Insight refers to that moment of clarity when a
solution comes to you or a connection is made between new material and existing
knowledge and you know instinctively that it is correct.
This happens when
the brain puts together unconnected neurons, usually when it is quiet or
reflecting on something other than the issue at hand.
When people have
insight, they also have a burst of energy and a dopamine reward in the brain
and the process also permanently changes the brain at a physiological level by
creating new neural links.
It is not general
creativity - but is a process, a way of thinking and perceiving. Insight is
also different to intuition, which is a nudge or a hint about the direction you
need to take, rather than the whole solution.
How do insights work?
Mark Beeman of
Northwestern University is probably the best-known and most respected
neuroscientist working on insight. He summarises the elements that make up
insight in three ways.
- There is unconscious processing - when
solutions come to people when they are not thinking about the problem
in the same way as they did before, like when someone asks a powerful
question or they genuinely put themselves in someone else’s shoes.
- There is a relaxed mind - when someone’s
calm and in a good mood.
- And then there is the sudden answer - this is when the
solution comes, it is a surprise but they are confident about it; they
just know it is right.
So, below are some
details on those elements, with the scientific evidence pointing to how insight
happens and how you can create the optimum conditions for it.
Creating insight
in the organisation.
And how do we
apply all this to our wider work context?
When we are
solving problems in conjunction with other people at work, we tend to do the
opposite of what the science indicates will be most effective.
We put pressure on
ourselves with a deadline, we gather more data, we brainstorm as a group... all
of which demands a lot of brain-processing and makes it hard to have insight.
It also tends to reduce the range of solutions as a group conforms to
consensus, collective thinking.
A better approach
is to define a question as a group, then for people to individually take time
off and allow their brains to process and solve the problem. The group then
comes together to review and agree on the solutions.
Creating insight
in practice.
Insight is useful
in many work contexts especially in change and learning.
You can design
learning and other interventions for insight creation rather than instruction.
This means:
- Introducing new ideas in a relevant context for the
person. For
example, linking learning to strategy or personal goals.
- Understanding the current mindset of the person and
position content accordingly. In practice, people will all have
different starting points so designing content to be flexible and ensuring
that outcomes can happen at different times is important. This requires
for example, facilitators who understand the overall goals and who can
think on their feet, monitoring where individuals are and then using the
things that happen in the room to make links. They should also know when
to push a point home and when to leave it for reflection.
- Using powerful questions to generate insight, as in offering new and
different perspectives such as stories, personal anecdotes and external
examples.
- Giving people time to reflect is essential and design in active
reflection tools, especially when the stakeholders for the programme or
event believe people need to be busy. We use techniques like coaching on
the go, which provides all the benefits of coaching whilst they are
walking. The movement seems to reduce inhibitions and free up thinking
space.
- Designing programmes and events with an overnight stay, say from lunchtime to
lunchtime. This provides participants with the natural downtime of
sleep which is known to enhance the making of new connections.
Insights can be fleeting, so it is important to capture them when they do happen and to fix them in the mind.
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