OhASIS HOME | Biosafety Information | Safety Manuals ||| Symposium Contents

Proceedings of the 4th National Symposium on Biosafety

Effective Management in Animal Research Communication & Interaction B. Taylor Bennett, DVM, PhD Director, Biologic Resources Laboratory University of Illinois at Chigago Biologic Resources Lab M/C 533 1840 W. Taylor Street Chicago, IL 60612-7348 312-996-1221

Breakout Session

When I was first approached to Chair this session, I received a lot of help from the organizing committee with suggestions for speakers and rapporteurs. For that I was extremely grateful, but I received no input whatsoever on what they meant by "Effective Management in Animal Research". So if a previous speaker can codify White's laws, I can certainly talk about "Taylor" made Effective Management.

Whenever I am faced with a daunting task such as talking about Effective Management, I often turn to the dictionary. I find that it helps to define the actual meaning of something before you try to talk about it. So, I would like begin by attempting to provide a working definition of Effective Management. To start with let's define the terms themselves. If you turn to Webster, you will find that the first definition of effective is "producing a decided or decisive or desired effect". I would personally question Mr. Webster's use of the word "or" here between "decisive" and "desired", because it conveys the possibility that the decisive effect that we produce may not be desirable, which from a practical standpoint is not Effective Management.

The second definition refers to, "impressive or striking." While to think of your management as impressive or striking may make you feel good, it is not a standard that one would want to have to maintain on a regular basis.

In addition to the primary definition, my dictionary contained several synonyms for effective: effectual, efficient, efficacious. While "effective" stresses the actual production of an effect, "efficient" avoids waste or loss of energy in functioning, and all of us who manage today are being asked to do more with less. So using less energy and wasting less time is important, if you are going to be an effective manager. Efficacious suggests the "possession of a special quality or virtue that gives effective results" and uses the example of a detergent. Effectual suggests the "accomplishment of a desired result as viewed after the fact" and it is very important to review what we do after it has had an effect to see if we have been effective. So from a purely simplistic and practical point of view we could develop a working definition of effective that might go something like this:

Effective - " Producing an impressive, desired effect with minimal effort and loss of energy." It should be noted that impressive is optional in this definition, but if you can be impressive, why not? Of course in order to be effective you have to have certain virtues, one of which allows you to realize how effective you were after the fact - effectual management.

Management is defined firstly as, " the act or art of managing." If you look a little further, it is defined as the "Judicious use of means to accomplish an end," and the word judicious should be highlighted. The root word manage is defined as, " to handle or direct with a degree of skill". Webster then adds examples of this first definition, "to keep submissive"; "to treat with care" – to husband. Husbandry is a term we in animal research are comfortable with and usually, I think, equate with humane care. Humane being an important operative word whenever we think of managing people. The second definition found in Webster refers to, "alter by manipulation". In developing our working definition of management, we have to make a decision, a management decision of sorts, on whether we se ourselves as caring artist or crafty manipulators. I prefer the caring artist approach, but every once and a while there is nothing wrong with being a crafty manipulator. So we are left with the following working definition.

Management - "The caring art of skillfully using judicious means to accomplish an end."

Before we proceed to develop the working definition of Effective Management, I would like to call your attention to a few other definitions that can be found in the same general area of the dictionary as manage. The first, which appears after manage is manhandle which is defined as, "to move or manage by force". This can be contrasted with maneuver which as a noun is defined as "adroit and clever management... often using trickery and deception" and as a verb as, " to guide with adroitness and design." Another word which appears right before management in the dictionary is manacle - "to restrain from movement, practice or progress". Not unlike what happens to an animal care program which is not effectively managed. Several years ago, more like many, an AAALAC site visitor who is also a good friend made the statement that "managing animal care programs is like paddling a canoe upstream, when you stop paddling, you aren't standing still."

So now to the daunting task of our working definition of Effective Management - "The caring art of skillfully producing an impressive, desired, effect with minimal effort and loss of energy." It goes without saying that there are times that we must carefully maneuver and yes even manhandle a situation, but neither approach should be the basis of our management style, or we will find ourselves manacled to the canoe without a paddle.

