Canadian Government Executive - Volume 24 - Issue 04

A few years back, consultants with ghSMART told us the biggest question we face is “who”: Picking staff is our most important decision, even more critical than “what” – the strategy we will employ. These days, in an era in which purpose is prized, “why” can often be the biggest question. But recently, best-selling author Daniel Pink turned our attention to “when” – the scientific secrets of timing. “We all know that timing is ev- erything. Trouble is, we don’t know much about timing itself,” he writes in When , which he calls a “when-to” rather than “how-to” book. He starts with moods. Positive mood rises in the morning, dips in the afternoon, and rises again in the evening. Breaking that down, research has shown: • People feel increasingly happy throughout the morning, less happy in the afternoon, and hap- pier again in the evening. • People feel increasingly warm towards others throughout the morning, less warm in the after- noon, and warmer again in the evening. • People enjoy themselves more as the morning unfolds, enjoy themselves less in the afternoon, and begin enjoying themselves again in the eve- ning. • Emotional balance rises in the morning, dips in the afternoon, and rises again in the evening. “Moods are an internal state, but they have an ex- ternal impact. Try as we might to conceal our emo- tions, they invariably leak – and that shapes how others respond to our words and actions,” he notes. So be careful in the afternoons. A study of CEOs holding communication calls with investors found they should be conducted earlier in the day be- cause as the day progresses, the tone grew more negative and less resolute. That probably applies to your own communications as well, in some way. Except it’s not quite that simple. Science never is, nor are human beings. Add to the mix the question of chronotype – whether you are a lark, owl or third bird. You probably have considered at some point whether you are a lark or owl – common terminol- ogy that most of us encounter in our teens – as we learn whether we prefer to go late into the night or start early in the morning with work or play. In fact, most of us actually are what he calls third birds: somewhat in the middle. Twenty-one per cent of the population are night owls, 14 per cent larks, and 65 per cent third birds. We can’t do much about chronotype. Genetics explains at least half the variability in chronotype, suggesting that larks and owls are born not made. Interestingly, people born in fall and winter are more likely to be larks and those in spring and sum- mer, owls. A key issue is that all of us experience the day in three stages – a peak, a trough, and recovery. About three quarters of us – larks and third birds – expe- rience it in that order. That is reflecting in the de- scription of moods already described. “But about one in four people, those whose genes or age make them night owls, experience the day in something closer to the reverse order, recovery, trough, and peak,” Pink says. And whatever is your pattern, he warns to be mindful of your troughs. They can be more dangerous than you realize. Hospitals are encouraging health workers to sani- tize their hands. But one study found that they are less likely to do it in the afternoon – for many their trough. Students fair worse in tests taken in the af- ternoon without a good mid-day break. Judges are more lenient in the morning and then by late morn- ing that fades, with nearly no favourable rulings. After lunch break they are more forgiving, but then in a few hours become hardline again. The research suggests we need a modern siesta. Since it’s unlikely the government will grant you When By Daniel Pink Riverhead Books, 258 pages, $37.00 48 / Canadian Government Executive // July/August 2018 THE LEADER’S BOOKSHELF BY HARVEY SCHACHTER Book Review: WHEN