Are you getting enough?
Ever considered that the amount of sleep you get is a key factor in staff retention?
Researchers tell us that sleep is critical for our children’s capacity to learn. If they don’t get enough sleep, their ability to make new connections and their ability to concentrate is impaired.
Typical daily sleep requirements for children by age are:
• Infants (3 to 11 months): 14-15 hours
• Toddlers: 12-14 hours
• Preschoolers: 11-13 hours
• School-age children: 10-11 hours
So, are your kids getting enough sleep?
And as importantly, are you?
Why does it matter?
High performing brains, especially the pre-frontal cortex areas (PFC), require heaps of energy in the form of glucose. The PFC is responsible for our executive functioning like planning, decision-making, analysis, comparisons and behaviour control i.e. complex cognitive activities.
Just like children, if we are haven’t had enough sleep then our bodies prioritise the available energy just to keep us physically functioning. That means our brains, especially the PFC, lag behind in the race for glucose.
Result: tired brains find it hard to come up with new answers. One consequence is that we end up repeating what we have done before even if we know we should find a new way. We find it hard to focus, we procrastinate or we hastily make decisions that we should sleep on!
Negative memories and bad decisions prevail
Add this piece of research into the mix: Dan Ariely at Duke University wondered if decisions made in negative emotional circumstances in the past influenced future actions when the original emotion was no longer present. He did some experiments and concluded that they did.
Reason: when we make decisions, we tap into the memories of decisions we made in the past in circumstances that can be linked in some way to the present situation. That’s easier for our brain than having to come up with new neural connections (a new decision).
Now, negative memories (and their associated decisions) will always come to mind first because our amygdala is always on guard to protect us. They will, as Ariely puts it ‘become part of the blueprint’ for future actions.
And it’s when we use this blueprint and respond inappropriately, that’s what I call The Almond Effect®.
If we are tired our PFC is too exhausted to reflect back on the emotional circumstances in which the original decision was made and consider whether the decision is still the correct one in the fresh situation.
We are then likely to make the same poor decision again even though we may not be feeling the same negative emotions we felt when the original decision was made!
I wonder if that’s why office feuds, silo battles, home arguments, even wars, go on for so long – long after the original cause has been defused. We just haven’t stopped to challenge the pattern in our brain and so keep repeating decisions and behaviours because ‘that’s the way it’s always been.’
Ask your people if they like working for you when you are sleep deprived
So, for most of us lack of sleep means snap decisions, procrastination, repeating bad decisions, inability to concentrate and bad moods. And because we are tired we eat the junk food our bodies crave for an instant sugar (glucose) hit. We are too weary to do any exercise and so the exhaustion cycle continues – just adding to the load on our bodies and the depletion of energy.
Do your people love working for you when you are like that? Are you a good leader? Do they feel ‘engaged’?
They might put up with it for a few days, a few weeks, even longer but in the end, they’ll walk away and find someone who is easier to work with.
What to do about it
I’m not your mother so I’m not going to tell you to go to bed earlier, take a break, get some exercise, eat proper food, cut down on the alcohol – you can work that out yourself.
But at the very least, acknowledge when lack of sleep is impacting the way you lead. Consider whether, if you were in your people’s shoes, you are providing the kind of leadership that will encourage your best employees to stay?
If the answer is no and lack of sleep has something to do with it, then maybe you should let your kids put you to bed, read you a bedtime story and kiss you goodnight!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
CLUES Will your stress cost you your job?
Are you a good stress manager? You need to be to keep your people engaged
You may be one of those lucky people who never feel stressed. If that’s you, that’s fabulous – although you might want to check with your family and the people who work for you to see if they agree based on what they see.
Stress is a natural and normal part of our lives. But if your heart constantly races, your shoulders are always tight, your tummy is a tangle of knots, you haven’t slept properly for ages, you continually feel sick, on edge, weepy, angry etc, then your amygdala is triggering physical warning signs that you need to take notice of.
It’s The Almond Effect®, the inappropriate activation of our survival response. This fight or flight reaction is designed to help us in life threatening and dangerous situations. At those times, our amygdala triggers the release of chemicals and hormones to heighten our awareness and give us a jolt of power and strength to protect ourselves from the threat. It’s a short-term solution to a short-term threat.
However if we don’t manage longer term stress that comes from work or home situations, our bodies stay in a stressed or alert state for much longer periods of time than is safe for us to cope with. We end up exacerbating the situation and doing even more harm to ourselves.
Not only your health but your job may be at risk
Symptoms of stress are like a smoke alarm going off. We need to do something about it, immediately. If we delay and allow stress to turn into distress, not only will we experience a negative impact on our health and personal relationships but it may prove to be a career limiting move - especially if you have aspirations to move up the corporate ladder.
Your stress impacts engagement
Why? Failure to deal with your own stress could seriously influence how people feel about working with you and for you.
One of the key elements in retaining good people and keeping them engaged is your ability to manage your stress so that it doesn’t affect the people around you.
Who wants to go to work not knowing whether the boss will be ‘up’ or ‘down’, approachable or not, communicative or sullen, energetic or lethargic, short-tempered or easy-going, acknowledging good work or not even noticing, empathetic or distant, clear in what they want (or don’t want) or has fuzzy thinking?
A statement of the obvious? Of course! Yet some people-managers think that stress is a weakness and deny its existence even when it is demonstrably clear to everyone around them that they are stressed out.
They often try to suppress or ignore the signals usually with very sad longer-term health consequences. In another issue of CLUES I’ll tell you more about the impact of suppressing emotions on our bodies.
You damage yourself, your people and your organisation
Even employees with the highest level of self-awareness and management are worn down dealing with the actual or potential ramifications of your stress. And as the economy strengthens and regains traction, retaining our best employees and keeping all our people engaged will continue to be a major issue.
So what to do about it
These are the fantastic tips from Kay Wilhelm on the Black Dog Institute website.
1. Work out priorities
Keep a list - make the tasks possible. Prioritise the tasks in order of importance and tick off when done. Include the important people in your life as priorities and attend to these relationships.
2. Identify your stress situations
Make a list of events that leave you emotionally drained, with one or two ways to reduce the stress for each. When they occur, use them as an opportunity to practise your stress reduction techniques, then, keep notes on what works for next time.
3. Learn to ‘reframe’ statements: Don't react to imagined insults
It is a waste of time and energy to be oversensitive to imagined insults, innuendo or sarcasm. Give people the benefit of the doubt; talk over the situation with someone you trust. They may have another spin on what was said.
4. Think before you commit yourself to other people's expectations
We can often perform tasks merely to feel accepted by other people. Practice saying "no" to requests that are unreasonable or more than you can handle at the time - rather than suffer subsequent regrets and stress. Consider whether you should learn to rely less on the approval of others, again, talk this over with someone you trust.
5. Move on: Don't dwell on past mistakes
Feelings of guilt, remorse and regret cannot change the past and they make the present difficult by sapping your energy. Make a conscious effort to do something to change the mood (eg mindfulness technique or something active you enjoy) when you feel yourself drifting into regrets about past actions. Learn from it and have strategies in place for next time. Learn to forgive yourself for past mistakes.
6. Learn to defuse anger and frustrations rather than bottle them up
Express and discuss your feelings to the person responsible for your agitation. If it is impossible to talk it out, plan for some physical activity at the end of the working day to relieve tensions. Let go of grudges –they do not affect the potential victim because he does not necessarily know about them. However, the grudge-bearer pays a price in energy and anxiety just thinking about revenge.
7. Set aside time each day for recreation and exercise
Gentle repetitive exercise such as walking, swimming, cycling are good to relieve stress. Meditation, yoga, Pilates and dance are also excellent. The trick is to find what suits you best. Hobbies that focus attention are also good stress relievers. Take up a new activity unrelated to your current occupation, one that gives you a sense of achievement and satisfaction. Establish new friends in your newly found interest. There are handouts with a range of techniques for relaxation and mindfulness on the Black Dog Institute website that you can use.
8. Take your time: don't let people rush you
Frenzied activities lead to errors, regrets, stress. Request time to orient yourself to the situation. At work, if rushed, ask people to wait until you finish working or thinking something out. Plan ahead to arrive at appointments early, composed and having made allowances for unexpected hold-ups. Practice approaching situations ‘mindfully’.
9. Take your time on the road: Don't be an aggressive car driver
Develop an "I will not be ruffled" attitude. Drive defensively and give way to bullies. Near misses cause stress and strain, so does the fear of being caught for speeding. If possible avoid peak hour traffic. If caught in it, relax by concentrating on deep (stomach) breathing or ‘mindful driving’ (using mindfulness technique, also available on website). Advanced driving lessons can be useful.
10. Help children and young people to cope with stress
Children need the experience of being confronted with problems to try out, and improve their ability to cope. By being overprotective or by intervening too soon, parents may prevent young people from developing valuable tolerance levels for problems, or from acquiring problem-solving skills.