The corner stones of Effective Management are Communication and Common Sense which brings me to my assigned topic of Interaction, Communication. If we all can leave this meeting and communicate to others in our organizations what we have learned and then implement it with a strong dose of common sense, we will be managing effectively. Today everybody is into computers. We have E-Mail and Home Pages. Everybody seems to have a newsletter, but in reality the key to communication is at the one to one level and that is what I want to concentrate on today.

Well back to the dictionary for some guidance . If you turn to the word Communication, you will find several definitions one of which is, " a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs or behavior." Within the examples that often follow definitions, you will see reference to, "personal rapport". If you dig even deeper and look up Communicate , you will find it defined as, " to transmit information, thought or feeling so that it is satisfactorily received or understood. " You will also see reference to the word Communion which is defined as, "an act or instance of sharing". Sharing is defined as " to ... enjoy with others." Before we develop our working definition of communication lets flip further to the word rapport which is defined as, "a relationship marked by harmony, accord."

Our working definition of communication can be taken almost directly from the dictionary: Sharing information through a common system of symbols, signs or behavior. The end goal of communication is to achieve a satisfactory understanding of the information that was transmitted. In short the development of a "harmonious relationship."

In the same dictionary I used you will also find communication defined in terms of a, " a technique for expressing ideas effectively" - speech. Because of the format, it is difficult to share ideas in the speech making mode, but the breakout sessions provide an excellent forum for developing a personnel rapport with the speaker and rapporteurs.

Today I would like to take what I consider to be a common sense approach to the art of communication. There are no handouts or reams of reference materials, because common sense does not lend itself to handouts and references. To provide order to what will follow, I have decided to refer to what I will call the four Ds of communication: Dictionary, Demeanor, Do's and Don'ts.

Dictionary

In order to effectively communicate we must recognize the need to have a common system of symbols, signs and behavior. The symbols are generally defined by an alphabet of some type which when arranged properly produces words which can be spoken or written as a means of sharing information. The written word is an excellent way to share information, because it is written. There is no inflection nor visual component to the presentation, but there can be ambiguity in terms of meaning which is why we have dictionaries. Of course if we had to use a dictionary to define every word, we would not be effectively managing in terms of the use of our energy and resources. We have all witnessed examples of this type of communication, which I will refer to as same language, different dictionary.

Same language, different dictionary occurs when one individual does not take into account the background of the other individual(s) with whom they are communicating and talks right over their heads. I have seen this with veterinarians and technicians on more occasions than I could relate. A classic example is when presenting material for an assistant technician training course. You ask a member of the veterinary staff to talk about anatomy and physiology, and they present a graduate level dissertation on the form and function of the mammalian organism. The end result is that many of those in attendance learn very little - same language different dictionary. To effectively communicate we must not only use the same language, we have to use the same dictionary and we must select the dictionary first.

Almost every IACUC protocol form that I have seen at some point directs the investigator to use layperson's language. Why? So that the nonscientist can understand it? Yes in part, but it is often essential for the other highly educated scientist on the committee to understand it, because each specialty has a different dictionary - same language.

So the first rule of effective communication is to work from the same dictionary. Make an effort to determine what dictionary the other participants are comfortable with and use it, otherwise it becomes a speech and not a sharing experience. How do you do this? It goes back to the issue of caring - husbandry. What is the first thing we try to teach people who start to work with animals - know the normal - observe the animals and learn about them. You can not out muscle them. You need to learn how to think like them. The same goes for communication - know the normal - observe the animals and learn to think like them - manhandling is not effective managment.

Try a little normal everyday conversation before you get down to business. Put everyone at ease and then ease your way into the conversation. When it come to communication, why do we tend to jump right to the task? It makes no sense in most cases. Take your time, establish a common ground - the same dictionary.

