Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D.

It’s time again to share our popular “Ask the Expert” interview series that connects you with dynamic thought leaders. This year we’ve spoken with Harold Taylor about time management, Erin Rooney Doland about clutter, Francine Jay about letting go, Todd Henry about next steps, Dr. Debbie Grove about change, and Joshua Becker about fresh starts. For July, I’m excited to have with us prolific author, speaker, and learning and human development expert, Dr. Thomas Armstrong to share his insights about motivation.

I had the pleasure of meeting Thomas almost two years ago when he spoke about Neurodiversity at the Institute for Challenging Disorganization (ICD) conference in Denver. He’s a fabulous presenter who is knowledgeable and engaging. My gratitude goes to Thomas for taking the time from his busy travel schedule to join us. When we communicated this past spring, he was just returning from being away for a month lecturing in Abu Dhabi. Before we begin, here’s more about him.

Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D. is the Executive Director of the American Institute for Learning and Human Development, an award-winning author and speaker, and an educator for forty years. Over one million copies of his books are in print on issues related to learning and human development. He’s written fifteen books including The Myth of the A.D.D. Child and 7 Kinds of Smart. Dr. Armstrong has given over 900 keynotes and workshops in 44 states and 23 countries. You can connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blog or website.

Linda Samuels:How has your expertise in neurodiversity and multiple intelligences influenced your ideas about motivation?

Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D.:  It’s clear to me that students are much more likely to be motivated to learn if they have an opportunity to learn using their most highly developed and/or most highly preferred intelligences.  Similarly, if a student has special needs (LD, ADHD, Autism etc.), they are more likely to be motivated in school if they are helped to learn using their strengths, rather than their weaknesses.  By focusing on words and numbers in the schools (rather than pictures, the body, music, nature etc.), we’re cutting off natural motivational channels for many kids.  And by employing a deficit orientation for kids with special needs, rather than a diversity perspective, we’re making it harder for these kids to get motivated.

Linda:  What motivates us to change?

Thomas: I’ve always liked Abraham Maslow’s schema on motivation, which he shared in the chapter ‘’Defense and Growth’’ in his book Toward a Psychology of Being.  He says you become motivated to change when a) you minimize the dangers of making a change, b) you maximize the dangers of not changing; c) you maximize the advantages of making a change, d) you minimize the advantages of not changing.  It’s a simple, elegant formula that anyone can use to develop a willingness to take a new job, exercise, not smoke, learn a new language, enter a new relationship, and so forth.

Linda:  What is one common motivation obstacle and a strategy for overcoming it?

Thomas:  Fear or anxiety seems to me to be the primary hurdle. There are many good strategies for overcoming fear/anxiety including meditation, strenuous exercise, psychotherapy, progressive relaxation, visualization, and yoga, just to name a few. I’ve used all of them, and to good effect.

Linda:  What has been your biggest personal motivation challenge?

Thomas: I’d prefer not to dig that deep into my past, but one very big personal challenge for me in the past several years has been my desire to write a novel.  I started sketching notes for a novel in 1990, began in earnest on it in the early 2000’s, and have been working intermittently on it ever since.  I’ve had to confront my own self-doubts about my ability to write fiction, my own difficulty in moving over from my left hemisphere (non-fiction) to my right hemisphere (novel), and my general difficulty in facing an empty page and moving into the unknown. I’m happy to report that I completed the first rough draft of my 120,000-word novel just last month while I was working in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. I celebrated by having lunch at Hemingway’s, a restaurant at the hotel dedicated to one of America’s greatest novelists.  Now, on to the revisions!

Linda:  What is your most surprising discovery about motivation?

Thomas: That you have to keep on re-motivating yourself. Motivation is not just one long surge. At least for me, it comes in spurts, and in different ways, and I guess, surprisingly for me, through dreams (which really helped motivate me to write my novel).

Linda:  What else would you like to add?

Thomas: So many parents ask:  how can I motivate my child to learn?  This is the wrong question. Your child was born with a natural motivation to learn, otherwise our species would have gone extinct. The question is, how do we re-motivate our kids, how do we reconnect them back to that intrinsic love of learning that they were born with. Here’s a hint:  tests, grades, ‘’rigorous’’ and demanding coursework, labeling, tracking, a standardized curriculum – these are not the ways!

Thomas, I love the positive, strengths-based approach you have about motivation and learning. Working from a place that energizes us makes so much sense whether we’re a child or an adult. Thank you also for highlighting Abraham Maslow’s model on motivation and change. Those ideas along with the strategies you shared for overcoming motivation obstacles are so helpful. I’m sure they’ll resonate with my readers.

