Psychology of Performance – 20 – Early Attachment and Adult Performance Implications

Our early attachments to our primary caregivers may have significant implications for our ability to perform throughout our lives. The good news is that there are mindfulness techniques that can help integrate the information and energy associated with the various attachment categories so that as adults our performance does not have to be limited by the early learning associated with these attachments.

Siegel &  Hartzell, M.Ed., (2003, p.102-112) in their book, Parenting from the Inside Out, describe four patterns of attachment derived from the work of researchers such as Mary Ainsworth, Mary Main, and Erik Hesse, among others. As infants we most likely have one of the following patterns (which can vary by caregiver): Secure, Insecure-Avoidant, Insecure-Anxious/Ambivalent, or Insecure-Disorganized.

Secure attachments are described as having a parental interactive pattern characterized by the parent being emotionally available, perceptive, and responsive. The child sees the parent as being a source of comfort during times of distress, a safe haven, being available, and a secure base. This creates a sense of well being from which the child can go into the world to “explore and make new connections with others” (p.104).

Insecure-Avoidant patterns are associated with parents who are emotionally unavailable, imperceptive, unresponsive, and rejecting. These children avoid closeness and emotional connections to the parent (p.104).

Insecure-Ambivalent patterns are described as having parents who are inconsistently available, perceptive, and responsive and intrusive. The child cannot depend on the parent for attunement and connection. The child develops a sense of anxiety and uncertainty about whether they can depend on their parents (p.105).

Insecure-Disorganization patterns are created by parents who are frightening, frightened, chaotic, disorienting, and alarming to the child. This pattern is often associated with abuse. This creates a situation in which abuse is incompatible with a sense of security. The child develops coping responses that lead to difficulties in regulating emotions, trouble in social communication, difficulties with academic reasoning tasks, a tendency toward interpersonal violence, and a predisposition to dissociation – a process in which normally integrated cognition becomes fragmented (p. 106).

The good news is that for those with insecure attachments there are mindfulness techniques described in Siegel’s book, Mindsight, that can help the individual integrate the insecure attachment memories, patterns, and information in a manner that frees them up from “automatically or habitually” engaging in the pattern in their adult relationships.

The implications of early attachment for the psychology of performance are significant. Secure attachments allow for a base of security which in adulthood can manifest in collaborative interactions in the business environment, for example. The social psychology of group performance is enhanced when members can communicate directly and problem solve from a position of trust. Contrast this with an avoidant attachment pattern in which a team member has a fundamental approach to relationships that is one of distrust and self-reliance. This team member is there in name only and will be perceived as not cooperating, being a maverick, and “not playing well in the sand box.” The anxious attachment style may show up as an accommodating or pleasing style. This person sacrifices their own opinions so as to fit in, may frequently be checking in with the “boss” for approval and reassurance. The group loses this person’s gifts as the person may give in rather than be proactive on a decision point. The disorganized attachment style may contribute to significant disruption in a work group or team’s performance because the person will become overwhelmed during a conflict with either a chaotic or rigid response, either of which can disrupt the flow of energy and information needed for higher performance.

The culture of an organization often is set by the leader of the organization. Part of the definition of culture is the shared set of assumptions as to how we do business. From this, it is possible to see how the impact of the leader’s attachment could influence the culture of the organization. For example, if the leader has an anxious attachment, the organization may have a strong press to accommodate customers, resulting in a high emphasis on customer service which could range from being useful to problematic if taken to a dysfunctional level.

Have a day filled with mindful integration,

Robert A. Mines, Ph.D.
CEO & Psychologist

Industry Associations Help Companies Grow

Most companies throughout America fall into one of many different industry segments, with each segment typically having a non-profit association that provides support and disseminates industry information to its members.

Associations are typically nationally run, some by outside organizations, with their members  located throughout the country and sometimes Canada and Mexico. Some associations have sub-segments that create even more special or focused associations, such as a health association that also has heart and prenatal sub-associations. Associations provide companies with the opportunity to talk and meet on various topics and issues that they run into, helping them grow their business by better understanding opportunities.

MINES and Associates is a business psychology firm that specializes in behavioral health care– or more specifically mental health, substance abuse, and psychotropic drug usage. I just attended the annual Self Insurance Institute of America’s Annual Conference in Chicago where companies come together to talk about health insurance benefits.  Participating in these associations and conferences is extremely beneficial as we are able to learn about and determine the types of products and services that employers need for their employees.

While  employee deductibles and copayments have increased consistently over the last couple of years, the services provided are improving. Employees are getting more for their money. Specialty health care is able to focus on a specific health issue and address it with unique drugs and care. What this means to the employee is quicker recovery and less time spent in doctor’s offices.