Demeanor

I do not remember when the phrase "body language" first appeared on the scene, but some perceptive individuals assured their own economic security by writing books on the subject. We all have our own distinct body language. Body language is the visual component of communication that is not part of the relatively safe written form. The way we walk, the way we sit, the way we fidget when we are bored, the way we tense up when we are mad or ill at ease, etc. is all part of our body language or demeanor. I have a particularly annoying habit that stems from long years of maintaining an open door policy. In fact an open doors policy. This style of management communicates a more relaxed atmosphere and encourages communication. In fact people tend to pop in and start talking. Over the years I have managed to adapt to this situation by continuing to work on what I was working on while carrying on a conversation. This is particularly easy to do with a computer in front of you. This behavior has to drive the other person involved in this sharing process a little bit crazy. It conveys the wrong message. By leaving the door open I invite you in to communicate, and when you get there, I seemingly do not pay any attention. It sends a mixed message, even if I am hanging onto every word. I have recently made a conscious effort to stop this annoying behavior and save whatever I was doing.

Our body language can put people at ease, or it can make them very uncomfortable and in some cases it can convey a sense of vulnerability, which in certain circumstances closes the door to a true sharing of ideas, because the other person came to make a point and not to communicate. How do we deal with the issue of our body language, and how it impacts on our ability to effectively communicate? The first step is an awareness of the importance of your body language on your ability to effectively communicate. With this awareness, you can concentrate on how you react to certain situations and then evaluate how your actions might have affected those situations. Ideally it would be nice to have someone to turn to for feed back to confirm your own evaluation. We are often our own worst critics, but on the other hand it is very hard to see ourselves as others see us. If you feel uncomfortable in a given situation, odds are that your body language is making your discomfort obvious to those about you. In most cases this feeling of discomfort comes from a lack of confidence in our ability to deal with a given set of circumstances, but with experience we become more at ease in such situations and our comfort level is mirrored in our body language.

Experience is the key to many aspects of successful communication and this is particularly true with how you control your body language. It is important to develop a comfortable style so that you can concentrate on what your saying and hearing and not on how you are appearing. It may not be possible for some of us to element all our annoying habits without become so self-conscious that we have no style ( warmth), but those that we can, we should. We cannot afford to take "a what you see is what you get attitude," if we want to be effective communicators.

DO's

Once you learn the importance of establishing a common ground for communication – common dictionary and learn that your mouth is only a small part of your body and that the rest of your anatomy plays vital role in the communication process, you have almost all the tools necessary to become an effective communicator. Almost all, because there is an overriding principle which is essential to becoming an effective communicator. In fact it is the key to working with and getting along with other people. Many of us learned it as the Golden Rule - "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". All of us have certain expectations when it comes to dealing with other people when we are on the receiving end, and we must assume that others have the same expectations of us when we are on the giving end. They do not want to be embarrassed or humiliated. They are looking for a positive, productive experience. If we remember that communication is a form of sharing (sharing the same experience at the same point in time), then we can more easily put ourselves in the other person's shoes.

DON'Ts

Lastly, what do we do when we have made an effort to define a common dictionary, learned to convey a positive environment and committed ourselves to an experience in sharing and still things do not go as we envisioned? Stop where you are and if necessary, back track until you get to the point where the wrong turn was taken and try another turn. This can be as simple as saying "Excuse me, but I must have misunderstood, could you repeat what you said....." or as complicated as having to apologize for making a misstatement or conveying the wrong perception. Communication is not about winning and losing, it is about sharing. So every once in while we have to acknowledge our own mistakes, before they become affected by the phenomena of perception over time. Time has an interesting effect on perceptions; turning them into reality. This effect is often increased for those perceptions which were the farthest from reality. Sort of a reverse inverse square rule - the farther we get from an event the more real it seems. So follow this simple rule, "When in doubt, DON'T."

So far everything that I have said is indeed a matter of common sense. Speak the same language and while doing so convey a sense of respect and caring. When things do not go as planned, take steps to correct it. It is common sense. Effective communication is all common sense and according to Webster common sense is defined as, "an average degree of such ability without sophistication or special knowledge". You do not need special training to have common sense. Most of us were born with it. Some of us seem to be less aware of its value and underutilize it, but we all have it. In this high tech era the value of common sense is often overlooked. In fact it takes a little gumption to use it when all about you are demanding formulas and references to justify every move. Gumption is "the readiness to use our common sense." With time we will develop judgmnt which implies common sense tempered and refined by experience, training and maturity. In other words we have learned form our mistakes. Given enough time, we will learn to display wisdom which is common sense and judgment far above average, which means we have been around long enough to have learned from a lot of our mistakes.