11. Think positively – you get what you expect
Smile whenever possible –it’s an inexpensive way of improving your looks and how you feel. Try and find something positive to say about a situation, particularly if you are going to find fault. You can visualise situations you have handled well and hold those memories in your mind when going into stressful situations.
12. Cut down on drinking, smoking, sedatives and stimulants
They only offer temporary relief and don’t solve the problem. They can create more problems in terms of physical and mental health. Consider the effects you are looking for (sedation or stimulation) and how else you can achieve them
It’s your life and job on the line
Your ability to manage stress is not just an issue for you and your family. It is critical to effective leadership. Your impact on staff will lead to good people staying or going and whether they perform at their optimal levels.
I strongly believe that great leadership starts with crystal clear awareness about ourselves, our emotions, our responses and our ability to manage ourselves for optimal health and performance.
Isn’t it fantastic that mastering stress and mental well-being is not only essential for yourself but will have a hugely positive effect on the people around you and their performance? And that can only be a good thing for your career.
P.S.
I’d love to know if you found this CLUES useful and any other topics you’d like to read about.
You may be one of those lucky people who never feel stressed. If that’s you, that’s fabulous – although you might want to check with your family and the people who work for you to see if they agree based on what they see.
Stress is a natural and normal part of our lives. But if your heart constantly races, your shoulders are always tight, your tummy is a tangle of knots, you haven’t slept properly for ages, you continually feel sick, on edge, weepy, angry etc, then your amygdala is triggering physical warning signs that you need to take notice of.
It’s The Almond Effect®, the inappropriate activation of our survival response. This fight or flight reaction is designed to help us in life threatening and dangerous situations. At those times, our amygdala triggers the release of chemicals and hormones to heighten our awareness and give us a jolt of power and strength to protect ourselves from the threat. It’s a short-term solution to a short-term threat.
However if we don’t manage longer term stress that comes from work or home situations, our bodies stay in a stressed or alert state for much longer periods of time than is safe for us to cope with. We end up exacerbating the situation and doing even more harm to ourselves.
Not only your health but your job may be at risk
Symptoms of stress are like a smoke alarm going off. We need to do something about it, immediately. If we delay and allow stress to turn into distress, not only will we experience a negative impact on our health and personal relationships but it may prove to be a career limiting move - especially if you have aspirations to move up the corporate ladder.
Your stress impacts engagement
Why? Failure to deal with your own stress could seriously influence how people feel about working with you and for you.
One of the key elements in retaining good people and keeping them engaged is your ability to manage your stress so that it doesn’t affect the people around you.
Who wants to go to work not knowing whether the boss will be ‘up’ or ‘down’, approachable or not, communicative or sullen, energetic or lethargic, short-tempered or easy-going, acknowledging good work or not even noticing, empathetic or distant, clear in what they want (or don’t want) or has fuzzy thinking?
A statement of the obvious? Of course! Yet some people-managers think that stress is a weakness and deny its existence even when it is demonstrably clear to everyone around them that they are stressed out.
They often try to suppress or ignore the signals usually with very sad longer-term health consequences. In another issue of CLUES I’ll tell you more about the impact of suppressing emotions on our bodies.
You damage yourself, your people and your organisation
Even employees with the highest level of self-awareness and management are worn down dealing with the actual or potential ramifications of your stress. And as the economy strengthens and regains traction, retaining our best employees and keeping all our people engaged will continue to be a major issue.
So what to do about it
These are the fantastic tips from Kay Wilhelm on the Black Dog Institute website.
1. Work out priorities
Keep a list - make the tasks possible. Prioritise the tasks in order of importance and tick off when done. Include the important people in your life as priorities and attend to these relationships.
2. Identify your stress situations
Make a list of events that leave you emotionally drained, with one or two ways to reduce the stress for each. When they occur, use them as an opportunity to practise your stress reduction techniques, then, keep notes on what works for next time.
3. Learn to ‘reframe’ statements: Don't react to imagined insults
It is a waste of time and energy to be oversensitive to imagined insults, innuendo or sarcasm. Give people the benefit of the doubt; talk over the situation with someone you trust. They may have another spin on what was said.
4. Think before you commit yourself to other people's expectations
We can often perform tasks merely to feel accepted by other people. Practice saying "no" to requests that are unreasonable or more than you can handle at the time - rather than suffer subsequent regrets and stress. Consider whether you should learn to rely less on the approval of others, again, talk this over with someone you trust.
5. Move on: Don't dwell on past mistakes
Feelings of guilt, remorse and regret cannot change the past and they make the present difficult by sapping your energy. Make a conscious effort to do something to change the mood (eg mindfulness technique or something active you enjoy) when you feel yourself drifting into regrets about past actions. Learn from it and have strategies in place for next time. Learn to forgive yourself for past mistakes.
6. Learn to defuse anger and frustrations rather than bottle them up
Express and discuss your feelings to the person responsible for your agitation. If it is impossible to talk it out, plan for some physical activity at the end of the working day to relieve tensions. Let go of grudges –they do not affect the potential victim because he does not necessarily know about them. However, the grudge-bearer pays a price in energy and anxiety just thinking about revenge.
7. Set aside time each day for recreation and exercise
Gentle repetitive exercise such as walking, swimming, cycling are good to relieve stress. Meditation, yoga, Pilates and dance are also excellent. The trick is to find what suits you best. Hobbies that focus attention are also good stress relievers. Take up a new activity unrelated to your current occupation, one that gives you a sense of achievement and satisfaction. Establish new friends in your newly found interest. There are handouts with a range of techniques for relaxation and mindfulness on the Black Dog Institute website that you can use.
8. Take your time: don't let people rush you
Frenzied activities lead to errors, regrets, stress. Request time to orient yourself to the situation. At work, if rushed, ask people to wait until you finish working or thinking something out. Plan ahead to arrive at appointments early, composed and having made allowances for unexpected hold-ups. Practice approaching situations ‘mindfully’.
9. Take your time on the road: Don't be an aggressive car driver
Develop an "I will not be ruffled" attitude. Drive defensively and give way to bullies. Near misses cause stress and strain, so does the fear of being caught for speeding. If possible avoid peak hour traffic. If caught in it, relax by concentrating on deep (stomach) breathing or ‘mindful driving’ (using mindfulness technique, also available on website). Advanced driving lessons can be useful.
10. Help children and young people to cope with stress
Children need the experience of being confronted with problems to try out, and improve their ability to cope. By being overprotective or by intervening too soon, parents may prevent young people from developing valuable tolerance levels for problems, or from acquiring problem-solving skills.
11. Think positively – you get what you expect
Smile whenever possible –it’s an inexpensive way of improving your looks and how you feel. Try and find something positive to say about a situation, particularly if you are going to find fault. You can visualise situations you have handled well and hold those memories in your mind when going into stressful situations.
12. Cut down on drinking, smoking, sedatives and stimulants
They only offer temporary relief and don’t solve the problem. They can create more problems in terms of physical and mental health. Consider the effects you are looking for (sedation or stimulation) and how else you can achieve them
It’s your life and job on the line
Your ability to manage stress is not just an issue for you and your family. It is critical to effective leadership. Your impact on staff will lead to good people staying or going and whether they perform at their optimal levels.
I strongly believe that great leadership starts with crystal clear awareness about ourselves, our emotions, our responses and our ability to manage ourselves for optimal health and performance.
Isn’t it fantastic that mastering stress and mental well-being is not only essential for yourself but will have a hugely positive effect on the people around you and their performance? And that can only be a good thing for your career.
P.S.
I’d love to know if you found this CLUES useful and any other topics you’d like to read about.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
CLUES Don't fight with your family this Christmas!
Christmas with the family – pleasure or a pain?
As Christmas approaches, many of us will be preparing for the annual family get together.
Some of you will be looking forward to it.
A few of you will be putting on the family event or attending it because it’s the tradition in your family but dreading how it might turn out.
Others will have, as I used to, inflated expectations of what a lovely, friendly, happy event it would be – only to be disappointed. You can’t make a family that doesn’t have lovely, friendly, happy relationships through the year, have them on Christmas Day!
Take a STAR approach to the Festive Season
Whichever category you fall into, don’t let your ANTs (Automatic Negative Thoughts) get in the way.
Be aware if you feel yourself getting agitated or annoyed (i.e. The Almond Effect®). Notice it and tell yourself to calm down. It is only for this day. Don’t let the stress and tension cause you to miss the potential pleasure of having a hassle free Christmas.
Be a STAR. Stop and Think about what’s going on before you Act. Then when you reflect on the day, don’t let your brain strengthen any negative hard-wiring. Focus on the good things that happened and Rewire those.
And watch out for everyone else’s Almonds (amygdalae) too! Don’t rise to the bait.
Sugar coat the 'almonds' on this occasion – after all, it will be 365 days until the next one!
Hope you have a fabulous Festive Season and a wonderful 2010
As Christmas approaches, many of us will be preparing for the annual family get together.
