Random Thoughts

Managing your team through unique learning styles

Posted on by
Reply

So here’s the next piece of the puzzle and what I feel is by far the most important part: Learning Styles.

So as we’ve experienced so far, there are a number of axes that you can categorize people’s perceptions as well as reflections, so how do you categorize these people on a limitless number of possibilities? Well, the 4Mat System puts these people into 4 individual classes based on the way they ask for help, and each person favors at least one particular type:
Why?
People that learn with their imagination. They feel, watch, seek association, meaning and involvement. The key question that they ask is ‘Why?’.
What?
This is an analytical style of learning. They listen and think about information. They seek facts and problem solve, working through ideas using expert opinions. The key question that they ask is ‘What?’.
How?
These people use their common sense. They think and do; testing, experimenting, creating and build processes. They tweak and tamper to find the optimal way. The key question they ask is ‘How?’.
If?
Learning from reactions. These people do and feel, seeking out the hidden possibilities and exploring. They often approach using trial and error. The key questions they ask is ‘If?’.

So try to categorize yourself. Think about where on the axis you fit. Then look at someone in your workplace that you may or may not get along with. I think if you can categorize them into this pattern, you’ll understand a lot more about them, and I think your relationship will improve dramatically…

Learn how to use Website Strategies for Lead Generation.

Human processing and the scale between reflection and action

Posted on by
Reply

Human processing can occur in an infinite variety of ways, as every person is different. What people do with the information they receive can be scaled on an axis between reflection and action.

Reflection is the structuring and ordering of information and transforming it.

Action is how people apply these ideas by testing, doing and manipulating them.

The degree to which people sit on this axis depends on how much thought goes into the preparation and planning of carrying out the action, or whether they carry out the action at all. This classification will often slide along the axis as the person learns to react to different and varying situations.

Learn how to use other Website Strategies for Lead Generation.

The 4Mat System and how we perceive

Posted on by
Reply

So here’s my next entry for the 4Mat System. This covers how we perceive something that has been handed to us. Human perception, the way we take and compute the data given to us, can take on an infinite number of forms, but these forms range between two very distinct classifications:

  • Experience: whereby we recount our sensations, emotions and past physical memories. This format allows us to visualize how we intend the outcome to take shape.
  • Conceptualization: whereby we build on ideas, language and systems. This format lets us use an abstract approach to create how we intend the outcome to take shape.

The interplay between the visualization of feeling and the creation through thinking allows the person to connect their own values to their perceptions.

So what end of the spectrum are you? How do you interplay your experience and put your own edge on a piece of work? This is a way of separating the doers from the strategic thinkers.

Learn how to use other Website Strategies for Lead Generation.

The 4Mat System and how I hope to use it in my small business

Posted on by
Reply

So I went to a meeting this week to discuss our marketing and be held accountable for my goals of the month. The goal I had in mind was to hold my employees accountable for their own work and have them feel rewarded when they complete something and badge it as their own. The response from my peers was outstanding; all seemingly experts in this field.<!–more–>

They told me about the 4Mat System. This system isn’t necessarily for holding people accountable, but instead helps me delegate work more effectively so that my employees can understand their goals. It is all about how my employees perceive a task, process, learn and then assess their own work.
So the system is basically divided into four quadrants:
  1. Why am I doing the task?
  2. What is the task?
  3. How do I do the task?
  4. What if I do the task?
In my next few posts I’m going to read a lot more on the 4Mat System and let you know my insights. I’ll then follow up with more information on how this system has or hasn’t worked in helping me effectively delegate work and how rewarded my staff feel.