MINES Behavioral Health Case Management is a perfect example. Behavioral health issues are typically treated by health care workers who spend up to 90% of their time on medical and surgical issues. They don’t have the experience and knowledge of mental health issues to effectively provide the best treatment possible. We are seeing our business grow as employers add MINES’ behavioral health care expertise and network of qualified providers to their benefit plans.

With 30 years of experience and over 50,000 providers in our network, MINES knows Behavioral Health. We are constantly learning and improving our offerings to our clients. If your company doesn’t offer you some of the behavioral benefits noted above, ask your HR Department to look into MINES & Associates.

Allan Benson

Senior Sales Executive

720-979-8046

Psychology of Performance – 18

Gina Kolata wrote an outstanding article in the New York Times on the psychological and behavioral aspects of the psychology of performance that I want to pass on to you. She has a number of points that are useful in business as well as personally.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/19/health/nutrition/19best.html?_r=2&th=&emc

Have a day filled with equanimity

Robert A. Mines, Ph.D.

CEO and Psychologist

Psychology of Performance – 17 Mirror Neurons

In his book The Mindful Therapist, Dr. Dan Siegel discusses the role of mirror neurons in actions that have a perceived intention behind them. He stated that the mirror neurons function as a bridge between sensory input and motor output that allows us to mirror the behavior we see someone else enact (p.36).  Practically this means that when we see someone drinking from a glass, the mirror neurons become activated (firing off electrical currents called an action potential). If we were to drink from the same glass, the same specific neurons that fired when we saw someone else drinking also become activated. Dr. Siegel said “We see a behavior and get ready to imitate it,” (p.36).

The implications of this line of research are significant for performance. For example, if you watch a movie with alcohol being consumed and you are in recovery, now you have internal neuronal firing similar to drinking the alcohol yourself. Now you have to override the neuronal firing with “white-knuckling it,” or better yet with mindful awareness, or you will increase your probabilities of a relapse.

The upside of this research is that seeing others perform a behavior successfully – mentally rehearsing the image – would theoretically strengthen the neuronal firing and increase the probabilities that you will execute the behavior successfully. This concept is foundational to performance coaching. As coaches, therapists, and bosses we need to think about our current training techniques and how they incorporate watching, rehearsing, and doing as part of the sequence.

Have a day filled with Mindfulness,

Robert A. Mines, Ph.D.

CEO & Psychologist

MINES and Associates

What about Mental Health Care?

Barack Obama spent much of his first year in office on a quest for health care reform.  Those against it alleged a government takeover and those in favor were concerned it didn’t go far enough.  Either way you look at it, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law.   What seemed to fall through the cracks of the debate, is the idea of mental health parity – the massive reform in mental health laws that was ultimately attached to the 2008 financial bailout.  As a background, The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 says that ALL psychological conditions must be treated the same as any physical illness.  Prior to Parity it was common practice to limit patients to a few therapy visits a year, assign higher deductibles or reimburse a small percentage.  Under Parity, seperate deductibles can’t apply nor can your out-of-pocket contributions differ.

Although this was a major victory, its taken a backseat to the healthcare reform and the economic stimulus package.  The act, which self-funded organizations of 50 or more were required to comply as of Oct 1 2009 or any renewal date following, officially went into effect on January 1, 2010.

So how does this all fit into Health Care Reform?  First, Mental Health Parity and its regulations are still in full effect.  Second, Health Care Reform has expanded the reach of Parity.  It’s now expanded to cover dependents until the age of 26.  It has also expanded to fall under the section of “essential health benefit” which means treatment can’t be denied for pre-existing conditions.  This means that insurance companies are required to provide coverage and that coverage must be equal to coverage provided for any other medical ailment.  Behavioral Health benefits are now a mandatory part of basic care as well as certain psychotropic medications which are required under insurance formularies.

At MINES, while we’ve been working to help groups become compliant with Parity and gain an understanding of how Health Care Reform is impacting Parity and behavioral health overall, we’ve also been helping to put some measures in place to contain the potential cost increases of these massive reforms.

If your organization is in need of some consulting around this topic or any other behavioral health topic we urge you to contact us.   We’d also be glad to show you some easy ways to contain costs under the new health care regulations.

Posted by Ian Holtz

Manager, Business Development

Psychology of Performance – 16 Accountability and Authority

In our consulting through BizPsych (www.BizPsych.com), organizations ask us to assess and intervene with vertical relationship conflicts as well as  cross-departmental conflicts on a regular basis. These conflicts are often rooted in unclear accountability and authority for the C-level, vice-presidents, managers, supervisors and front line producers. This creates significant performance and execution problems throughout the organization.

Elliot Jacques, in his numerous publications defined accountability and authority for management at all levels. Accountability and authority establishes where people stand with each other.  They determine who is able to say what to whom, and who under given circumstances must say what to whom.  They establish who can tell who to do what, especially, in the managerial hierarchy, if one person is being held accountable for what another person does or for the results of what the other person does.