Please join Thomas and me as we continue the conversation. Share your ideas about motivation, strengths-based being, and change. What are your thoughts?

Howard Gardner

Howard Gardner "Ask the Expert" interview about being Wonderfully Human the “Ask the Expert” feature is an interview series that connects you with industry thought leaders and gives you the opportunity to participate in inspiring conversations. This year we’ve spoken with Jane Pollak about possibility thinking, Dorothy Breininger about success, Dr. April Lane Benson about enlisting help, Leslie Josel about motivation, David Allen about time management, Peter Walsh about clutter, Sheila Delson about letting go, Laura Berman Fortgang about next steps, Judith Kolberg about change, and Sue West about fresh starts. This month I’m excited to have with us cognition, learning, and ethics expert, Howard Gardner, to share his insights and experience about multiple intelligences and learning.

Long before I met Howard, I became familiar with his theory of multiple intelligences through our youngest daughter’s third grade teacher. She designed her classroom based on his theories to help each child honor and explore their strengths. Several years later I had the pleasure of meeting and hearing Howard speak at a local music school. My deepest gratitude goes to Howard for graciously saying, “yes” to this interview and for taking the time to join us. Before we begin, here’s more about him.

Howard Gardner is a psychologist and writer who has been at Harvard for over fifty years. He is the Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is the author of twenty-nine books including The App Generation: How Today’s Youth Navigate, Identify, Intimacy, and Imagination in a Digital World, Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, and Leading Minds: An Anatomy of Leadershipand several hundred articles. Best known for his work on intelligence, creativity, and leadership, he has been studying the nature of good work, good citizenship, good digital play, and associated ‘goods’ and trying to enhance their incidence in today’s world. You can connect with Howard through Howard Gardner or The Good Project websites.

Linda Samuels:  You are internationally known for developing the theory of multiple intelligences. What becomes possible when we understand that we process and learn in diverse ways?

Howard Gardner:  There is greater understanding of other persons. Why, for example, they can approach a task in a way that is totally different than ours, and yet be equally, perhaps more successful.

At work and play, instead of looking for persons like us, we instead search for individuals with strengths and weaknesses that complement our own.

Linda:  You once said that, “…when we study plants or atoms, they are not affected by what we learn.  But when we study human beings, our findings can affect the future behavior of humans.” What has been your most surprising discovery?

Howard: My most surprising scientific discovery:  While the left hemisphere of the brain processes ordinary language, it is the right hemisphere that understands metaphor, irony, intention, and other speech acts.

Most surprising general discovery:  Rather than being primarily cognitive, creative achievements emanate from a certain kind of personality and temperament living in a certain cultural context.

Linda:  In your book, Intelligence Reframed, you wrote that we each have a “unique blend of intelligences.” How can we best embrace our uniqueness?

Howard:  Not to worry about what we can’t do, nor to worry about whether we are like others. Instead, pursue what you love, what you can get better at, share it with others, and they will reciprocate.

Linda:  Many professional organizers use their understanding about learning styles and differences to more effectively help their clients. How does your theory of multiple intelligences relate to learning styles?

Howard:  Individuals continually conflate MI and learning styles and yet they are ENTIRELY different concepts. Learning styles refers to how people putatively approach a range of tasks; for example, person A has a playful style, while B has an obsessive one. Intelligences refer to the strengths of our several mental computers. I may compute language more effectively than I compute spatial relations, and yet I have every right to decide to become an architect rather than a poet.

Linda:  How have your theories changed the way you personally interact with other people?

Howard:  When assembling a team, I look for individuals whose abilities complement one another and think about how to get them to work synergistically.

Linda:  Is there anything else you’d like to share that I haven’t asked?

Howard:  What questions do you think cannot or should not be answered in 500 words or less?!

I love your sense of humor, Howard. Yes, I realize that it’s not a simple matter to craft the responses to all these questions using 500 words or less. I greatly appreciated your ability to do so. I apologize if this limited what you wanted to share. If you would like, feel free to add additional thoughts to the conversation (without any word limitations.)

Thank you for sharing your wisdom about learning, intelligence, and being human. The thread throughout your responses of appreciating our differences and embracing our uniqueness resonated with me. We aren’t the same. Why should we be? It’s in the sharing of these differences that makes life interesting.

I invite you to join Howard and me as we continue the conversation. Come share your thoughts about being wonderfully human. Which ideas speak to you?