Bill Hendry wrote:
> As someone who worked on an assembly line for a couple of years while
> growing up in Detroit, I can speak for myself that bolting together 400+
> engines per day, 6 days a week was definitely not anything approaching a
> heightened state of awareness!!!!
ALTERED STATES:
I feel the same way about physical exercise. I never have been able to
get into that "flow" that the exercise tapes talk about. The existence
of the "flow" has however, been documented scientifically, even though
it has never worked for me personally. Not to be confused with time
spent or effort expended, I was the pace runner in the army for several
competition runners that did experience it.
The key emphasis here may be for you on the line and for me in the
running, a couple of years was not enough to find that state of mind,
without someone guiding us to it.
PEAK EXPERIENCES, MYTHS TO LOSE BY.
American's were led to the study of the "flow" or "Peak Experience" by
the need to compete with the Soviets and East Germans in the
international games. The whole field of sports and performance
psychology in the West came out of that. But before we were trounced in
the Olympics by the old Soviet bloc, we considered these theories just
myths. Their success made us take another look at imaging techniques
and their results (PPS the altered states).
> What in the world is an alpha state anyway?
DOES EVERYBODY HAVE THAT RHYTHM?
There are four brain rhythms that researchers speak about in this
exploration of performance. Alpha, Beta, Delta and Theta. Beta (normal
waking state), Delta (deep sleep) and Theta (drowsy state) are not
associated, as I understand it with the experience of "Peak
Performance." Alpha on the other hand is an alert but relaxed state
accompanied by a feeling of calm well-being. A "Peak Performance State"
is one's best EXPERIENCE of performance with feelings of EASE, and
MASTERY of execution, JOY in doing the job, CONFIDENCE, LOSS of EGO, and
a SENSE of ONENESS with the job. As I understand this (not being a
Neurologist), the Alpha rhythm is the brain rhythm associated with the
"PEAK PERFORMANCE STATE."
With all the expertise on this list, if I have not explained this
correctly, please feel free to correct it. I have personally
experienced Peak Performance States in my orchestral conducting and solo
performance on the stage and even in my work as a stage director in
performances going extremely well. I feel myself as a part of the
performance and even mentally guiding it although my directing work is
largely completed before they walk on the stage. I would describe all
of those experiences as heightened states.
PEAK PERFORMANCE AND LEARNING ORG.S
For the LO application: the most enjoyable experience of Peak
Performance happens in performing with others, e.g., in the opera we not
only follow the musical and dramatic score but are able to improvise,
within the variables in every live performance situation, an interaction
with our paying customers. I would describe this as a working
experience that changes us all. For example, we take away something
from this experience that will be practiced as a team, integrated into
our work and used in the next performance situation, not as
improvisation but as "natural" habit (skill).
Maintaining that "Peak Performance State" is contingent upon the
evolution of our personal skill and team dialogue with each other as we
perform. That is what we practice and make habitual.
PEAK PERFORMANCE STATE AND COMPLEXITY
Since (except for the 30 years of repetitive scale work with voice
students) my experience with assembly lines is more theoretical. I
would surmise that comparing the assembly line to more complicated
psycho/physical/intellectual tasks is as running on the track is to
martial arts fighting. The flow may be the same but the difference in
complexity can be terminal. "Flow" however, (heightened awareness) is a
part of the arrival at personal ease and "oneness" in both simple and
complex situations.
IS THERE ANY ORGANIZATION THAT IS NOT A LO?
Following and contributing to this thread, has helped me work through my
feelings about the viability of LO theory. I now feel every
organization that I have experienced or imagined, IS a Learning
Organization. The issue is not whether a LO is possible but whether they
are very good at it or not.
POSITIONS OF NEED AND POSITIONS OF PLENTY
It is easy for organizations to be super critical, sloppy learners
filled with individual self interest when they are in "positions of
plenty," e.g., converting the raw materials that have been available in
America since 1492. On the other hand if you are operating in a
"position of need" like Hopi and Israeli desert farmers or the lack of
raw manufacturing materials(Japan), you have to be better, as a Learning
Organization, or you will not survive.
"Positions of Plenty" are "grazing" situations. Situations that can
tolerate a shepherd metaphor for leadership. Positions of need, however
require "planning strategies." These situations IMO demand more overt
participation and agreement from all areas and levels of company
personnel or they all suffer. Beyond that, conversations about "flat"
organizations versus vertical etc. all become, in my mind, context
oriented.
In a position of Need, success is further based upon the company
leadership as visionary as well as the strength of their skills at
working in small groups to build mutual agreement and individual
maturity in all company personnel.
CODA: THIS LIST AND LOs
I wonder about the position of each of the members on this list.
Whether the position that you or your company is in at the moment
effects the way things are seen? Whether the downsized consultant (head
of a newly formed company), will see the issues of flat, hierarchical or
LO in the same light as a middle management person whose job is secure
and mortgages intact? I question how much can be seriously agreed upon,
unless the individual context is known. Is not theory always
contextual? Or put another way, is the lack of attention to the
contextual element within all theory a recipe for failure? Unless, of
course, we are just directing traffic in a business library.
Thank's Bill, if you hadn't commented and asked, I would have allowed
myself a little laziness. It felt good to think about this.
Regards
Ray Evans Harrell, artistic director
The Magic Circle Chamber Opera of New York
mcore@idt.net
--Ray Evans Harrell <mcore@IDT.NET>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>