written by: Trevor Ragan Learning is the Wild Card It’s game night. Snacks out, friends sitting around the table, cards shuffled. The deal begins. You peek at the first card – 5♦. Not much to work with. The next – 7♣. Then 4♠. Then 8♥. So far this hand is a dud – low cards, no pairs. Then comes the...
written by: Trevor Ragan Every morning after my workout class, I hit the Starbucks drive-thru. And every single time, I order a grande nitro cold brew. They’re so good – especially for the first couple of minutes after they’re poured. The nitro bubbles swirl around creating the smoothest texture in all of the land. It’s perfect. An absolute 10/10. After...
season 4 ep 1 Gaining experience and expertise is great for us – as individuals. However, research shows, this can hurt our capacity to connect with, lead, and advise others. Listen anywhere you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsSpotifyYouTube THE CURSE OF EXPERTISE To become more effective leaders we need to understand the curse of expertise and how to avoid it....
A deep-dive into toxic positivity: what it is, why it matters, how to avoid it What is Toxic Positivity? Positivity can be great. But when it’s used to force a positive spin on difficult emotions, it becomes toxic. Toxic positivity is everywhere, and a bigger problem than we realize, especially if we’re talking about learning. Whitney Goodman, author of Toxic...
We’re a little over a month into our New Year’s resolutions. How’s yours going? Same. Don’t worry though, we’re not alone. About 68% of people have never completed a resolution. Rather than running it back in 2023 with the same strategy and falling short again, let’s adapt, adjust, and approach this differently. And let’s do it ASAP. GOALS & SKILLS...
To change a behavior it’s usually best to focus on our mindsets and environment, rather than just the behavior. Eat more vegetables = behavior Vegetables are bland and boring → Vegetables can be satisfying and delicious = mindset shift Making fresh, well-prepared, veggies readily available = environment Get more sleep = behavior Sleep is a waste of time → Sleep...
If our goal is to be fearless, three things usually happen: 1. We avoid things that cause discomfort (which is good if we’re in danger, but not so good if we’re trying to learn) 2. We put the majority of our attention and focus on the discomfort (why am I feeling this, how do I get rid of it?) 3....
A video essay featuring: Amy Edmondson We’ve all seen or been a part of both good and bad teams. But what creates this gap? What separates bad from good and good from great? How can we build better teams on purpose? In 2012, Google set out to answer these questions. They rounded up the best researchers, statisticians, organizational psychologists, sociologists,...
“In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” – Eric Hoffer Great learners can adapt, solve problems, work through setbacks, build new skills. Learners are resilient. Learners are agile. No matter who we are or what we do, becoming a better learner is a...
My friend is bad with chopsticks. He’s so bad that he actively avoids places that use chopsticks. On the rare occasion when we convince him to come out for sushi, he’ll try to use them for a second, get embarrassed, then ask for a fork. In the scheme of things is this a huge problem? No. But it’s definitely an...
When we see someone perform at a high level we love calling them gifted. We see this in professional sports, in the workplace, and in schools. “Gifted” is coming from a good place but can send the wrong message. If I believe I’m gifted, I might take it a step farther and assume that I don’t need to work at...
Tough emotions – stress, anxiety, fear – hold a lot of power over the way we perform, learn, and handle setbacks. We feel nervous before a big game or presentation and don’t perform our best. We’re presented with a challenge, we feel uncomfortable, we decide we’re not ready. We feel weird about speaking up or asking a question and then...
by Trevor Ragan and Alex Belser | Podcasts | Fear & Resilience APPLE PODCASTSSPOTIFYGOOGLE PLAY Emotions, Learning, and Resilience The way we traditionally look at emotions can hurt our capacity to grow. To become a better learner we need to change our perceptions of emotions, learn to feel them, understand them, and to work with them rather than against them....
by Trevor Ragan and Alex Belser | Podcasts | Leadership & Learning Environment APPLE PODCASTSSPOTIFYGOOGLE PLAY How to Improve the Learning Environment with Modeling Our actions have more of an impact on the learning environment than we realize. If we understand the power of modeling, upgrade the way we think about it, and become more intentional about it – we...
by Trevor Ragan and Alex Belser | Podcasts | Leadership & Environment APPLE PODCASTSSPOTIFYGOOGLE PLAY Designing Your Environment for More Action and Better Learning To build a skill or make a lasting change we have to get on the path of taking and sustaining action. Understanding a few core principles from the field of behavioral economics can help us stay...
by Trevor Ragan and Alex Belser | Podcasts | Leadership & Environment APPLE PODCASTSSPOTIFYGOOGLE PLAY Using the Power of Stories for Better Communication Research shows that communicating with stories can lead to more retention, action, and connection – which are all essential elements of learning. Today we’re going to present the research that shows why stories are so powerful. And...
by Trevor Ragan and Alex Belser | Podcasts | Jungle Tiger APPLE PODCASTSSPOTIFYGOOGLE PLAY Learning From Good and Bad Outcomes Often times we judge our process and decisions by the quality of the outcome. The research calls this outcome bias and the poker world calls it resulting. No matter what you call it, this can lead to a number of...
It’s 2013. I’m a few weeks into blogging for my freshly launched website and winner of the most terrible domain name of all time award – championshipbasketballschool.com. The focus of my posts: how to design better basketball practices and drills. Thrilling, I know. My mom is a middle school PE teacher and I’m living in her basement. One day she...
It’s February 2014. I’m sitting in a massive training complex in Anaheim, CA observing the USA Women’s National Volleyball team practice. I am in awe. Having spent most of the past year researching and writing for my blog, I was curious about the science of development. Now I was on a mission to discover how to apply it. Most of...
APPLE PODCASTSSPOTIFYSTITCHERGOOGLE PLAY The Key to a Better Learning Culture If we want more effective teams we need to invest in creating a better culture. If we want a better culture we have to build psychological safety. Featuring Amy Edmondson: Harvard Business School Professor Daniel Coyle: New York Times Bestselling Author Eric Ragan: Grinnell College Women’s Volleyball head coach Norah...
APPLE PODCASTSSPOTIFYSTITCHERGOOGLE PLAY Taking Action Action is the most important step of the learning process, and it’s often the most difficult. To change a habit or build a skill we have to do the work (and sustain it over time). The hard part is that there are a lot of things that can get in the way of this. Today...
APPLE PODCASTSSPOTIFYSTITCHERGOOGLE PLAY The Pygmalion Effect Our expectations can have a huge impact on the performance and development of the people around us. Trev and Alex sit down with one of the most influential psychologists in the world, Robert Rosenthal, to learn more. Rosenthal shows how the Pygmalion Effect can have both a positive and negative impact on our people...
I’m squatting, you’re spotting. The goal: 12 reps Reps 1-3: no prob Reps 4-7: not bad either, but I’m starting to feel it Rep 8: It gets hard and I start to struggle a bit You jump in and do the last 4 reps for me. I feel better, you feel helpful… but my reps have been robbed! Obviously this...
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