“The whole is not equal to the sum of its parts”

“As an entity, a group cannot be smarter than its components, but it can indeed be less so”

Team = 1

Let’s move away from the concept of the individual. For a while, let’s consider the team as a single unit. A work unit. Like any unit, it is composed of several parts.

If we consider what is the most basic way a team works, it would be the meeting. If we are work colleagues, if we work together, we will need meetings. In these meetings, questions are asked and answers are given. In addition, synergies are generated and insights of knowledge are created. Essentially, everything related to the phrase “many heads are better than one”.

But we all know that just meeting is not enough. I am sure we have all had unproductive meetings. Meetings where time was lost and nothing tangible was achieved. However, in other cases, it took only minutes to come up with useful solutions and ideas.

The Key Ingredient

When we come together in teams, meet, or collaborate, what emerges is known as the collective intelligence quotient. This is, the inherent intelligence of that group. And here comes the key ingredient… contrary to what we might think, “academic” abilities or the intelligence quotient are not what condition this collective intelligence.

The key ingredient is emotional intelligence. Therefore, a sum of individuals with good emotional intelligence will make a good collective intelligence.

And of course, the greater the collective intelligence, the more productive and successful the group will be

“The collective intelligence quotient would be like the sum of the most human talent of its individuals”

The Best Part?

Daniel Goleman highlights in his book “Leadership: The Power of Emotional Intelligence” a very interesting study. In this study, they analyze what has made certain individuals the best in their group. Considering that this group was composed of people with the best results in intelligence quotient tests, another factor had to be involved.

The task they were given needed to be carried out in a team. This task was related to designing and creating electronic switches that control telephone systems. None of them could do it alone, so they had to rely on the team.

When asked to select who had been the “stars“, the group agreed. Neither the intelligence quotient nor their academic performance were predictors of success.

A factor that all of them had in common was “networking.”

Networking

We live immersed in different types of networks with our surroundings.

One type of network is the formal ones. Typical within companies. Formal networks are slower, designed to solve simple problems. Normally, they depend on technical profiles and specialists.

Another type are the informal networks. These are all those we “weave” with our circle of known people. Friends, family, work colleagues…

The most successful people in this experiment had very good informal networks. That is, they had supports to turn to if they needed help. And not only that, having these supports allowed them to solve their problems more quickly and effectively, without waiting for an expert to come to the rescue.

In turn, these informal networks are of 3 types: communication, expertise, and trust. Communication networks include the people we talk to. Expertise networks are those more technical. Trust networks include our confidants.

The star profiles of the experiment maintain good relationships with individuals from these three networks. In addition, they show empathy and the ability to coordinate people. They possess qualities of:

• Interpersonal and intrapersonal skills
• Taking initiative, that is, showing motivation
• Self-management

These three qualities respond to a construct, emotional intelligence. Therefore, it can be concluded that emotional intelligence is responsible for that collective intelligence.

And that a group of emotionally intelligent individuals will make a group with great collective intelligence.

The ultimate consequence of good collective intelligence is its impact on intellectual capital. Intellectual capital is all the intellectual knowledge of an organization, as well as the tangible information it possesses that allows it to produce value.

Because talking about only one type of intelligence is a thing of the past. And the smartest companies are starting to realize this.

Twinkling lights, holiday vacations, turron, marzipan, company dinners, family meals, snow, more twinkling lights…

Christmas is that time of year so many love… and that many others claim to detest.

But… why can a season like Christmas sometimes generate unpleasant sensations or emotions?

Sad Carols

We’re talking about the Christmas blues, also known as white depression. The Christmas blues is characterized by a series of mood disturbances. These disturbances range from apathy or loss of interest in the festivities, to sadness.

But.. where does the Christmas blues come from? Why, in a time (in theory) perfect for being happy eating chocolate with family and giving each other gifts… do we get sad?

The “Mr. Wonderful” Smile

One of the reasons this phenomenon occurs is that we cannot fully choose when to feel sad and when not to. Therefore, regardless of the time of year, we can go through a less “cheerful” stage or experience more emotional difficulties.

If this happens, Christmas with its lights and smiles is seen as an imposition. A kind of “you have to be okay, pretend to be happy.” “It’s a happy time, don’t ruin it.”

Therefore, emotions that are not “in tune” with this time are minimized and invalidated. Moreover, since Christmas in our hemisphere is celebrated in winter, other factors influence it. These factors include the lack of light, the change of time, the cold, and the consumerist character of the holidays. Therefore, they can exacerbate any existing economic, emotional, or other kinds of difficulty.

Furthermore, going through a difficult time, whatever the area, generates a comparison effect. Automatically, seeing other people happy or not going through that difficulty only makes us feel worse.

