the Pacific ocean in Costa Rica and he’s going to a six-student supervised home school, and the next we’re back in Minnesota and he’s starting eighth grade at a huge junior high and splitting his time between two suburban houses with parents trying to figure out the next chapter of their own lives. Whew.

It wasn’t, shall we say, smooth sailing. My son and I bickered and yelled at each other, we hurt each other’s feelings, and we all too often missed the point of what the other really needed and was asking for. Understandable in a young teen, but I wanted to do better as an adult. And yet, it seemed no one could trigger me quite like he could, and I would lose my cool again and again. I was NOT being the mom I wanted to be and I wasn’t proud of myself. Nor did I find I was enjoying parenting—my son and I had always been incredibly close, and now I couldn’t figure out how to connect. A likable, easy-going kid had turned unpredictable and often volatile. Luckily, about this time, I started studying neuroscience, understanding the brain, and slowly (very slowly, to be honest) seeing a way forward. Here are few things I learned.

1) Don’t Expect Teenagers to Be Rational. Except When They Are. During the teenage and young adult years the highest brain, the prefrontal cortex, is finishing its development. Neural connections are being strengthened, and pathways deemed less important or unnecessary are pruned so that signal strength is stronger in others. (Hormonal surges play a role in this, not only in the development of secondary sex characteristics.)

I think of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) as the executive director of the brain. It doesn’t run everything, but it manages and/or connects to many of our most critical functions. For example, a fully “online” PFC is capable of thinking things through, delaying gratification, remembering things, holding abstractions, and understanding how others think and feel.

For a teenager and young adult with a developing PFC, two things happen. One, some of these things may not yet be really operational, and in my own experience (note, this is anecdotal, I haven’t researched it), it goes in rough categories. On the one hand, some kids tend to get the empathy side of things while the logical planning and thinking things through eludes them longer. This was my own experience. I had difficulty making and following plans or focusing on long-term goals until my mid to late 20s. But I could understand others from a much younger age and was the go-to “counselor” with family and friends even before I hit my teen years. On the other hand, some have real focus and ability to work towards long term goals early on, while connection to feelings (their own and others) may be less developed. This was my son, who decided in eighth grade he would be valedictorian and never wavered from that academic path (and so he was, by the way). But when I asked him at 14 how he felt about moving from Costa Rica, he literally responded, “What are these feelings of which you speak?” However, later in his teen years he began have a deeper understanding of his friends, and now we regularly talk about how he feels.

The second thing that happens is that the process of developing these aspects is erratic. One day they may exhibit great concern for and interest in you, the next be totally and completely self-focused. One day they may rationally and logically plan for their future and the next do a completely stupid and self-destructive thing.

And so one of the things that really helped me as a parent is not to expect my son to be at a different place developmentally than where he was – and to have a great deal of patience with the up and down nature of this. In other words, frame my expectations for who he was being in the moment, with the understanding that it was like a spring weather system in Minnesota, highly changeable. So take an umbrella just in case.

Visit here for more on the prefrontal cortex. 

2) If You Honor Their Brilliance it’s Easier to Share Your Wisdom. The paradoxical thing about our wonderful prefrontal cortices is that at the same time they in the late stages of development, they are also at their best. The neural connections are fresh and there are more of them. Thinking in new ways is natural, because the pathways we establish with repetition and reward are not as well-worn as they are in later years. And so, it is natural that powerfully creative and innovative thinking comes from young people. This deserves to be nurtured, celebrated, expected and rewarded.

I think of the countless deep conversations I had with my son during his high school years. One of the parenting blessings of being trained as a coach was the ability to listen with curiosity and ask questions that helped him understand his own thinking, rather than jumping in with my solution. There were times I could almost literally see the neurons firing and connecting in his brain as he pondered some important issue out loud and I managed to restrain myself and really listen. As I realized more and more his capacity for subtle thinking, I even brought him challenges I was encountering in my neuroscience studies and was astounded by his ability to help me make sense of things. His neurons were often simply quicker and more creative than mine!