Some of you will be looking forward to it.
A few of you will be putting on the family event or attending it because it’s the tradition in your family but dreading how it might turn out.
Others will have, as I used to, inflated expectations of what a lovely, friendly, happy event it would be – only to be disappointed. You can’t make a family that doesn’t have lovely, friendly, happy relationships through the year, have them on Christmas Day!
Take a STAR approach to the Festive Season
Whichever category you fall into, don’t let your ANTs (Automatic Negative Thoughts) get in the way.
Be aware if you feel yourself getting agitated or annoyed (i.e. The Almond Effect®). Notice it and tell yourself to calm down. It is only for this day. Don’t let the stress and tension cause you to miss the potential pleasure of having a hassle free Christmas.
Be a STAR. Stop and Think about what’s going on before you Act. Then when you reflect on the day, don’t let your brain strengthen any negative hard-wiring. Focus on the good things that happened and Rewire those.
And watch out for everyone else’s Almonds (amygdalae) too! Don’t rise to the bait.
Sugar coat the 'almonds' on this occasion – after all, it will be 365 days until the next one!
Hope you have a fabulous Festive Season and a wonderful 2010
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
CLUES Don't keep them in the dark
“Don’t share this with anybody”.
Has your boss ever said that to you? Have you ever said it to your team?
The secret might be about a restructure, change in product line, new technology, the company’s financial results, a mistake, a failure, a possible merger, something about themselves, another employee or even about your role yet you are sworn to silence.
And what about at home? Have you ever withheld something from your partner or kids? An action that’s left you feeling uncomfortable at best and dishonest at worst?
Apart from the discomfort you almost certainly experience, I am sure you’ve witnessed the effect of secrecy on people around you especially if they suspect something is up and they are already operating in an information vacuum.
People generally hate being kept in the dark. You are right if you suspect that our amygdalae are implicated in reactions to silence in ‘suspicious’ circumstances.
You are so predictable!
Let’s explore this. Most of what we do everyday we don’t need to think about - we run on ‘automatic.’ We consciously don’t need to think about what to do next – we just ‘know’. Our brain guides us to take action based on pre-existing patterns of behaviour (habits) and predictability of outcomes.
So from the moment you get out of bed to the time you go back to bed, you probably follow a comparable routine each day. We don’t like to think we are predictable but we are. We have to be otherwise our working memory would be exhausted and we would be bushed from the sheer effort of using our brains so much.
Routines are the basis of how we live
For me, my early morning outline is to get out of bed, go to the bathroom, then to the kitchen, turn on the electric jug, get my vitamins out, turn on my computer, open the sliding doors to the deck, open the front door and go down the steps to collect the newspaper, get my breakfast and so on. I don’t actively think about it - it just happens like that most mornings.
My sub-conscious brain is guiding my actions and making decisions (like, is there enough water in the jug, stop pouring milk into the bowl) based on neural patterns laid down in its hardwiring that predict outcomes
Of course, if the paper hasn’t been delivered or I’ve run out of vitamins then the routine is interrupted. Then I have to stop and think about what to do – well actually first my amygdala automatically does some checking and assesses the risk to my survival with this break in pattern.
Usually it’s no big deal because my amygdala knows based on history that the lack of vitamins or a newspaper is not life threatening!
Pattern interrupter
However if my computer tells me when I turn it on that my hard drive has failed then that’s another reaction entirely - my ‘almonds’ kick in!
I immediately have to manage my survival response (manifesting as words that it’s preferable not to use!) and stop panicking long enough to get my thinking brain (pre-frontal cortex PFC) to work out where I put the number and service code for Dell, what I backed up, what I lost and what my priorities are.
My predictable morning didn’t go as planned so The Almond Effect® kicked in – and I haven’t even been up longer than 10 minutes!
Is it the same at work?
What do you do when you get to work, do you follow the same routine? For example, it could be that you turn on the computer, get coffee, say hi to people at the workstation across from you, open your email, look at your diary etc.
No drama, all normal just as your brain predicted, unless an unexpected alert starts flashing on your screen to call your manager urgently. Your brain’s hard-wired pattern-based operation is stopped in its tracks as it rapidly tries to assess the ‘threat’ and predict what the urgency is all about.
Your amygdala is immediately on red alert asking whether the interruption is a threat to your survival. If history shows that an alert saying to call the boss immediately is likely to cause a problem, then The Almond Effect® kicks in.
I hope that because you have been in one of my workshops, you’ll immediately put STAR into operation and get your PFC engaged to think before you act!
Not knowing is worst for the brain than knowing
Uncertainty really throws our brains into a muddle because in the absence of any pattern to the contrary, our brain defaults to predict the worst outcome as its natural survival mechanism (The Almond Effect®) – even in non-life threatening situations at home or at work.
This is why you should never be surprised that withholding information, keeping secrets etc will lead to gossip (flocking) pessimism and worst case scenario interpretations.
Lack of certainty creates anxiety, frustration, gossip and innuendo – all expressions of The Almond Effect®.
And anxious people don’t concentrate or perform well –their brains are distracted - focussing on the cause of the anxiety. They are searching for any kind of predictable outcome so that the brain can operate with certainty again.
The situation is clearly exacerbated if we are already operating in an information vacuum because our brains will predict the worst case scenario so we can prepare ourselves to survive.
Applied at home, it means for example that if your teenager isn’t at the place they said they were going to, your almonds go off. If you unexpectedly find a hotel receipt in your spouse’s pocket, if your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere – you get the picture!
Implications
Whether you are implementing changes at work or trying to hide something from someone at home, be aware that if the other party’s amygdala can’t see a ‘safe’ pattern, it will get suspicious. And the natural default reaction will be to focus on the worst case interpretation of the events with all the ramifications that will flow.
That’s why most people say, just tell us what’s going on – and then we can work out how to deal with it.
If you think you are doing people a favour by only giving information on a ‘need to know’ basis, think again – brain biology wants just the opposite.
Has your boss ever said that to you? Have you ever said it to your team?
The secret might be about a restructure, change in product line, new technology, the company’s financial results, a mistake, a failure, a possible merger, something about themselves, another employee or even about your role yet you are sworn to silence.
And what about at home? Have you ever withheld something from your partner or kids? An action that’s left you feeling uncomfortable at best and dishonest at worst?
Apart from the discomfort you almost certainly experience, I am sure you’ve witnessed the effect of secrecy on people around you especially if they suspect something is up and they are already operating in an information vacuum.
People generally hate being kept in the dark. You are right if you suspect that our amygdalae are implicated in reactions to silence in ‘suspicious’ circumstances.
You are so predictable!
Let’s explore this. Most of what we do everyday we don’t need to think about - we run on ‘automatic.’ We consciously don’t need to think about what to do next – we just ‘know’. Our brain guides us to take action based on pre-existing patterns of behaviour (habits) and predictability of outcomes.
So from the moment you get out of bed to the time you go back to bed, you probably follow a comparable routine each day. We don’t like to think we are predictable but we are. We have to be otherwise our working memory would be exhausted and we would be bushed from the sheer effort of using our brains so much.
Routines are the basis of how we live
For me, my early morning outline is to get out of bed, go to the bathroom, then to the kitchen, turn on the electric jug, get my vitamins out, turn on my computer, open the sliding doors to the deck, open the front door and go down the steps to collect the newspaper, get my breakfast and so on. I don’t actively think about it - it just happens like that most mornings.
My sub-conscious brain is guiding my actions and making decisions (like, is there enough water in the jug, stop pouring milk into the bowl) based on neural patterns laid down in its hardwiring that predict outcomes
Of course, if the paper hasn’t been delivered or I’ve run out of vitamins then the routine is interrupted. Then I have to stop and think about what to do – well actually first my amygdala automatically does some checking and assesses the risk to my survival with this break in pattern.
Usually it’s no big deal because my amygdala knows based on history that the lack of vitamins or a newspaper is not life threatening!
Pattern interrupter
However if my computer tells me when I turn it on that my hard drive has failed then that’s another reaction entirely - my ‘almonds’ kick in!
I immediately have to manage my survival response (manifesting as words that it’s preferable not to use!) and stop panicking long enough to get my thinking brain (pre-frontal cortex PFC) to work out where I put the number and service code for Dell, what I backed up, what I lost and what my priorities are.
My predictable morning didn’t go as planned so The Almond Effect® kicked in – and I haven’t even been up longer than 10 minutes!
Is it the same at work?
What do you do when you get to work, do you follow the same routine? For example, it could be that you turn on the computer, get coffee, say hi to people at the workstation across from you, open your email, look at your diary etc.
No drama, all normal just as your brain predicted, unless an unexpected alert starts flashing on your screen to call your manager urgently. Your brain’s hard-wired pattern-based operation is stopped in its tracks as it rapidly tries to assess the ‘threat’ and predict what the urgency is all about.