And we cannot schedule emotions whether it snows, rains, or shines… and sometimes, Christmas doesn’t mean life is rosy

Symptoms of White Depression

Some of the symptoms of this “blues” include:

• Apathy or loss of interest in activities that used to be pleasurable
• Sleep and eating problems
• Worsening of depressive or anxious symptoms
• The need to return to an orderly routine
• Avoiding social commitments and isolation

Clearly, each person is unique, and many factors can cause the “Christmas blues”. Anyway, it’s not categorized as a disorder. Still, it’s important to be aware that not everyone experiences these dates in the same way.

Therefore, instead of judging those who do not see Christmas with the same excitement as we do, we could ask ourselves a series of questions.

Is this person going through a difficult time?

Does making a gift pose an economic strain?

How has this person experienced Christmas in their family throughout their life? Is there a whole ritual around it?

Are they noticing the lack of light or excessive cold?

Have they gone through a grieving process or are missing someone?

These (among others) are questions we can ask ourselves. Because remember, we can’t schedule our happiness to celebrate the New Year with us. And sometimes, things are complicated even surrounded by turron and colored lights

At Mentiness, we’re celebrating.

With Christmas and the New Year just around the corner, we’ve started a new section on our platform with great enthusiasm: learning paths.

In this first phase, we will have several learning paths that include an introductory course and several specific courses each. Each path aims to train you on topics related to psychology. All these topics will help you improve your well-being and that of your teams.

First Stop, First Path

This first learning path we’re launching is on the theme of stress. In it, you’ll learn everything you need about stress and how to manage it. It will also include specific courses on:

• Bad stress and good stress
• Stress and productivity
• Relaxation techniques (with some practical surprises for you)
• Mindfulness (which also brings a final gift to offer you a complete experience)

Our Purpose

And each of these specific courses will be loaded with interesting information. Their content ranges from scientifically backed relaxation techniques to curiosities about our brain or insights into the neurobiology of stress.

Have you ever heard the phrase “knowledge is power” or “knowledge takes no space”?

Surely you have, right?

In our team, we have those two phrases almost as a mantra that we try to apply constantly. Not only to recycle ourselves and train as professionals day by day but also to offer services and products that have a positive impact on the well-being of employees.

That’s why we have designed three different learning paths, with stress being the first. Because we know that often, risk behaviors, bad habits, or incorrect problem coping are not done just because. They are usually due to a lack of information and unawareness of more useful strategies and tools.

That’s why we provide you with materials from our Health Psychologist. So you can listen, take notes, and gather everything that seems useful to you and can be of help.

Stay tuned, we’ll be revealing more secrets in the coming weeks!

Are you interested in our course section and learning paths?

If you want more information about our work and how it can help your company, leave us your details and we will contact you!

26075

No, it’s not the Christmas lottery number (as far as I know).

It’s the number of works Picasso created over his 91 years of life.

Some even say that this number is false and it’s around 50000.

Either way, it’s a number that almost scares if we think about the amount of work he had to create in a week. Consistently. All the time.

Do you think Picasso had a magnet for creativity? Or is there something he perhaps knew and we… are overlooking?

Creativity on the left or creativity on the right?

Historically, we have thought that the right part of the brain is dedicated to being creative and that the right side is more logical. We’ve made that division and depicted it in all sorts of drawings and sheets with numbers on the left and butterflies and colors on the right.

Well… as of today we know that this theory is flawed. First, because localizationism (today’s fancy word referring to attributing a specific function to each region of the brain) no longer serves as an explanation. Second, because we know more and more about the differences between anterior, posterior, medial regions… That is, not everything significant is left or right, but there’s anterior left, posterior left, medial left… In short, a mess of locations.

Therefore, simplifying creativity to left-right no longer makes logical sense. It depends on processes above, below, in the center, on the right…in many places. It depends on circuits that are not as localized as we might have thought

Equal but different

The left hemisphere has fewer connections with itself and the rest of the brain.

The right side, has more connections with itself and the rest of the brain. Moreover, it has strong links with regions that our emotions “depend on”. Regions, such as the amygdala.

The right hemisphere is “mixed”. The left, presents stacked columns that allow a clear differentiation of brain functions.

And of course, being everything so complex and creativity such a broad process… well, it doesn’t depend only on the right side.

It is true that given the difference in connections, in a “flash” of creativity a new neural circuit emerges from this right part.

What Picasso knew

Is that creativity doesn’t appear when you’re sitting waiting for it.

If we get theoretical, the most known models about creativity talk about 4 phases:

• Defining the problem frame. Asking questions to know what to be creative about
• Diving deep into it. Gathering information until we are soaked with it
• Go with the flow. Letting go, relaxing so that “chasss” that burst of creativity appears
• Execution, carrying out the idea we have conceived

Theoretically, the model is “cool”. Of course, if you have to create 25000 works of art in your life, it might fall a bit short, right?

