Your
brain is fundamentally lazy – it is always looking for short cuts or the path
of least effort. This can lead to a
limited view of the world based on your own perspective. How are you overcoming it?
In
order to function well our brain requires a lot of energy, mainly in the form
of glucose and oxygen, and it also needs a delicate balance of rest and
stimulation. If it doesn’t get these in
just the right amounts it rapidly down-grades its functioning, and critical
thinking goes out the window. However,
in order to be a successful Leader or Manager you need to harness the limited
resources of your brain by tapping into the brains of others.
Use or Lose
While
we all have the same fundamental brain structures, it is the way in which we have
connected our neural networks that makes us all so unique. You were born with 50% more neurons than you
have now. By the age of about seven to
ten the ones you didn’t use deteriorated and wasted away, while the ones you
did use became stronger and eventually created the information superhighways
that give you your current mind-set, reference points and mental maps of what
you think is ‘reality’.
There
is a distinct evolutionary advantage in this.
We are born with a vast blank slate that enables us to adapt to the environment
we grow up in. This includes how to
survive both physically and emotionally: how to adapt to the norms of the
people around us so they look after us. We
spend the first seven to ten years of our lives using particular groups of neurons
while neglecting others, all based on the threats and rewards we perceive. As we get to adulthood we build sets of rules
about how the world works and how we can best survive in it. These rules are only based on our previous
experience (often very early experience) and not necessarily the truth.
So
we all have a rather limited view of the world, each of us is only seeing what
confirms the rules we made up in our formative years. They give us the superhighways of thought
that we automatically have in any given situation. New thinking requires a lot of effort because
it means that we have to inhibit the usual default patterns and make new neural
connections.
The effort of
Learning
Children
have a fantastic capacity to learn because they still have so many possible
connections to experiment with. It is
relatively effortless because the rewards are so great and there is little, if
any, inhibition required. We are left
with the connections we used most. The
rest became obsolete and withered away.
But it’s not all bad news. With
considerable conscious effort, a willingness to be wrong (which the brain finds
excruciating) and a healthy optimistic curiosity we can change our mind, learn
new things and adapt. However, that is
quite a lot to ask, and a tired or depleted brain will avoid it like the
plague.
This
is where teamwork, collaboration and cooperation come in. The power of an effective team is about knowing
that we are all totally unique and see the world in different ways. By tapping into the different perspectives of
others we can enhance our own knowledge and awareness to a level that would be far
more difficult on our own.
However,
due to the complexity of everything mentioned above, many meetings descend into
people trying to impose their rules and their ‘reality’ on others who then spend
their time defending their own position.
We become defensive because we don’t want to experience the extreme
discomfort of having to change our mind and admit that the vast amount of
effort we put into building our maps of the world may have been an error. The brain perceives it as a threat to our
survival and puts us in ‘Flight or Fight’ mode.
This creates an even narrower focus, fewer neural connections and a
pessimistic mind-set.
But
is doesn’t have to be this way.
Utilising other Brains
Effective
teams have a common vision and shared values.
Sometimes these are not even stated or discussed – the team just gets on
with what needs to be done. But when a
team hits a setback and new thinking is required or team members change, it can
be very powerful to realign everyone to a clearly expressed vision, and values that
guide behaviour and decision making.
This ensures that precious brain energy is not wasted on trying to
figure out ‘what?’ and ‘why?’ but can focus on the ‘how?’
By
understanding the fundamental vulnerabilities of our brains and how to harness
the perspectives and experience of others, wise leaders and managers can tap
into vast resources beyond their own. Diversity
of opinion is the key to success in an increasingly Volatile, Uncertain,
Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) world. 21st
Century Leaders need to elicit input from others to challenge their thinking
and provide different points of view based on different experiences no matter
how uncomfortable it makes them feel.
If
your thinking isn’t challenged or you aren’t open to exploring the truth, you
can slip into the default patterns of your own rules and biases because your
brain is fundamentally lazy – it is always looking for short cuts or the path
of least effort.
There
is now a lot of research being done on how fallible we are and how our lazy
brains can delude us into thinking we are being rational, when all it is doing
is looking for the easiest way to jump to a conclusion that fits nicely with
our individual superhighways of thought, preconceived mental maps and mind-set.
I’ll
be writing more about this over the coming months and in the meantime I invite
you to consider . . .
- How diverse is your current team?
- How good are you at encouraging different
opinions to be expressed?
- How open are you to seeking the truth rather
than confirmation of what you believe?
If
you are interested in discovering your thinking preferences and neural
superhighways do let me know because we now have a very simple Assessment that
identifies your key strengths, and some potential blind-spots. For more just drop me a line at info@InspiredWorking.com.
With best regards
David Klaasen
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