Accountability and authority define the behaviors that are appropriate and necessary in the vertical relationships between managers and their subordinates, and in the horizontal, cross-functional relationships between people.  The vertical relationships are the means by which the work that needs to get done is assigned, resourced, and evaluated; cross-functional relationships are the means by which the flow of work across functions gets processed and improved through time.

He noted that it is absolutely imperative that organizational leaders be clear not only about their own decision-making accountability, but they must also make it equally clear for each and every manager below them in the organization.  All of these managers must also meet regularly in two-way discussions about major issues with their immediate subordinates, in order to get their help in making decisions for which the manager alone must be accountable.  In discussions between managers and subordinates, it is always the manager that is ultimately accountable for decisions.  Even when the subordinate has more knowledge than his or her manager on a given matter and tells the manager what he or she thinks should be done; if the manager accepts the subordinate’s view then it becomes the manager’s decision. There will be times in an organization’s growth or life span when a manager may have multiple roles/levels that they are accountable for. The manager may be a manager, a supervisor and a front line producer on a given day if the department or work group is small enough or does not have the resources to accommodate separate levels and roles. This is a situation referred to as “down in the weeds”, “wearing many hats”, or “collapsed strata (time span).” This is not ideal; however, at times it may be the best we can do.

How does your organization define accountability and authority at each role? What impact has the clarity or lack of clarity had on your organizations effectiveness and performance?

Have a day filled with equanimity,

Robert A. Mines, Ph.D.

CEO & Psychologist

Mines and Associates

MINES Specialty Behavioral Health Network

As behavioral healthcare costs and substance abuse treatment costs continue to rise, we’ve been working behind the scenes to develop one of the largest behavioral health networks in the country.  Not only are we hitting milestones like adding over 500 providers in a single week, we’ve developed a simple web-based application process that literally allows us to process provider applications against our requirements in a matter of hours.

We’ve begun to hear the impact of Parity from our clients and partners who’ve expressed their satisfaction in knowing that we’ve got them covered with a robust national network of the top providers allowing their members to get the appropriate level of care at a rate that makes sense for everyone.

If you are a self-funded group and you don’t have a specialty network, MINES can help by analyzing past behavioral health and substance abuse claims to determine what impact our discounts would have on your bottom line.

We’ve been working with groups of all sizes, industries, and locations to provide appropriate levels of care at in-network rates.

If this is something your team would like to explore, we’d be grateful for a chance to help.

Posted by Ian Holtz
Manager, Business Development

ipholtz@minesandassociates.com (303) 953-4083

This blog

Allow me to introduce myself…

My name is Ryan and I joined the MINES team 1 year ago.  I’ve had the pleasure of working with every department in this company learning and working with the vast services that MINES provides for companies all over the United States.  From EAP to Managed Behavioral Health, MINES provides workplace solutions and cost-containment strategies for organizations that are truly dedicated to the well-being of their employees and members.  It has been exciting to work with so many great people and with a company that cares about the development and success of its staff.

I have recently moved into the Marketing department here at MINES to help expand our opportunities to serve more people and in this new role I am actively seeking input from the readers of this blog as to what would be most helpful to you.  Do you benefit from the articles that are posted regarding stress management?  Are you looking for more information on the services that we provide?  How can we continue to serve you as a reader of this blog?

I look forward to your comments!

Ryan
Marketing Coordinator

Effects of 2010 Gulf Oil Spill and Mental Health

We’ve begun to see editorials, videos and news stories about the effects of the Gulf Oil Spill on behavioral health.  Most recently I watched an expose about the effects of Exxon-Valdez on alcohol and substance abuse, increases in divorce rates and suicide attempts and how experts warned of the same fallout from the Gulf crisis.  Additionally, mental health experts are warning that the current crisis could dredge up unresolved feelings from Hurricane Katrina.   Here is a link to the story and video:

http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=12548123

We wish the best to all those impacted by the gulf oil spill. 

Posted by Ian Holtz (Sales @ MINES and Associates)

Psychology of Performance -13 Too Many Hats!

In BizPsych we often run into CEO’s, VP’s, Managers, and Supervisors who have performance problems related to “wearing too many hats”.  Elliot Jacques’ work described a variety of systems and organizational design problems that resulted in inefficiencies, interpersonal problems, bottlenecks, and other performance issues. When a person is “collapsed down” or in the weeds, which means they are below their role in a business, higher-priority strategic thinking, decisions or actions can be neglected or result in outright failure. Wearing multiple hats means that none of the roles assigned to that person will get full-time attention. In smaller businesses this may be a “sweat equity” issue, however, the results are still the same. I encourage you to look at your position, how many roles do you have and what is the performance result?

Have a day filled with Equanimity

Bob

Robert A. Mines, Ph.D.

CEO & Psychologist