Your amygdala is immediately on red alert asking whether the interruption is a threat to your survival. If history shows that an alert saying to call the boss immediately is likely to cause a problem, then The Almond Effect® kicks in.
I hope that because you have been in one of my workshops, you’ll immediately put STAR into operation and get your PFC engaged to think before you act!
Not knowing is worst for the brain than knowing
Uncertainty really throws our brains into a muddle because in the absence of any pattern to the contrary, our brain defaults to predict the worst outcome as its natural survival mechanism (The Almond Effect®) – even in non-life threatening situations at home or at work.
This is why you should never be surprised that withholding information, keeping secrets etc will lead to gossip (flocking) pessimism and worst case scenario interpretations.
Lack of certainty creates anxiety, frustration, gossip and innuendo – all expressions of The Almond Effect®.
And anxious people don’t concentrate or perform well –their brains are distracted - focussing on the cause of the anxiety. They are searching for any kind of predictable outcome so that the brain can operate with certainty again.
The situation is clearly exacerbated if we are already operating in an information vacuum because our brains will predict the worst case scenario so we can prepare ourselves to survive.
Applied at home, it means for example that if your teenager isn’t at the place they said they were going to, your almonds go off. If you unexpectedly find a hotel receipt in your spouse’s pocket, if your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere – you get the picture!
Implications
Whether you are implementing changes at work or trying to hide something from someone at home, be aware that if the other party’s amygdala can’t see a ‘safe’ pattern, it will get suspicious. And the natural default reaction will be to focus on the worst case interpretation of the events with all the ramifications that will flow.
That’s why most people say, just tell us what’s going on – and then we can work out how to deal with it.
If you think you are doing people a favour by only giving information on a ‘need to know’ basis, think again – brain biology wants just the opposite.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
CLUES Anxiety and poor decision making
Does anxiety ever cloud your ability to think clearly and make the best decision?
A couple of days ago, driving home from swimming training, I began to hear a ‘click-click-clicking’ sound. It seemed to be coming from the front of my car.
In a nano-second, I was on red alert and in the grip of The Almond Effect®.
My mind was racing: ‘I can’t have a flat tyre here – I’m in the middle of 3 lanes of traffic. I can’t get out of the car to check if I have a puncture because I’ll get run over. Oh no, I’m going to cause a traffic jam and then they’ll report it for everyone to hear on the radio. I can’t pull over but if I keep driving, I’ll be driving on the rim and that will be dangerous – and expensive!’
I became aware of my heartbeat speeding up and vivid memories of being stuck in the spiral loop of a multi-level carpark flooding back – which is what happened the last time I had a puncture, several years ago.
Crazy thoughts
On and on my amygdala worried:
“I can’t ring my husband because he is inter-state and can’t help. It’s already late and I have an early morning teleconference tomorrow that I still have to read the papers for. And if I don’t get home til late and am too tired to read the papers properly then I won’t be fully prepared for the meeting and that will be embarrassing and I’ll let my colleagues down. And I look a mess; my hair is still wet from swimming, my make-up is half-on and half-off. What an idiot not to have cleaned off all my make-up before I got into the pool.”
All these thoughts in just one or two seconds because my ears picked up a ‘click-click-clicking’ sound that I didn’t even know for certain was coming from my car!
Name the emotions
As soon as I noticed my heart starting to race I applied my STAR approach: Stop-Think-Act-Rewire.
I took a deep breath, and said to myself: “I am feeling anxious, frustrated and embarrassed.”
You’ll recall that neuroscientists say that doing this calms down our amygdala and this creates space for our pre-frontal cortex, our thinking brain, to work.
If you think of our amygdala as a smoke alarm, when we recognise and acknowledge the emotion we’re experiencing, we turn off and reset this ‘danger radar’. It’s like saying: “Got it - thanks for the warning – I’ll look into the problem now and find a solution.”
My rescuer was also experiencing The Almond Effect®
I took the chance – and kept driving as home was only a few kilometres away. I was extremely fortunate that I made it safely. The next morning, the Roadside Assistance patrol man arrived! He found a roofing nail lodged in the tread of the front tyre.
While he was changing the tyre for me, I mentioned that I had read that his organisation had posted a significant financial loss for the year. The press reported that services and jobs like his were at risk.
In an instant, I saw him in the grip of The Almond Effect®. My helpful rescuer told me what he and his co-workers were thinking. He said they had found out about the financial losses through the press and a voicemail after the announcement had been made.
He said that the drivers figure that crunch time for jobs and services will be in about 18 months time when the EBA comes up for renewal.
And as they, the drivers, thought about it some more, they believed this was all going to be about the EBA due for renewal in some 18 months time.
The driver continued to tell me all the things that he and his mates had worked out: how much the salary bill was for the patrol drivers, what the membership income was, how much the organisation had spent on a failed business venture, how many jobs will be lost, that the organisation really just wanted to bring in contractors, and so on. He also talked about the CEO and his failures (so they perceived) in other companies and how they believed that he was taking this organisation down the same path.
I’m sure much of it their number-crunching came from ‘back of the beer-mat’ calculations that may or may not be correct but their fears and disillusionment with the organisation were very real.
Communication vacuums breed fear
I don’t know what information the organisation has shared with its employees nor if anything that the driver told me is true. But what I do know from this conversation is that this driver’s ‘almonds’ (amygdalae) and those of his mates were aroused and on high alert as a result of the stories in the newspapers.
As a consequence, they were automatically in fight/flight mode, thinking of the worst possible outcomes and preparing to defend themselves from the ‘threat.’
I have seen this situation in many of the organisations that I have worked with. What results is that employees start focussing so much on the perceived threat that they take their attention away from their main priority i.e. doing their jobs to the best level they can – to the detriment of all stakeholders.
How many of you work in organisations where an information vacuum is created or misinformation spreads? For example, management is so busy protecting itself from external threats – what will shareholders and/or analysts say – that they lose sight of a major internal threat, namely how staff will react if they have to learn about their future from the media?
Leaders have to hold their nerve
Although the worst of the global economic crisis appears to be over, fear and anxiety in employees remains high.
This is one of those critical times when leaders need self-discipline to Stop and Think before they Act. This will be hard if the leader is enduring The Almond Effect® but doesn’t realise it.
That could happen if they aren’t aware of The Almond Effect® and the role the amygdala plays even in non-life threatening situations. Or they haven’t developed the skill of recognising and responding appropriately to the physiological signs that our fight/flight response activates before our conscious brain kicks in.
Understanding this automatic brain activity is a fundamental component of developing self-awareness. And self-awareness is the core skill that distinguishes effective leaders from the rest.
How to do it
Self-aware leaders learn how to catch themselves in the clutches of The Almond Effect® before it clouds their judgment. This way they mostly avoid making poor decisions based primarily on irrational emotional responses not cognitive thinking.
There is no magic bullet to develop this skill. It’s takes commitment and practice. One way to start is to reflect on a past decision that didn’t deliver the outcome you had hoped for – this is Rewiring in STAR. It provides an opportunity to assess whether you would have made a different decision if you were in control of your emotions.
What were you feeling at that time? If you find it hard to remember exactly, recreate as much of the context and the situation as you can. It helps to describe it to someone or out loud to yourself. Write it down if you prefer. As you do this, your brain will take you back to that time and place and you will be able to recognise your emotions at the time.
When you have a handle on these, ask yourself whether the emotions were helpful or unhelpful? If they were unhelpful, where could they have been coming from? What could have triggered them? If you can, keep exploring until you work out whether the unhelpful emotions were based on some past experience. Then explore the similarities between the past experience and the one in which you didn’t make the best decision. There will be some fruitful learning in that.
Sometimes it’s not easy to find the source of the trigger. In that case, and in any event, train yourself to recognise your emotional state at any time and to Stop-Think-Act-Rewire. If you don’t then don’t be surprised if anxiety and other related emotions cloud your judgment and interfere with your best decision making skills.
A couple of days ago, driving home from swimming training, I began to hear a ‘click-click-clicking’ sound. It seemed to be coming from the front of my car.
In a nano-second, I was on red alert and in the grip of The Almond Effect®.
My mind was racing: ‘I can’t have a flat tyre here – I’m in the middle of 3 lanes of traffic. I can’t get out of the car to check if I have a puncture because I’ll get run over. Oh no, I’m going to cause a traffic jam and then they’ll report it for everyone to hear on the radio. I can’t pull over but if I keep driving, I’ll be driving on the rim and that will be dangerous – and expensive!’
I became aware of my heartbeat speeding up and vivid memories of being stuck in the spiral loop of a multi-level carpark flooding back – which is what happened the last time I had a puncture, several years ago.
Crazy thoughts
On and on my amygdala worried:
“I can’t ring my husband because he is inter-state and can’t help. It’s already late and I have an early morning teleconference tomorrow that I still have to read the papers for. And if I don’t get home til late and am too tired to read the papers properly then I won’t be fully prepared for the meeting and that will be embarrassing and I’ll let my colleagues down. And I look a mess; my hair is still wet from swimming, my make-up is half-on and half-off. What an idiot not to have cleaned off all my make-up before I got into the pool.”