This is where Pablo Picasso’s example comes in. One of his phrases is that “inspiration and creativity” find you working. Therefore, you can’t just sit and wait, wait, wait…

The best thing is that you get to work (never better said) and know when to stop, where to disconnect, and in what place it will be easier for that “divine” inspiration to come.

Eureka

Brain studies tell us what happens in our brain at that moment of spark, idea.

There’s a signal, the “gamma” activity that tells us what we’ve been longing to hear. Neurons, initially very distant, have connected forming a nervous network and… Voilá, there’s a new association, there’s creativity. A new idea has entered our “consciousness”.

At this moment, the right hemisphere doesn’t waste time and uses its super connections to send that information to other regions. And it’s in that third phase, that more “chill” phase in which our brain prepares for the gamma peak of creativity. Even when ideas seem to be born on their own, it’s most likely they’ve gone through a previous “gestation” process.

And when the ground has been leveled, they are born.

Of course, as always, it’s very important to know oneself and understand how this process occurs. It’s not exactly a textbook process and it can vary from person to person, but what’s clear is that if Picasso painted so many paintings, he couldn’t have done it simply waiting for ideas to sprout.

“Discipline”, self-awareness, and a prior order to relaxation are needed for the light bulb to turn on

How would you feel if suddenly you were paid 5 euros?

How do you feel after having that coffee you really wanted?

How do you feel when you are praised for a job well done?

Positive Reinforcement

Well, you feel terrifically good. Because when we do something and are rewarded for it, a series of reactions occur in our body that we really like. It can even become addictive.

This is because everything that happens in the form of a reward (whether it’s money, words of recognition, food, or even a like) constitutes a positive reinforcement. As its name suggests, a positive reinforcement strengthens us to continue doing what we are doing because hey! there’s a reward.

That’s why we can say that likes are equivalent to an achievement, to reinforcement. Because the message they carry is something like:

“What beautiful photos from your last trip”

Or something like “you look gorgeous” or also “I love that outfit, it suits you so well”.

In all the examples, what we do is reinforced, whether it’s eating a pizza (and obviously, taking a photo), getting dressed or wearing a particular style, or posing to take 100 selfies before uploading one.

Therefore, a like is recognition, an immediate reward for doing what we do just like money, kind words, or a meal we like. And I say immediate because that’s why we check Instagram every 5 minutes after uploading a photo. Because we want approval and recognition now, here and immediately.

And of course… that’s addictive!

The culprit of pleasure

Receiving likes is the same as being “flooded” with dopamine. But, what is dopamine?

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is present in various areas of the brain and is especially important for the body’s motor function “dopamine is important in all nerve responses related to the expression of emotions”. That is, it is a natural and necessary substance for humans, secreted by our brain in certain situations.

And of course, it happens to be that, being so linked to emotions, it is the hormone we generate when we feel immediate pleasure (for example, when eating, shopping, or having sex)

And we already know that likes are an immediate reinforcement. So, like = dopamine “for the body”.

And what are the effects of dopamine?

When receiving likes, eating chocolate, having sex, shopping, or using some drugs we secrete dopamine. Therefore, we feel pleasure. Our brain and body like this sensation and want more, so they seek and search for more of that dopamine.

Something similar to the sensation of having “withdrawal” from a drug like coffee or tobacco can happen with likes, as by repeating the behavior and the reinforcement occurring again, we need more of that substance that generates feelings of pleasure.

That’s why sometimes it’s said that likes or social media are addictive, because they trigger the release of dopamine and can make us enter a loop where we need more and more to feel good, as happens with drugs, shopping, and gambling.

Inside or outside?

This is the most biological explanation. It’s true that there are other processes that influence having a real dependency on likes and image on networks. These processes have to do with “where we place our self-esteem”. If we base it on physical appearance, external aspects, or compare ourselves to others like “influencers and their perfect lives”, this will fuel the “addiction to likes” process due to dopamine. Because if there’s already a biological cause that makes us like likes and moreover, our self-esteem and self-concept increasingly depend on likes, we have the perfect cocktail for a real problem.

There is a very useful and simple technique to evaluate how important all the factors that condition our self-esteem are to us, such as physical appearance, success, romantic relationships…

Do you know the pie technique?

Stay tuned, posts about that cake called personal self-esteem are coming.

He doesn’t wear a suit and doesn’t look like he’s always busy.

He has quite a few wrinkles, and in fact, the more wrinkles he has, the better he works.

He always takes control of the situation, and we all depend on him when it comes to work.

He makes the decisions, evaluates options, and organizes most of the things that need to be done.

Do you know who I’m talking about yet?

The Prefrontal Lobe

The prefrontal lobe, as its name suggests, is the part of the brain that is right behind our forehead. That is, at the front of the brain. This specific region, the prefrontal, is to blame (thankfully) for us having organizational skills, monitoring, inhibition of our behavior, planning, managing emotional reactions, evaluating scenarios and alternatives…

In short, a real gem.

