In today’s fast-paced business environment, time and focus have become two of the most critical strategic resources. As organisations strive to maximise value, leaders face the challenge of helping teams prioritise effectively, minimise distractions, and channel their energy towards high-impact activities. Researcher Gisela Bäcklander, a senior lecturer at Försvarshögskolan, offers valuable insights into how cognitive flexibility, deep work, and conscious use of technology can shape organisational success.
Gisela Bäcklander’s current area of interest is cognitive flexibility and adaptability. How we adapt thinking and behaviour in crisis and as part of preparedness.
– We need to be able to adjust when unforeseen events occur. The old ways may not be useful. I am looking into the concept of cognitive flexibility and how it can be strengthened. That skill is connected to creativity, individually as well as organisationally.
Cognition as a resource: Rethinking productivity
In 2020, Gisela Bäcklander’s book ”Ostörd – Principer för en skärpt arbetsdag” (Natur & Kultur) was released.
– I saw a pattern, where productivity was seen as an individual question. I want it to be seen as a resource. You do not hire clever people to reply to e-mails as quickly as possible, but to profit from their cognitive resources. I wanted to highlight the research in this field and make a case for recognizing it.
Since the publication of her book, Gisela Bäcklander’s hunch is that the consciousness about cognitive resources have become more widely spread.
– Even though more employers seem to understand this, many still have work to do in creating the conditions for concentrated work in the organisation to reach the full potential of the cognitive resources. You cannot fill the calendar with activities and meetings; you need to make room for deep work as well.
Reflection and deep work: Building lasting competence
For management teams ready to maximize the capacity of the cognitive resources Gisela Bäcklander have food for thought. When we work, we do two things. One is the production itself: the output of our efforts. The other is the competence gained by repeating and developing our work.
– By performing our work, we can also transform ourselves. We can gain more knowledge and know-how, gain better judgment and skills. But, for this to become qualitative, concentrated, focused and deep work is needed.
This, Gisela Bäcklander points out, is applicable both on an individual and an organisational level. If done without the room and possibility to reflect on the work, less competence is built. Said frankly:
– Without reflection on one’s competence, the intellectual capital will be less in the organisation. Especially if everyone is always stressed and performing work under pressure with no space to look back on how and why things worked out as they did. That is why cognitive resources are a strategically important issue.
AI and competence risks: Avoiding the hollowing effect
The increased use of AI to boost productivity presents a new risk to competence development in organisations, Gisela Bäcklander warns.
– With the use of LLMs (Large Language Models as Chat GPT etcetera) you may increase productivity of output without learning yourself. This risk is much more prevalent now. It may be very tempting to increase the use of AI but remember that there is an apparent downside. I am not tech advert; I just think we should be conscious about the risk of hollowing our competence. We need to remain in the driver’s seat and not become passive passengers.
Staying in the driver’s seat: The role of reflection and learning
As part of a research unit at Mälardalens university where the researchers are following an implementation of AI in an insurance company, Gisela Bäcklander has seen this up close.
– It is apparent that we need to provide the space for reflection and learning to remain in the driver’s seat. We need to be able to take our time, otherwise we risk losing our “taste” or “feeling” for what is good or bad. When you are experienced, even an expert, you have developed an intuitive feeling for quality, which is not as developed when you are new in the field. There is also a socializing aspect to this. New employees need a climate in which they can learn from their more experienced peers.
Decision-making foundations: Ensuring autonomy and sound judgement
Organisations and management teams need to reflect on the epistemological stakes in the organisation, meaning that they need to have an idea of how decisions are made and on which grounds, Gisela Bäcklander says.
– How do we know what we know, and what are our sources of information? Who is the guarantor of our decision base? If we lean on AI in decision-making, how do we know the information and knowledge is accurate? Those questions need to be addressed. Taking time to reflect guarantees that you are taking a more active role than just leaning on technology to make your decisions. Ultimately, it is about autonomy – to take part in steering, not only becoming a passive passenger.
Leadership recommendations: Practical steps for fostering cognitive flexibility and competence
To circle back to undisturbed work, Gisela Bäcklander have some practical advice for leaders in a management team:
- Always start the discussion about creating the best cognitive environment for business needs and then add on the employees’ preferences to find a decent balance. Employees’ needs are important, but fundamental is the needs of the business to reach the goals.
- Create predictability around undisturbed time. The predictability itself is key and even more important than the actual time frame. Make sure there is time for concentrated work so that employees can expect when to be able to work concentrated without disturbance.
- Clarify expectations regarding availability. Say out loud how you as leaders will be available and be clear about your employee’s availability.
- When scheduling, make sure to concentrate blocks rather than fragmenting them. This makes more room for longer chunks of undisturbed time.
- Make sure the work environment is adapted to the expected output. The environment needs to support the cognitive work expected to result in qualitative results.
- If employees are unable to perform because the environment is, for example, too noisy, then they will feel less competent and hence be less satisfied with the job. Therefore, do not push employees back to the office “just because”.
- On the other hand, the output of our work is seldom done only individually. We need to create an environment that supports collaboration and socialization, especially this is important when it comes to learning between junior and senior employees. If everyone works fully remote, that process will take longer.
- Find a balance in demanding work in the office and offer work remotely and make clear why and how you will make sure work works, regardless of the location.
- Make sure there is room for spontaneous meetings between colleagues. This was a thing that came up in a study during the pandemic as an important aspect for employees. They want to just pop into each other, not only to be scheduled in meetings.
- Have a serious discussion in the management team and in the organisation: how do we make decisions and on which grounds? What is our view of knowledge as an organisation and how do we make sure we build competence in the organisation, even as we increase our use of AI? Think of it as intellectual capital and treat it wisely.
About
Gisela Bäcklander is a work and organizational researcher with a particular interest in cognition in the workplace, creativity and innovation, self-leadership, and self-organizing systems. She is a senior lecturer at Försvarshögskolan and the author of “Ostörd – Principer för en skärpt arbetsdag” (Natur & Kultur, 2020).
Learn more
Video suggestion from Gisela Bäcklander to learn more about the concepts adressed in her book: Alan Baddeley: the origins of the central executive.
Webinar
At Beyond Talking, we regularly invite researchers and practitioners to share insights and experiences on how to bridge research and organisational life.
Join our next session
Beyond Talking is closely connected to the academic world, and our methods are grounded in modern research. By making insights accessible and applicable, we aim to support leaders, teams and organizations in navigating complexity, growing their collective intelligence and building sustainable ways of working.