All these thoughts in just one or two seconds because my ears picked up a ‘click-click-clicking’ sound that I didn’t even know for certain was coming from my car!
Name the emotions
As soon as I noticed my heart starting to race I applied my STAR approach: Stop-Think-Act-Rewire.
I took a deep breath, and said to myself: “I am feeling anxious, frustrated and embarrassed.”
You’ll recall that neuroscientists say that doing this calms down our amygdala and this creates space for our pre-frontal cortex, our thinking brain, to work.
If you think of our amygdala as a smoke alarm, when we recognise and acknowledge the emotion we’re experiencing, we turn off and reset this ‘danger radar’. It’s like saying: “Got it - thanks for the warning – I’ll look into the problem now and find a solution.”
My rescuer was also experiencing The Almond Effect®
I took the chance – and kept driving as home was only a few kilometres away. I was extremely fortunate that I made it safely. The next morning, the Roadside Assistance patrol man arrived! He found a roofing nail lodged in the tread of the front tyre.
While he was changing the tyre for me, I mentioned that I had read that his organisation had posted a significant financial loss for the year. The press reported that services and jobs like his were at risk.
In an instant, I saw him in the grip of The Almond Effect®. My helpful rescuer told me what he and his co-workers were thinking. He said they had found out about the financial losses through the press and a voicemail after the announcement had been made.
He said that the drivers figure that crunch time for jobs and services will be in about 18 months time when the EBA comes up for renewal.
And as they, the drivers, thought about it some more, they believed this was all going to be about the EBA due for renewal in some 18 months time.
The driver continued to tell me all the things that he and his mates had worked out: how much the salary bill was for the patrol drivers, what the membership income was, how much the organisation had spent on a failed business venture, how many jobs will be lost, that the organisation really just wanted to bring in contractors, and so on. He also talked about the CEO and his failures (so they perceived) in other companies and how they believed that he was taking this organisation down the same path.
I’m sure much of it their number-crunching came from ‘back of the beer-mat’ calculations that may or may not be correct but their fears and disillusionment with the organisation were very real.
Communication vacuums breed fear
I don’t know what information the organisation has shared with its employees nor if anything that the driver told me is true. But what I do know from this conversation is that this driver’s ‘almonds’ (amygdalae) and those of his mates were aroused and on high alert as a result of the stories in the newspapers.
As a consequence, they were automatically in fight/flight mode, thinking of the worst possible outcomes and preparing to defend themselves from the ‘threat.’
I have seen this situation in many of the organisations that I have worked with. What results is that employees start focussing so much on the perceived threat that they take their attention away from their main priority i.e. doing their jobs to the best level they can – to the detriment of all stakeholders.
How many of you work in organisations where an information vacuum is created or misinformation spreads? For example, management is so busy protecting itself from external threats – what will shareholders and/or analysts say – that they lose sight of a major internal threat, namely how staff will react if they have to learn about their future from the media?
Leaders have to hold their nerve
Although the worst of the global economic crisis appears to be over, fear and anxiety in employees remains high.
This is one of those critical times when leaders need self-discipline to Stop and Think before they Act. This will be hard if the leader is enduring The Almond Effect® but doesn’t realise it.
That could happen if they aren’t aware of The Almond Effect® and the role the amygdala plays even in non-life threatening situations. Or they haven’t developed the skill of recognising and responding appropriately to the physiological signs that our fight/flight response activates before our conscious brain kicks in.
Understanding this automatic brain activity is a fundamental component of developing self-awareness. And self-awareness is the core skill that distinguishes effective leaders from the rest.
How to do it
Self-aware leaders learn how to catch themselves in the clutches of The Almond Effect® before it clouds their judgment. This way they mostly avoid making poor decisions based primarily on irrational emotional responses not cognitive thinking.
There is no magic bullet to develop this skill. It’s takes commitment and practice. One way to start is to reflect on a past decision that didn’t deliver the outcome you had hoped for – this is Rewiring in STAR. It provides an opportunity to assess whether you would have made a different decision if you were in control of your emotions.
What were you feeling at that time? If you find it hard to remember exactly, recreate as much of the context and the situation as you can. It helps to describe it to someone or out loud to yourself. Write it down if you prefer. As you do this, your brain will take you back to that time and place and you will be able to recognise your emotions at the time.
When you have a handle on these, ask yourself whether the emotions were helpful or unhelpful? If they were unhelpful, where could they have been coming from? What could have triggered them? If you can, keep exploring until you work out whether the unhelpful emotions were based on some past experience. Then explore the similarities between the past experience and the one in which you didn’t make the best decision. There will be some fruitful learning in that.
Sometimes it’s not easy to find the source of the trigger. In that case, and in any event, train yourself to recognise your emotional state at any time and to Stop-Think-Act-Rewire. If you don’t then don’t be surprised if anxiety and other related emotions cloud your judgment and interfere with your best decision making skills.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
CLUES Sharks, trains and brains
Twitter
I’ll be twittering in future! Quick tips and examples of The Almond Effect® and what to do about it. Help me get started. Follow me on Twitter
Alone at the station
8.15pm - alone on a long empty platform waiting for the 8.30pm train from London Paddington to Heathrow. Another person appeared. He had the entire platform to choose a spot to wait but he came and stood next to me. My heart started to race.
‘Stop it’ I said to my amygdala.
‘Calm down’ I said to my hypothalamus but it continued to flood my body with adrenaline.
All my amygdalae could see was a “young man of middle eastern appearance with a backpack.”
My pre-frontal cortex was appalled and embarrassed at my limbic system response. My cortex had no idea whether the young man was from the Middle East or not – and even if he was, so what?
I took deep breaths. I kept telling myself that my reaction was irrational and that my body should calm down.
Stop Think Act.
Eventually the 8.30pm train arrived. I stepped on, sat down and my heart rate slowed. I started to Rewire...
Deep in the ocean
Two months later, off the Neptune Islands in South Australia I was in a cage heading towards the ocean floor hoping to get up close and personal with some Great White Sharks.
One came soon enough - ‘Cheeky Girl’ – 4.2 metres and 1000 kg. She was BIG! And I saw her many teeth as she passed several times within a metre of me while she attempted to snatch the bait hanging off the back of the boat!
The 30 minutes in the cage passed in a flash.
But did my life flash before my eyes?
Back on board I realised that my heart rate had not increased at all when I came face to face with this enormous predator. All I felt was awe and wonder as I watched one of the most amazing animals I have ever seen.
So what was the difference? Why did I experience the fight/flight response so fully on a London train platform but not at all when within touching distance of a Great White Shark?
Preparing for sharks – the type we find at work
The answer lies in preparation and learning (Rewiring) from experience.
Some of you will recall from previous CLUES that I searched for GWS once before. But even with 3 days of turning the ocean red with burly including tuna heads, blood and guts – no shark appeared on that trip. So much for ‘blood in the water attracts sharks!’
However what we did do on that ‘no show’ trip was to talk a lot about GWS with experts, practice descents in the cage, watch videos, look at GWS photos and listen to research – all of which prepared us for the recent trip – and took away the fear.
In contrast, the man on the platform was a complete surprise. It was the end of a fabulous trip to the UK; I had just been shopping in Oxford Street and was looking forward to returning to Sydney.
I simply wasn’t focussed on what was happening on the platform or that any risks or dangers could be lurking there.
So I was unprepared for the possibility that a man could appear on the platform and trigger an ANT (automatic negative thought) that cracked my almonds (amygdalae) with a sledgehammer!
And I had no previous experience from which to train my amygdala not to react to a racist stereotype automatically stored in my brain’s ‘database of nasty things’ after September 11, 2001.
Face the fear and defuse the almonds
At work, ‘the man on the platform’ might turn up as a surprise outburst from the boss; an urgent deadline abruptly imposed; a retrenchment to be made, a dramatic fall in share price or an unanticipated cut in funding.
But ‘Cheeky Girl’ could show up when you anticipate the performance appraisal next week, a future presentation to the Board, an interview for a promotion, the switch over to a new system.
In other words, there will be some sudden and unexpected events that will catch us off guard. At those times, it is likely that we’ll experience The Almond Effect® - the fight/flight response - even though our lives are not at risk.
When that happens, use the STAR technique – and focus especially on Rewiring afterwards – what can you learn from the experience? The more times you experience something confronting, the less confronting it becomes. Your amygdala learns that it is nothing to be overly concerned about.
But do not beat yourself up for reacting even though your pre-frontal cortex knows you should not have. We are hard wired for survival and our amygdalae do not know the difference between physical and psychological threats.
However when you know that a ‘scary’ situation is coming up (Cheeky Girl) – do everything you can to minimise the impact of The Almond Effect® by preparing as much as possible. Show your amygdala that there are no potentially fatal consequences to what you are about to do.