The prefrontal lobe is responsible for something vital to human beings functioning well: executive functions.

Many functions, very executive

Executive functions, along with attention, memory, or language, are what we call higher cognitive abilities. In general, these skills are what allow us to behave, feel, and think the way we do.

In short, a good part of the reason humans are human is due to these higher cognitive abilities.

Well, within these abilities are the executive functions. These, in turn, are a set of very diverse functions that range from task planning to inhibition and behavioral control, through cognitive flexibility, achieving our goals, adapting to the environment, or decision-making.

Thanks to executive functions, we can do things like:

-Organize our tasks

-Monitor our behavior while frying an egg, avoiding getting burned

-Ignore the popup ad that opens in our browser when we enter some websites

-Switch to another restaurant if our favorite one is closed

-Plan those ideal summer vacations

-Anticipate that if we’re going to the beach, we’ll need flip-flops, sunscreen, several swimsuits for the whole vacation…

That’s why we say the prefrontal lobe is the CEO of our brain, as it plans, anticipates, coordinates, decides, and manages what we do with our lives.

When there’s an orchestra, but no conductor

Have you ever considered what happens if the prefrontal cortex fails? Or if there is an injury in that area.

Or if for various reasons, such as chronic stress, it is affected.

A person with an impairment in executive functions due to a problem in this part of the brain can exhibit numerous problems and difficulties. Some of them may include:

• Not being able to plan the steps of a task, such as doing a job. Therefore, they will have many difficulties in organizing that project and starting it.
• Perseveration errors, which translate as making the same mistake over and over. For example, imagine putting the accelerator and clutch pedals in the wrong place. If there is a perseveration error, it’s probably impossible to start the car as they would make the same mistake over and over again.
• Behavioral disinhibition: this is perhaps one of the most striking since they can have erratic behaviors such as shouting in a supermarket, engaging in sexual behavior in public, or saying obscenities to strangers.
• Problems with self-control which can be reflected as anger outbursts or exaggerated hostility reactions.

And a long (but very long) etcetera.

Do you now understand why this part of the brain is the best CEO of all?

Have you ever heard of the Eisenhower Matrix?

One of the biggest problems we encounter when organizing ourselves is prioritizing the tasks we have to do.

Why? Because when we have pending tasks, we tend to see them as a threatening ball of work coming towards us and, oh my god! I don’t know where to start.

And suddenly, boom! Overwhelm and blockage.

A “wonderful” matrix

The Eisenhower Matrix is a kind of box matrix that divides your problems and tasks according to two different criteria: how important they are and how urgent they are.

Its characteristic name comes from a gentleman named Dwight Eisenhower, a high-ranking officer in the US military well known for his productivity levels. According to his matrix, you have to evaluate your tasks based on their urgency and importance to organize yourself in the best possible way.

Four scenarios, four combinations

There will be tasks that you absolutely have to do yourself and others that are important but not urgent, or urgent but not important, or…

Basically, draw two lines, one vertical and one horizontal. Write the words urgent, not urgent and important, not important. This will give you a 2×2 matrix, i.e., four squares. In this matrix, you will have the following situations:

It is important and it is urgent: aha! this will be the first task on your list, the priority one.

It is important but not urgent: great, you can plan it for later.

It is not important but it is urgent: delegate, if you have the possibility, to someone else.

It is not important nor is it urgent: wonderful, out of your list. Keep it aside for future task lists.

What are its benefits

• Saves time when classifying your tasks and ordering them
• Helps to not go through that initial overwhelm of feeling that you have a lot of work and not knowing where to start.
• Improves your productivity since it allows you time for what’s really important: doing the task
• Clears “mental spam”. When we have several things to do, we are putting our working memory to the test. This memory, also called operational, is dedicated to retaining necessary information to be able to work with it (for example, I have to do this, and this, and this…while I’m scheduling it). Basically, the matrix helps us not to overload this “mental spam”, making it easier to manage this information
• Reduces mental load: one of the worst things about having several tasks is that it adds one more task, thinking about them. This is what is called mental load. That is, in addition to having to go to the supermarket to buy water and milk, we have to think that we need to go to the supermarket to buy water and milk. Ah, and don’t forget that you have to go to the supermarket to buy water… This mental load occupies space in our brain and, therefore, diminishes our cognitive capacity. As a result, it also diminishes our productivity.
• Facilitates our organization in a group since it helps prioritize tasks according to our role.
• Reduces work stress as it facilitates organization

As a result of all these benefits, two things happen: our productivity increases, and our motivation does too. Motivation is positively affected as it increases our perceived self-efficacy. That is, we see ourselves as more effective, we feel proud, and therefore, we feel more motivated.

Are you encouraged to try this recipe for productivity?