Leadership: Managing the Ancient Brain
Effective leadership requires a thorough understanding of human behavior, especially our own. Recognizing the unconscious and ancient drivers of the mind is foundational, which impacts every level of leadership from CEO to parenting. While human behavior is complex, the ancient brain has some very simple rules. As stated by David Rock,
“ Status is a significant driver of behavior at work and across life experiences.”
- David Rock, author of Your Brain at Work
Ancient brain rule: The brain reacts strongly to threats, perceived or real.
Relevant triggers: A sense of status going down activates your threat circuitry. A sense of status going up activates the reward circuit.
Your ancient brain instinctually drives human behavior according to the level of threat it perceives. The reverse is also true. Reward circuits in the brain are activated when a sense of status goes up. Taking employees for granted is neglecting a powerful motivator and degrades loyalty.
So how does this play out in an everyday scenario?
In the workplace, it is important to recognize this unconscious elephant in the room. Just talking to your boss or someone you see as higher status than yourself can trigger a threat warning in your unconscious mind. As a boss, you need to understand that you are very likely posing a threat simply because you are a leader.
How do you handle this as a boss? Here are a few suggestions.
Brain boss tip: Be aware of language or behavior that could threaten someone’s status, and more importantly, recognize the irony.
The irony is that perceived threat to your own status level can be an obstacle to managing others. To decrease perceived threat to employees, it is crucial to share your own humanity and mistakes, but it takes strength to quiet your own ego. This is why it is so difficult for leaders to admit mistakes. It can feel like a weakness to admit fault which threatens your own sense of status. To complicate it further, there are some work cultures where this might be true. Understanding the mindset and culture of those you lead, therefore, becomes even more crucial.
Does this sound complex? It can be, but awareness of this single dynamic can be a powerful compass to direct how you handle interactions in your business.
Tricky part: There is no fixed status scale.
People will put a tremendous amount of work into protecting and building their status according to their own status hierarchy. Understanding the values of those around you can be crucial and extremely beneficial to know. It is a deep human need to protect your sense of status. Children pick up on this superpower early, and use it to push their siblings and parents’ buttons quite regularly.
Brain boss tip: Positive feedback reduces status threats. Pay attention to what your coworkers are doing right and be sure to recognize it.
Tricky part: Positive feedback must be authentic and full of self awareness.
Your staff can smell fake platitudes a mile away. It must be genuine and consistent with language that is not demeaning or patronizing. Be specific about what they are doing right and how it is beneficial. Activate reward circuits with sincere positive feedback. This applies to leaders too. Positive mantras are often touted by great leaders as ways to build confidence. It is one way they activate their own reward circuits.
Brain boss tip:
Listen. Truly listen to deeply understand what their values are and what positive feedback they need. Get curious and learn about who you work with. Theodore Roosevelt understood this. “Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.”
Brain boss tip:
Use successes, even small ones. Use the reward circuit to avoid triggering threat responses for others or your own. Pay attention to all successes, especially incremental improvements. The slightest success can trigger the reward circuit and defray feelings of “eating crow” when you admit your mistakes. Focus on the benefits of showing your humanity by understanding the positive impact it has on your employees.
Why should you care? Survey says!
Survey 1: 70% of 3,400 people polled across 10 countries suggest that their manager has more impact on their mental health than their therapist (41%) or doctors (41%). Workforce Institute at UKG.
Survey 2: “In a 2021 American Psychological Association survey, nearly 3 in 5 employees (59%) said they have experienced negative impacts of work-related stress in the past month, and a vast majority (87%) of employees think actions from their employer would help their mental health.“
Building a productive team is a fundamental factor in successful leadership. Understanding the nuances of how to do so is an ongoing growth process. Having healthy brains working in our knowledge sectors pays huge dividends for everyone involved. Not only does it launch a company to greater heights, but develops a loyalty that endures in a world where attrition is rampant.
Creating a work culture that thrives requires minds that thrive.