Then perhaps you’ll even enjoy coming face to face with your Great White Shark
I’ll be twittering in future! Quick tips and examples of The Almond Effect® and what to do about it. Help me get started. Follow me on Twitter
Alone at the station
8.15pm - alone on a long empty platform waiting for the 8.30pm train from London Paddington to Heathrow. Another person appeared. He had the entire platform to choose a spot to wait but he came and stood next to me. My heart started to race.
‘Stop it’ I said to my amygdala.
‘Calm down’ I said to my hypothalamus but it continued to flood my body with adrenaline.
All my amygdalae could see was a “young man of middle eastern appearance with a backpack.”
My pre-frontal cortex was appalled and embarrassed at my limbic system response. My cortex had no idea whether the young man was from the Middle East or not – and even if he was, so what?
I took deep breaths. I kept telling myself that my reaction was irrational and that my body should calm down.
Stop Think Act.
Eventually the 8.30pm train arrived. I stepped on, sat down and my heart rate slowed. I started to Rewire...
Deep in the ocean
Two months later, off the Neptune Islands in South Australia I was in a cage heading towards the ocean floor hoping to get up close and personal with some Great White Sharks.
One came soon enough - ‘Cheeky Girl’ – 4.2 metres and 1000 kg. She was BIG! And I saw her many teeth as she passed several times within a metre of me while she attempted to snatch the bait hanging off the back of the boat!
The 30 minutes in the cage passed in a flash.
But did my life flash before my eyes?
Back on board I realised that my heart rate had not increased at all when I came face to face with this enormous predator. All I felt was awe and wonder as I watched one of the most amazing animals I have ever seen.
So what was the difference? Why did I experience the fight/flight response so fully on a London train platform but not at all when within touching distance of a Great White Shark?
Preparing for sharks – the type we find at work
The answer lies in preparation and learning (Rewiring) from experience.
Some of you will recall from previous CLUES that I searched for GWS once before. But even with 3 days of turning the ocean red with burly including tuna heads, blood and guts – no shark appeared on that trip. So much for ‘blood in the water attracts sharks!’
However what we did do on that ‘no show’ trip was to talk a lot about GWS with experts, practice descents in the cage, watch videos, look at GWS photos and listen to research – all of which prepared us for the recent trip – and took away the fear.
In contrast, the man on the platform was a complete surprise. It was the end of a fabulous trip to the UK; I had just been shopping in Oxford Street and was looking forward to returning to Sydney.
I simply wasn’t focussed on what was happening on the platform or that any risks or dangers could be lurking there.
So I was unprepared for the possibility that a man could appear on the platform and trigger an ANT (automatic negative thought) that cracked my almonds (amygdalae) with a sledgehammer!
And I had no previous experience from which to train my amygdala not to react to a racist stereotype automatically stored in my brain’s ‘database of nasty things’ after September 11, 2001.
Face the fear and defuse the almonds
At work, ‘the man on the platform’ might turn up as a surprise outburst from the boss; an urgent deadline abruptly imposed; a retrenchment to be made, a dramatic fall in share price or an unanticipated cut in funding.
But ‘Cheeky Girl’ could show up when you anticipate the performance appraisal next week, a future presentation to the Board, an interview for a promotion, the switch over to a new system.
In other words, there will be some sudden and unexpected events that will catch us off guard. At those times, it is likely that we’ll experience The Almond Effect® - the fight/flight response - even though our lives are not at risk.
When that happens, use the STAR technique – and focus especially on Rewiring afterwards – what can you learn from the experience? The more times you experience something confronting, the less confronting it becomes. Your amygdala learns that it is nothing to be overly concerned about.
But do not beat yourself up for reacting even though your pre-frontal cortex knows you should not have. We are hard wired for survival and our amygdalae do not know the difference between physical and psychological threats.
However when you know that a ‘scary’ situation is coming up (Cheeky Girl) – do everything you can to minimise the impact of The Almond Effect® by preparing as much as possible. Show your amygdala that there are no potentially fatal consequences to what you are about to do.
Then perhaps you’ll even enjoy coming face to face with your Great White Shark
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
CLUES Gmail and Dare Iced Coffee fix The Almond Effect
In this edition of CLUES, we look at two examples of STAR in action – Gmail and Dare Iced Milk. Then we see how it applies to leaders – or not!
‘I wish I hadn’t sent that’: Gmail now using STAR
The whole point of learning STAR, the antidote to The Almond Effect®, is to stop ourselves acting impulsively, in the wrong way, at the wrong time, for the wrong reason, when something stirs us up or catches us off-guard.
In the Gmail Labs, there is a fabulous tool that is doing just that. It gives us a second chance to Stop and Think before we send an email we will regret.
Turn on the ‘Undo Send’ feature in Gmail then when you hit ‘send’, Gmail will pause for 5 seconds before actually sending the email. If you realise in that time (and we usually know in an instant when we have done something and wish we hadn’t), you press simply ‘Undo’ and Gmail redirects the email to your draft box. Email not sent - no harm done!
It’s STAR in action
If you’re looking for an example of (assisted!) STAR in action, this is it: Stop, Think, Act, Rewire.
Gmail Stops the sending for you, giving you time to Think about what you’ve just done and what your real intention and the consequences might be.
It gives you 5 seconds to Act and press ‘undo’ if necessary. And if you press ‘undo’ it pops it back into your Drafts box so you can Rewire i.e. review and rewrite the email til it’s ready for you to send.
Now all we want is an ‘undo send’ mechanism for our mouths, facial expressions and our body language!
Watch The Almond Effect® in action
One of the recent ads for Dare Iced Coffee is all about The Almond Effect®.
Watch the imaginary fearful outcomes the guy’s 'almonds' (amygdalae) trigger in the split second after the woman says “hey babe, can we grab a coffee?” And see him use STAR to suggest an alternative course of action that will keep him out of harm’s way! Watch it here
What sets leaders (and losers) apart
The July 2009 Vol 10 edition of Boss magazine published its list of Young Executives of the Year
What was interesting was the list of tendencies of those who didn’t have what it takes to get on the list:
* Have good ideas but lack the ability to execute them
* Have closed discussions and make assumptions
* Derail frequently and let the dark side of their personality affect their work and relationships at work
* Be arrogant rather than inclusive
* Miss opportunities to use empathy
* Micro-manage instead of delegate
* Be impulsive rather than evidence based in decision
* Lack perception about how others are feeling
* Get confused about managing who they are as people and what’s required in the role
Almost everything on the list stems from inadequate insights about themselves, what makes them who they are and their affect on others – in other words self-leadership.
A huge component of that involves The Almond Effect® - understanding how the stressors and challenges of everyday life trigger our primitive survival (flight/fight/flock/freeze) instincts.
The best leaders know that each one of us is the sum of our experiences and that, unless we monitor our behaviours and actions, our brains are hardwired will take us by shortest, most well trodden route to action. This is fine if the action is appropriate but not fine if we end up reacting in ways that are inappropriate either for others or for ourselves.
The change organ
Our brains can and do change – it’s called neuroplasticity. However, it takes courage to deeply examine what makes us tick and triggers our immediate non-thinking behaviours.
Changing embedded patterns of behaviour can be hard without determination and practice.
We can change our brains by changing our minds. But you have to stay on track. Understanding The Almond Effect® and mastering STAR helps you do that.
‘I wish I hadn’t sent that’: Gmail now using STAR
The whole point of learning STAR, the antidote to The Almond Effect®, is to stop ourselves acting impulsively, in the wrong way, at the wrong time, for the wrong reason, when something stirs us up or catches us off-guard.
In the Gmail Labs, there is a fabulous tool that is doing just that. It gives us a second chance to Stop and Think before we send an email we will regret.
Turn on the ‘Undo Send’ feature in Gmail then when you hit ‘send’, Gmail will pause for 5 seconds before actually sending the email. If you realise in that time (and we usually know in an instant when we have done something and wish we hadn’t), you press simply ‘Undo’ and Gmail redirects the email to your draft box. Email not sent - no harm done!
It’s STAR in action
If you’re looking for an example of (assisted!) STAR in action, this is it: Stop, Think, Act, Rewire.
Gmail Stops the sending for you, giving you time to Think about what you’ve just done and what your real intention and the consequences might be.
It gives you 5 seconds to Act and press ‘undo’ if necessary. And if you press ‘undo’ it pops it back into your Drafts box so you can Rewire i.e. review and rewrite the email til it’s ready for you to send.
Now all we want is an ‘undo send’ mechanism for our mouths, facial expressions and our body language!
Watch The Almond Effect® in action
One of the recent ads for Dare Iced Coffee is all about The Almond Effect®.
