Routes, Routines and Dementia

To anyone with knowledge of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) the phrase “the map is not the territory” will be familiar, although the phrase pre-dates NLP and was actually coined by Alfred Korzybski in his work on General Semantics.

To those not familiar with the idea, simplistically, the concept is that none of us sees the true reality of the world. What we see is our perception of it through our own personal filters that are embedded within us as a part of our experiences in life, in other words, our own internal map. An example would be witnesses to an accident or crime who come up with different versions of events. The events are reality but how they are viewed depends on those individual’s experiences and filters.

Our internal maps guide us and guide our responses to the situations we find ourselves in. If there is nothing on our map to help us in certain situations we become unsure or maybe even panicky, in other words the map is our comfort zone. Yet after we have delved into the unknown our map rewrites itself to encompass this new experience and, in the same situation in the future, we are likely to repeat the actions that successfully saw us through it the first time.

Occasionally what we do may not actually be the best way to deal with that situation by we will continue to do it that way because that is how our internal map guides us and we may not bother to think of possible alternatives.

In general terms this is why change is so often difficult. We are moving into the unknown and our minds are guiding us to stick with the tried and trusted even if that is not the best route for us in the long run. That is why certain addictions can be difficult to break because the addiction has become so familiar it means moving off the chart and into the unfamiliar to break the habit.

There are, naturally, conflicting views on this theory but it does give us a useful tool for thinking about social care.

Imagine you have a map and you are using it to find your way to a specific destination, you just follow the shortest possible route from A to B and off you go, with occasional reference to the map to make sure you are on the right road. Now imagine that halfway along your journey your map changes and suddenly there is a huge blank space between your starting point and where you want to get to? How would that make you feel? Panicky? Frustrated? Angry?

How must it feel to those who have dementia when their memories, and therefore their internal map, begins to fail?

Our built in Sat-Navs help us move from task to task without having to think. Our morning routines, for example, are often done on auto pilot, yet if we suddenly did not know what we need  do we could find ourselves unintentionally missing breakfast or completely forgetting to wash. But everyone of us has a different morning routine and those different ‘maps’ could actually cause distress even when we desire to be helpful.

If I tried to impose my ‘route’ on to your morning routine you’d probably speak to me very unkindly!

Even where someone’s own map has developed a blank space trying to impose a new routine may well feel ‘wrong’ even if the person cannot articulate why that feels wrong (that can even happen to us in everyday life sometimes something doesn’t feel quite right does it? So we will question whether or not we should do it even if we can’t quite put our finger on it).

Understanding and supporting someone with dementia is not just about being able to do routine personal tasks for them. It is about understanding the complexities of the disease and how your actions might impact on people’s lives. We need to learn to be able to read other peoples maps so we can provide them with support along their own routes to achieve the goals they want

"Don't Swear In Front of the Children" - Leadership Thinking

                Leadership has become a common theme in social care and the need for effective leadership is important in all areas of business but what does effective leadership actually mean?

                A search on Amazon for ‘Leadership’ bring up the option of quite a few thousand books and among these will be many different theories and techniques on leadership but one important aspect of leadership is only given cursory mention and that is acting as a role model.

                Anybody who has studied Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) will be familiar with the concept of modelling. The theory here is that it is possible to replicate the excellence of others by observing and replicating what they do (in terms of behaviour and physiology), how they do it (such as internal thinking etc) and why they do it (beliefs, motivations etc.), if these can be replicated then it should be possible to achieve the same success.

                This theory is very revealing especially if we look at it the other way around!

                At an instinctive level how do we learn? For the moment ignore all the different theories on learning styles etc and think about the basic, primeval way in which we learn. We learn by observing and replicating behaviour. This is how we do it from the moment we are born. We emulate the behaviour of our parents and we often develop the same beliefs and ideals that surround us as we grow up. As parents we often try to control the way that we behave in front of the kids to ensure they do not emulate some of the less desirable adult traits or use of language.

These instilled values, beliefs and behaviours may change as we interact with others at school and as our interactions with others influence our lives, we seek the best models to emulate to improve our lives.

                As a simplistic illustration how often do we see people who have been bullied become bullies themselves? Obviously this is a vague generalisation and certainly not true in many instances but it always seems to make sense because that is how, at a basic level, we understand learning behaviour and the idea that a successful behaviour (e.g. bullying without being caught doing it) can reap benefits in our lives.

                It is this basic, instinctual level of learning that is so important in the workplace.

                Effective leadership means acting and behaving in the way that you want your staff team to act.

                The ‘do as I say don’t do as I do’ style of leadership is inevitably doomed because of the unconscious instinct to replicate the behaviour of those in immediate authority.  When a boss tells staff to do this and that and work harder then disappears into his office for a rest what do the rest of the staff do? Chances are that they, too, stop working or at least slow down the pace at which they work.

                Whereas a leader who is enthusiastic and seen to be working hard is likely to inspire the same in their team with little need to actually express that ethic in words.

                Effective leadership is leading by example, being a role model to all staff and if we are to improve leadership skills across the care sector we need to focus on imparting the skills needed to be an effective role model  across the many and varied organisations that provide care.