At the same time, there is an important role for the wisdom we accumulate through experience. We learn, for example, that much of life isn’t black and white, that emotions tend to rule logic, and that humans are endlessly complex. I found that the more I honored and respected my son’s brilliance, the more open he was to my wisdom. One of the ways I know we got through the teenage years ok is that he now calls me from college to get my perspective and advice. Yay!

Visit here for more on neuroplasticity.

3) Design Your Relationship (When You Are Both Calm). My son and I had a really bad dynamic when he was about 14 and 15. He’d get upset and angry about something and I would react. We’d both go to a state that Dan Goleman (of emotional intelligence fame) dubs an “amygdala hijack.” In other words, both of our PFCs would be very much offline, and all that was available to either of us was fight, flight, or freeze. It didn’t matter at that point whether his upset was rational, we were just two reactions bumping against each other. My son tends to be a fighter by nature, while I am more of a fleer. This sometimes meant him following me around the house trying his best to engage me in an argument while I just wanted to get the heck away. It was, to be honest, awful.

Because of my neuroscience studies, at some point I realized what was actually happening and that I could do nothing productive in the middle of the hijack. So one day when we were at dinner and all was calm and connected, I said, “You know, hon, sometimes it seems like we get into a bad dynamic and I get triggered and reactive. When this happens, my natural response is to want to get away, and I sense this is frustrating for you because you want to talk to me about something. But if you can give me ten minutes or so to calm down, I think I can talk about whatever it is you want to discuss. Could we try this?” (My idea was, of course, that in the time I was on my own calming down, he would be as well, but this framing of the issue as mine would be easier for him to take than me pointing a finger at his reactive state.)

This changed everything for us. Not right away, and not perfectly, because we would still both get triggered, but it gave us a tiny handhold on the mountain to pull ourselves up to a higher state. I’d remind him of our agreement as calmly as I could (not at all calmly in the beginning) and he’d persist a bit, but over time he started to let go more and more quickly. It sometimes helped when I reiterated that I WOULD discuss whatever he was upset about, I just needed a few minutes.

Funny thing is, I actually don’t remember ever actually talking about the issue, because I guess by the time we both got our PFCs back online, there really wasn’t one.

Visit here for more on having an amygdala hijack. 

4) Be the Person You Want Face in the Mirror. Your young person’s brain is wiring in patterns for life, and part of creating this wiring is how the people around them respond. If you can work (and work and work) at remaining reasonably calm in the midst of stress and their age-appropriate irrationality, lack of preparation, self-focus and poor decisions, you help their brains wire for emotional intelligence.

To me, this is a thoughtful balance of speaking up, letting go, and trust. When my son was unkind I did my best to say “it’s not ok to talk to me like that,” or some version thereof, and then let it go, trusting that this was part of his development. Same with other developmental areas, such as thinking ahead. When he got stuck his sophomore year without a summer job, I did my best to first help him find some sort of solution, then worked with him around what would have been a better strategy so that he had more conscious awareness for the next year, let it go and helped him financially that summer, and trusted he would develop this skill. The next year I just checked in a couple of times and when it was clear he had really learned from the past year, told him I was proud of him and let it go.

The speaking up honors my own values and keeps me active in the game. It also serves as a reminder of where we want the neural patterning to develop. The letting go honors where the young person is and what they are capable of right now, and the trust honors that what is happening is a developmental process.

One caveat to all of this parenting is that not all brains are what we would call “neurotypical.” Humans come with a wide array of challenges and gifts, and parenting some kids is honestly harder than others. But they all have things to help us discover in our own development as well. I often would refer to my son as my Zen master, especially during those early high school years. People would think I meant he was very calm and wise. “No,” I’d say, “he’s more like one of those Zen masters who hit you over the head with a 2×4 and see how you respond. He is master of teaching me patience, perspective and love.”

He’s also one of my most favorite human beings in the world, and I am ever grateful for what I’ve learned with, from and because of him.

 

BEabove Leadership offers a two-day communication workshop, the Seven Levels Human Relationships Program, focused on increasing connection and decreasing stress in all relationships. We offer practical tools for all relationships (business, romantic and family and friends) based on neuroscience and the Seven Levels of Effectiveness. Join us in the San Francisco December 9 and 10, 2017, and Ottowa Canada spring 2018. http://www.beaboveleadership.com/seven-levels-human-relationships-program/