Watch the imaginary fearful outcomes the guy’s 'almonds' (amygdalae) trigger in the split second after the woman says “hey babe, can we grab a coffee?” And see him use STAR to suggest an alternative course of action that will keep him out of harm’s way! Watch it here
What sets leaders (and losers) apart
The July 2009 Vol 10 edition of Boss magazine published its list of Young Executives of the Year
What was interesting was the list of tendencies of those who didn’t have what it takes to get on the list:
* Have good ideas but lack the ability to execute them
* Have closed discussions and make assumptions
* Derail frequently and let the dark side of their personality affect their work and relationships at work
* Be arrogant rather than inclusive
* Miss opportunities to use empathy
* Micro-manage instead of delegate
* Be impulsive rather than evidence based in decision
* Lack perception about how others are feeling
* Get confused about managing who they are as people and what’s required in the role
Almost everything on the list stems from inadequate insights about themselves, what makes them who they are and their affect on others – in other words self-leadership.
A huge component of that involves The Almond Effect® - understanding how the stressors and challenges of everyday life trigger our primitive survival (flight/fight/flock/freeze) instincts.
The best leaders know that each one of us is the sum of our experiences and that, unless we monitor our behaviours and actions, our brains are hardwired will take us by shortest, most well trodden route to action. This is fine if the action is appropriate but not fine if we end up reacting in ways that are inappropriate either for others or for ourselves.
The change organ
Our brains can and do change – it’s called neuroplasticity. However, it takes courage to deeply examine what makes us tick and triggers our immediate non-thinking behaviours.
Changing embedded patterns of behaviour can be hard without determination and practice.
We can change our brains by changing our minds. But you have to stay on track. Understanding The Almond Effect® and mastering STAR helps you do that.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
CLUES Worried about job security?
This edition is about keeping yourself and your people calm when jobs are under threat
Are you feeling secure in your job? How about your partner? Or your children or parents or friends?
And what about your team? Your colleagues? Your boss?
On the basis of reports about the predicted increase in unemployment rates over the next year or two, the fallout from the GFC (global financial crisis) shows little sign of easing.
Stimulus payouts and other Government initiatives may provide some financial assistance in the short term but will do little to ease the day to day anxiety, stress and uncertainty that many people feel as they go to work wondering: “Will I still have my job tomorrow?”
Have you seen it all before?
For some CLUES readers, you have lived through periods of recession when redundancies were prolific. And we hoped we would never see the likes of, for example, the early 1990’s, again.
But if we do have to go through it again, we must hope that organisations learn from those past experiences and remember that making large numbers of people redundant often ripped out the organisational heart and deleted large chunks of corporate memory.
Redundancies may deliver a short term financial solution but is false economy if past experience is anything to go by. In the long term not only can they can significant impede capacity to compete swiftly again once the economy improves but in the short term the impact on morale and productivity can be significant and self-defeating.
The same applies when training programs are cut out.
Or is this your first time?
For other CLUES readers, aged under 35, this is new territory. After over 25 years of strong economic times, of abundance, growth and wealth, the global economy has gone through an unprecedented negative turnaround.
Consequently even though you may have been told your job is safe, uncertainty and worries about job security are likely to lurk in your back of your mind and niggle at you.
If you haven’t been re-assured and are seeing your workforce being reduced, these worries will be front of mind.
If you were reassured that jobs were safe but saw people lose their jobs anyway, then not only will the trust factor have plummeted but it’s going to be hard to contain your anxiety levels and still perform well – thus increasing your anxiety and so the vicious cycle goes on.
For an even younger group of people (teens and under 25), used to change as a way of life, the GFC has brought a whopping lifestyle modification with it. For many, gone are the days of extravagant living and job-hopping, of being able to pick, choose and change jobs at will.
Holding on to the job you’ve got is now the name of the game for many young Australians. At the very least they are concerned for their friends.
Managing the people around you
The Almond Effect® is when our brains activate the flight/flight mode for the wrong reasons. We are not about to die but as our amygdala can’t tell the difference between a physical threat and a psychological threat to our survival it sets off its armies of adrenaline, hormones and other chemicals to enable us to repel the threat or get well away from it.
So if despite assurances or logical analysis, our amygdalae sense a threat to job security and/or the need to keep performing well to hold on to a job, be prepared for increased stress and anxiety levels which, unless managed, will impede performance anyway.
Your best approach is to look for signs of the flight/fight mode in yourself and the people around you. Then you can deal with it.
What you might see
Here are some examples of the kinds of behaviours you might see:
* Unanswered phones
* Increased conflict and disputes
* Sharp barbed responses
* Lethargy
* Increased gossiping
* Martyr like behaviour
* People coming to work when they are sick
* Fun has gone
* Reduced motivation
* Busyness increases but strategic thinking diminishes
* Lack of focus
* Inability to concentrate or retain information
* Short temperedness
* Lack of confidence
* Not taking on new challenges
* Not taking holidays
A free ebook of Strategies for Success from Leading Experts in Personal and Professional Development is yours if you send me your examples of The Almond Effect® in your life at work or at home Click here
What to do about it?
When people are anxious they need the truth. Without honest information, people fill the vacuum with fears and concerns. They also need an opportunity to share their anxieties even if you have to supportively coax that out of them.
What does NOT work is avoid talking about the situation, lying or fudging the truth or trying to maintain a ‘she’ll be right’ attitude.
So here are some tips:
* Share information – keep people up to date with what you know. And it’s better to over communicate than not share enough. It’s rare that an employee will tell you to stop talking to them about what’s going on.
* Acknowledge concerns and create opportunities to discuss them either one on one or in person. Don’t brush this ‘under the carpet’.
* Look for the warning signs (like those above) that people are stressed or anxious. They might deny it but amygdalae don’t shut off just because we want to hide our feelings.
* Consult with your people about how to handle situations and challenges. Not only will they probably have great ideas but it also dampens down The Almond Effect and shows that you value their input.
* Lead by example and stay positive. This means using your STAR skills (Stop-Think-Act-Rewire). Remember that emotions are contagious.
* Stick to your values – personal and organisational. People will pick up inconsistencies in a heartbeat and that ignites The Almond Effect.
* Keep yourself fit, stay calm and eat properly. Get rid of your own excess adrenaline and stress hormones. Walk, run, swim, play football – whatever works for you, just use up those fight/flight chemicals that are hanging around in your bloodstream. As the safety demonstration on planes tell us- look after yourself first so that you can help others.
* Educate your people about The Almond Effect® and what to do about it. Click here to contact Anne about how she can help you do this.
"If you want to be impressed with a depth of expertise, stimulated by new understanding about yourself and leadership and entertained, then Anne should be top of your list.
The impact of her presentation has lived on beyond the day. Some of our leaders are experimenting with her ideas and concepts, especially in the context of strengthening positive relationships with their staff and having some new tools to help with tough issues. Tim Robinson, Executive Manager Corporate Support, Fairfield City Council”
Are you feeling secure in your job? How about your partner? Or your children or parents or friends?
And what about your team? Your colleagues? Your boss?
On the basis of reports about the predicted increase in unemployment rates over the next year or two, the fallout from the GFC (global financial crisis) shows little sign of easing.
Stimulus payouts and other Government initiatives may provide some financial assistance in the short term but will do little to ease the day to day anxiety, stress and uncertainty that many people feel as they go to work wondering: “Will I still have my job tomorrow?”
Have you seen it all before?
For some CLUES readers, you have lived through periods of recession when redundancies were prolific. And we hoped we would never see the likes of, for example, the early 1990’s, again.
But if we do have to go through it again, we must hope that organisations learn from those past experiences and remember that making large numbers of people redundant often ripped out the organisational heart and deleted large chunks of corporate memory.
Redundancies may deliver a short term financial solution but is false economy if past experience is anything to go by. In the long term not only can they can significant impede capacity to compete swiftly again once the economy improves but in the short term the impact on morale and productivity can be significant and self-defeating.
The same applies when training programs are cut out.
Or is this your first time?
For other CLUES readers, aged under 35, this is new territory. After over 25 years of strong economic times, of abundance, growth and wealth, the global economy has gone through an unprecedented negative turnaround.
Consequently even though you may have been told your job is safe, uncertainty and worries about job security are likely to lurk in your back of your mind and niggle at you.
If you haven’t been re-assured and are seeing your workforce being reduced, these worries will be front of mind.
If you were reassured that jobs were safe but saw people lose their jobs anyway, then not only will the trust factor have plummeted but it’s going to be hard to contain your anxiety levels and still perform well – thus increasing your anxiety and so the vicious cycle goes on.
For an even younger group of people (teens and under 25), used to change as a way of life, the GFC has brought a whopping lifestyle modification with it. For many, gone are the days of extravagant living and job-hopping, of being able to pick, choose and change jobs at will.
Holding on to the job you’ve got is now the name of the game for many young Australians. At the very least they are concerned for their friends.
Managing the people around you
The Almond Effect® is when our brains activate the flight/flight mode for the wrong reasons. We are not about to die but as our amygdala can’t tell the difference between a physical threat and a psychological threat to our survival it sets off its armies of adrenaline, hormones and other chemicals to enable us to repel the threat or get well away from it.