In summary, utilizing Effective Communication is a cornerstone of becoming an Effective Manager and the key to successful communication is liberal application of Common Sense. As with all situations in which common sense is a key component, experience and maturity are necessary to provide us with a basis for making appropriate judgments. The more we use our judgement, the wiser we will become. Many of the communication problems which affect our ability to manage are due to our own lack of experience and are not a reflection of our abilities. Not knowing how to do something does not mean we cannot do it. It only means we have not had the opportunity to do it. Once we have the opportunity, we can gain the experience necessary to do it effectively.

Communication is an art form and as with all art forms our experience will come out in the final product. But if we approach communication as a sharing experience we will find it easier to learn form our experience and to paint in our own style. Because Communication involves individual styles it is not painting by numbers. We all have different skills and experiences, and we have to use these to create a style with which we are comfortable. As our comfort level increases so will our effectiveness.

Effective Management in Animal Research Communication & Interaction Breakout Session
Rapporteur: Ralph B. Dell, MD Professor Pediatrics College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University 630 W. 168th St. New York, NY 10032 212-305-2404

The breakout session on interactions and communication started with the following observation by a participant that "The same concepts are being explained to people at my organization over and over again and still things aren't being done properly". What was wrong with the approach the participant was using? Considerable discussion ensued on this particular issue with a number of ideas that are of general interest.

Experience in human and veterinary medicine shows that bed side teaching with a patient is a very effective way to impart information. In other words, teaching is most effective when the student must have the information for immediate application. Several people observed that one should avoid lecturing. Lecturing is seemingly efficient from the standpoint of the presenter but very inefficient from the standpoint of the audience because it is a passive learning process. While it may take longer to get through the institution there is no substitute for one-on-one sessions to cover information in relatively small bites that are easily digestible and can be put into practice immediately. Changes in procedures will occur slowly but surely in small steps. Simple exposure to information is not sufficient to change behavior.

Several people were interested in follow-up. Questions included: How do you organize follow-up? How o you measure the effectiveness of your training program? How do you know that you have really modified behavior? One of the most useful suggestions made was to interview the worker by saying something like "I'd like to understand what it is you're doing". This approach gets workers to explain what it is they're doing and why, providing you with an opportunity to gently modify the procedure or give positive feedback if the procedure is being conducted properly. Another effective strategy is to ask the worker to write an SOP for the procedure. This shows exactly what the steps are from the worker's point of view and provides a real understanding of the worker's view of the job. Then, if necessary, the supervisor may suggest changes in procedure that would improve worker safety.

Another interesting and effective technique for performing follow-up to safety training sessions is to be familiar and readily available to staff by making frequent social rounds. In this way the safety officer is not always fact finding but in some cases is merely being friendly. In this manner the safety officer becomes a familiar part of the staff which helps foster communication.

Some of the research investigators at the breakout session wanted to know why they got such a bad reputation. How could they improve the situation? It was noted that talks to animal care personnel and to research staff by the investigator about the research project were usually very well received and were an excellent way to motivate personnel. That is, people should be working with you instead of for you and this is only possible if the worker has some understanding of the goal of the research.

General management style and principles were discussed. Such characteristics as friendliness, honesty, directness, and a positive approach to people management were emphasized during the session. These principles will go a long ways towards fostering communication and interaction among people and between employees and supervisors.

So, the bottom line is that if you want to modify behavior, if you want to really change the way in which people are doing things, then you need to sit down with them. You need to work with staff over time, changing techniques and procedures incrementally. Lecturing at a group of people is not a very good way to change behavior.

Symposium Contents

---

Office of Health and Safety, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road N.E., Mail Stop F05 Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA Last Modified: 1/2/97
Send us your Comments.