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Choosing Words Wisely

Speaker: Sheila Kennedy

Words influence outcomes and reality. The way you define yourself and those you communicate with are impacted by the words you choose to use. Through practical exercises and discussion, we will explore how:

1. Self talk impacts results. Let’s identify what words are conducive to your success.
2. Word choice will trigger the internal motivators for the receiver. Discover how to communicate in such a way that achieves a reaction/response that benefits both the giver and receiver. Sheila will share resources and strategies for choosing powerful words that accurately and captivatingly contribute to and deliver desired outcomes.

Cognitive Flexibility

Speakers: Dr. James Merlo & Dr. Mike Legatt

Today we’re looking forward to presenting on “Cognitive Flexibility.” Cognitive flexibility is a key function, one we require to learn, adapt, and handle high-stress, high-stakes situations. Cognitive flexibility, at its best, allows us to manage multiple inputs, shift thinking and assumptions, change strategies and better see the “big picture”. When we struggle with cognitive flexibility, we can become fixated on one detail, keep trying a failed strategy, and ultimately can’t succeed in what we’re trying to do. In this presentation, we’ll talk about what cognitive flexibility is, how we measure it, and what we can do to improve it.

Implementing Safety Differently

Guests: Beth Lay and Asher Balkin

We’re honored to have Beth Lay and Asher Balkin from Lewis Tree Service present, “Implementing Safety Differently”, sharing their tools and practices for managing highly variable work.

Surprises are frequent, yet seldom acknowledged nor prepared for in ordinary work situations. We explore the practical application of fundamental Resilience Engineering premises “surprise will happen” and “work is variable” to the tree industry. At Lewis Tree Service, we perform the high-risk jobs of removing trees near power lines including trees on downed power lines after storms. We share our experiences translating New View Safety and Resilience Engineering theories into practical actions.

Towards Conformity in Cyber-Informed Engineering

Speaker: Sam Chanoski

Often, we’ve tried to frame these CoP meetings as alternating between science one presentation, and application the next. Following our science-based “Obedience, Compliance, or Conformity, Part 2”, we’re excited to have Sam Chanoski talk cybersecurity and engineering on a national scale, and efforts to realize conformity in the way we build security into the systems most critical to a safe society, healthy economy, and a secure nation. While Sam will use examples from the energy industry (where he works), the content and challenges should be highly relevant to all industries.

Obedience, Compliance, or Conformity – Part II

Speakers: Drs. Mike Legatt & James Merlo

Back when we were all starting the Human Performance Community of Practice together, James and Mike gave a presentation on organizational culture, “Obedience, Compliance, or Conformity.” We’ve received several requests since then, asking us to go further. So, today, we’re looking forward to “Obedience, Compliance, or Conformity, Part 2”. We’ll dig further on a few topics:

  • How powerful is other people’s influence on what you see? (Solomon Asch)

  • What makes it easier for people to do hurtful things to others, and what can we do to prevent them in our organizations? (Stanley Milgram)

  • How do encouragement and normalized behavior lead people to make bad choices (Philip Zimbardo)

  • How do we identify, and prevent, groupthink (Irving Janis)?

  • How do we identify where group polarization is happening?

  • How does the Devil’s Advocate / Tenth Man help in groups?

  • How do we get groups working together better (e.g., outgroup homogeneity)?

When events don't play by the rules, how do you learn from them?

Speakers: Earl Carnes, Dr. Richard S. Hartley

We're excited to have Earl Carnes, Riz's mentor at DOE, and Earl's colleague Dr. Richard S. Hartley, give a talk today (January 28th): "When events don't play by the rules, how do you learn from them?" It's based on a leadership context by Karl E. Weick, This is definitely one you won't want to miss.

Also, Earl and Richard helped to produce the just-released report, “Lessons Learned from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Response to the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic", which may of interest to you.

Grit and Resilience

Speaker: Shari Gribbin

Following up from Dr. Matthews' amazing presentation two weeks ago on Grit, Character, and Resilience, we're honored to have Shari Gribbin, Managing Partner at CNK Solutions, share her personal story. In addition to her work as an accomplished lawyer, focusing on regulatory solutions, and addressing cyber and supply chain risks, Shari works to share her story across the industry, of overcoming adversity to help others manage through their own challenges.

Shari's story is an incredible one, that you won't want to miss. Coming from a young life of severe poverty, homelessness, and several significant life-changing events, she converted her life into one of extreme success and accomplishment, strengthening her dedication to helping others thrive, and a passion for continuous self-improvement.

She will share some of the fundamental grounding principles that have fueled her ability to focus on surviving and moving forward through challenges while maintaining empathy and a commitment to community. This is definitely one you don't want to miss.

Human Performance in Extreme Stress Situations

Speakers: Dr. James Merlo, Dr. Mike Legatt, David Bowman

James, Mike, and David Bowman of KnowledgeVine will discuss human performance in extreme stress situations. As many of us are engaged in the restoration of infrastructure after extreme weather, dealing with changes in how work gets done due to COVID-19, and other issues, we’ll talk about Human Factors in these times, but even more, support each other through these times.

We’re also grateful to Pat Fischer, who will be giving a book report on Todd Conklin’s latest book, “When the Worst Accident Happens: A Field Guide to Creating a Restorative Response to Workplace Fatalities and Catastrophic Events.”