Take a few minutes to read this article, and you’ll find out…
Why I got started in the brain science of leadership
When leaders get in their own way
The trouble with how your brain processes info
A real-life example you can relate to
How wrong judgment is sabotaging your leadership
I had the honor of chatting with the fabulous Dr. Charity Campbell, a Digital Organization Development (OD) and Leadership Specialist, Academic Professional, University Lecturer and Millennial Multi-passionate Entrepreneur. For a quick summary of our convo, read Nuggets of Leadership Wisdom.
Among the many leadership topics we talked candidly about, we began with a discussion of how in the world I got involved in the brain science of leadership. I thought I’d share that below because it’s so relevant to the times every leader is facing right now.
How I got started in the brain science of leadership
One of Dr. Charity’s first questions was: “The brain science of leadership…where did you get that idea from? What made you get started in this area?”
My answer to that was…
After having been in leadership for 20+ years (more than I would love to say!) one of the major things that I realized was how much we talk to ourselves. Have you ever noticed that?
And oof, it's usually not in a nice way. It isn’t only the individual who is impacted by the inner dialogue they have with themselves. It gets in the way - a lot – when we want to:
Engage with employees and others
Engage with ourselves
Be effective in leadership and life
That’s what got me turned onto coaching and training new and mid-level leaders. And that passion grew into why do we do these things. I got really curious about it.
Hey leaders: Are you getting in your own way?
That is basically what pulled me into neuroscience and understanding how the brain takes in information. It has been hugely helpful for me, my employees, and my clients: to get out of our own way to make the lasting change we deserve.
“What do you mean when you say we get in our own way?” asked Dr. Charity.
What I mean by that is a lot of times our brain will function in a way where it's looking to protect us versus really looking to succeed.
What our brain does - when it processes any information that comes in - it judges it. That's a big portion of what our brain does first:
Is it good?
Is it bad?
Is it safe?
Is it not safe?
And then we start taking action on it. Our brain, as it's pulling that information, is going through past memories. It's running through past experiences and emotions around those experiences, and it's deeming it good or bad, right or wrong, whatever it is.
The problem with how our brains process info
Here’s the trouble: it's only looking at portions of that experience. It's not looking at the entire experience. That’s a big difference.
See, your brain isn’t looking at every little nuance. That means if it's even slightly deemed negative or unsafe, you are going to react in that way because that's what your brain has told you to do.
Let’s translate this into real life. You may:
Not take risks (even ones that aren't really a big risk at all)
Not act in a way that you're hoping to act
Not engage with somebody in a way that's more productive
…All because your brain is saying, "Mayday, don't do this!" That's what I mean when I say that we get in our own way.
Did you know? It’s usually not conscious. Quite the opposite, it’s often completely unconscious and happening so fast we don't even recognize that it's happening.
Leader or not, a real-life example anyone can relate to
Dr. Charity asked another great question: “What are some of the main ways that you've seen clients and leaders - and maybe even yourself - get in their own way?”
She wanted to know if there are certain actions or habits that I’ve noticed amongst all of the people that I’ve worked with.
Yes, absolutely!
One of the things that I noticed that we do all the time is to make a judgment on something - and our brain will naturally start trying to fact-find. In reality, it's not fact finding – it’s trying to find information to uphold whatever that judgment is.
This is common especially in leadership when we make a judgment - it could be on anything, really. It isn’t exclusive to leadership, it happens all the time in everyday life.
One of my favorite examples that most people can relate to is when you buy a car…did you ever notice that you usually start seeing that model everywhere?
Truth is, there aren’t actually more of those cars. Your brain is just now focusing on it. Likewise, the same thing happens when we make a judgment, say on an employee that's not doing their job.
Could wrong judgments be sabotaging your leadership?
Because you’ve judged that they're just slacking off, every time you see them talking to somebody else, you think…of course, that they're slacking off.
If they (gasp!) come in a little bit late, or they ask for a day off, your brain starts compiling all this information: “See, I told you they're not doing their job!"
Have you ever experienced this?
Your brain is busy doing something behind the scenes though: it is taking out all the stuff that is going well or that you could appreciate. Why? All because it's bearing on the side of caution and it's already deemed something negative.
Then what happens is that it emphasizes ALL the negative and NONE of the positive. So that person you’re judging could be doing an amazing job – only you’re not paying attention to that at all. Ouch.
Here’s your challenge for today: Start observing your own judgments. And no pun intended – try not to judge – just watch that brain of yours work. Get to know it better. Stay curious…
If you enjoyed this article, great! We’ve got a lot more popular leadership topics to dive into soon
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