So if despite assurances or logical analysis, our amygdalae sense a threat to job security and/or the need to keep performing well to hold on to a job, be prepared for increased stress and anxiety levels which, unless managed, will impede performance anyway.
Your best approach is to look for signs of the flight/fight mode in yourself and the people around you. Then you can deal with it.
What you might see
Here are some examples of the kinds of behaviours you might see:
* Unanswered phones
* Increased conflict and disputes
* Sharp barbed responses
* Lethargy
* Increased gossiping
* Martyr like behaviour
* People coming to work when they are sick
* Fun has gone
* Reduced motivation
* Busyness increases but strategic thinking diminishes
* Lack of focus
* Inability to concentrate or retain information
* Short temperedness
* Lack of confidence
* Not taking on new challenges
* Not taking holidays
A free ebook of Strategies for Success from Leading Experts in Personal and Professional Development is yours if you send me your examples of The Almond Effect® in your life at work or at home Click here
What to do about it?
When people are anxious they need the truth. Without honest information, people fill the vacuum with fears and concerns. They also need an opportunity to share their anxieties even if you have to supportively coax that out of them.
What does NOT work is avoid talking about the situation, lying or fudging the truth or trying to maintain a ‘she’ll be right’ attitude.
So here are some tips:
* Share information – keep people up to date with what you know. And it’s better to over communicate than not share enough. It’s rare that an employee will tell you to stop talking to them about what’s going on.
* Acknowledge concerns and create opportunities to discuss them either one on one or in person. Don’t brush this ‘under the carpet’.
* Look for the warning signs (like those above) that people are stressed or anxious. They might deny it but amygdalae don’t shut off just because we want to hide our feelings.
* Consult with your people about how to handle situations and challenges. Not only will they probably have great ideas but it also dampens down The Almond Effect and shows that you value their input.
* Lead by example and stay positive. This means using your STAR skills (Stop-Think-Act-Rewire). Remember that emotions are contagious.
* Stick to your values – personal and organisational. People will pick up inconsistencies in a heartbeat and that ignites The Almond Effect.
* Keep yourself fit, stay calm and eat properly. Get rid of your own excess adrenaline and stress hormones. Walk, run, swim, play football – whatever works for you, just use up those fight/flight chemicals that are hanging around in your bloodstream. As the safety demonstration on planes tell us- look after yourself first so that you can help others.
* Educate your people about The Almond Effect® and what to do about it. Click here to contact Anne about how she can help you do this.
"If you want to be impressed with a depth of expertise, stimulated by new understanding about yourself and leadership and entertained, then Anne should be top of your list.
The impact of her presentation has lived on beyond the day. Some of our leaders are experimenting with her ideas and concepts, especially in the context of strengthening positive relationships with their staff and having some new tools to help with tough issues. Tim Robinson, Executive Manager Corporate Support, Fairfield City Council”
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
CLUES What Sharks teach us about Decision-Making
Two questions for you:
1. Do you consider yourself to be a good decision maker? Yes or No?
2. Would you go swimming at the world famous Bondi Beach where a shark attack occurred earlier this year? The beach has been closed on a number of occasions since because a shark has been spotted in the area? Yes or No?
If you answered Yes to question one and No to question 2 then I want you to reconsider your first answer. Are you really a good decision-maker?
Risk, reality and The Almond Effect®
Many people answer No to the second question because of The Almond Effect® which compromises our ability to evaluate risk because we are not thinking clearly, if at all.
The chances of getting killed by a shark are infinitesimally small. The recent non-fatal attack on Bondi Beach was the first in 86 years.
The fatality rate in the early 20th century was 3.8 a year in Australia. In the early 21st century that statistic has decreased to 1.2 deaths each year Australia wide even though every year, due to population increases, better transport and a continuing love of the outdoors, a greater number of people swim in the ocean, race in ocean swim challenges (like me!), paddle beyond the break on surf boards, dive and snorkel, kayak and fish dangling bait off the back of boats.
And of course, there are other reasons for the decreased mortality rates including smaller shark populations, netted beaches, no sewerage being dumped off the coast, faster rescues (if you’re at a patrolled beach) and better emergency medical care.
Decision making involves the assessment of risk
So logically, there is very little risk at all if you are one of the thousands of people who every week, 52 weeks a year, year in year out, swim at Bondi, one beach out of 35,000 kms of Australian coastline.
But our brains are hard-wired for survival and most of our amygdalae have seen Jaws or at least heard of it. Or have picked up on other people’s fear of sharks and so, just to be on the safe side, our brains have popped these images and fears into our own databases of things to be frightened of.
Lodge this data into your thinking brain:
In 2000 – 2006 the number of deaths caused by:
* Horses: 40
* Cows: 20
* Dogs: 12
* Sharks: 10
* Snakes: 3 - 4
* Bees: 2 - 3
* Road accidents: 1616 (in 2007)
* Drowning: 400 times greater risk than being taken by a shark
* Shark experts’ assessment of risk of being attacked by a shark: 264.1 million to 1
Source: AFR Jan 31- Feb 1 2009 quoting NCIS statistics
Logically it is much safer to swim at Bondi than to do almost anything else, including travelling by any means to get there. But unless you are a STAR and have mastered your primeval hard-wiring, my guess is that, even if you do get safely to the beach and go into the water, you now stay close to shore and stay between the red flags – and the Lifeguards are grateful for that!
Emotions, Decision Making and Veto power
The link between sharks and decision making is that you can’t make decisions in the absence of feelings. People who say they can are either kidding themselves, have learned the art of managing their emotions or simply don’t know what the neuroscientists tell us about the way our brain works.
The key to good decision making is to acknowledge and deal with the feelings attached to any decision in a calm considered way and not simply by default. Let me explain.
We know from the work of Joseph le Doux that healthy brains react emotionally first. We‘ve covered this before in previous editions of CLUES.
Our brain’s default position is to minimize danger and maximize reward.
But Benjamin Libet who conducted various neuroscientific experiments from 1983 until his death in 2007 gave us another piece of the brain puzzle. He concluded that we have the power of Veto over our brain’s default position.
This Veto power is at the heart of the STAR method for managing The Almond Effect® - training ourselves to choose our response to a situation as opposed to simply reacting without thinking.
Libet found (and other researchers have subsequently confirmed) that from the moment something enters our brains through our senses for processing until the moment we become consciously aware of it and have a desire to respond is about .2 to .3 of a second.
Libet says we will respond to that stimulus on default in about .5 of a second.
That means we have about .2 of a second to recognise the stimulus for what it is, then choose to override the default position and select the best course of action to take to get the best outcomes.
So in a situation where our amygdala perceives a threat (eg a snake or a piece of black hosepipe), we have .2 of a second to ascertain whether it is a real threat or simply The Almond Effect® kicking in – to ascertain whether the ‘threat’ is truly imperilling our lives or it just feels like it at that instant on the limbic system’s fast and cursory review of past experiences.
In that .2 of a second we can go with the default reaction (jump back or hit it with a spade) or choose what not to do i.e. exercise a power of Veto over our brain’s automatic survival mechanism by quickly focussing attention on the object, registering that it’s just a piece of pipe and therefore choosing to ignore it.
Veto Power in action
What this means is that whether we are about to go swimming at Bondi Beach or are confronted with an angry employee, a request for a ‘quick meeting’ from the boss, a ‘can I talk to you’ phone call from your spouse, an imminent performance management meeting, a ‘look’ from your manager or any number of situations that your amygdala can misinterpret, we have .2 of a second to focus attention and then choose our response.
For an instant we can be a fly on the wall, an impartial observer, someone on the outside looking in.
We can then simply do nothing and go with our default flight/fight/freeze or flock reaction.
Or we can be a STAR. We can Stop – notice that our amygdala is on red alert - we might be shaking, heart racing, blushing, feeling instantly sick etc. Then Think – i.e. do something to calm ourselves down so we can access the logical part of our brains. Only then will we Act, do what we choose to do. Later on, we’ll Rewire, reflect on the situation, on what we learned and embed the positive responses or think of ways to prevent any unhelpful reactions.
What kinds of decisions are being made during the GFC?
Personally I’m much more concerned with bluebottles than sharks. And I’m much more concerned about the decisions of some employers and managers in the current global financial crisis, who may be failing to acknowledge and take into account the impact that their personal fears and insecurities on the quality of their decision-making. These are people who do not understand the power of Veto and the STAR methodology.
Coaches and Mentors have a major role to play here, to hold up a mirror of reflection and ask decision-makers to honestly assess the feelings that they have that underlie the decisions they make.
However it happens, assessing the impact of our emotions and experiences on our decisions would be a significant step forward in the challenge to rebuild confidence in our economic future. Share the concept of the Veto power and STAR with decision-makers everywhere you can. And don’t be afraid to go swimming at Bondi Beach!
1. Do you consider yourself to be a good decision maker? Yes or No?
2. Would you go swimming at the world famous Bondi Beach where a shark attack occurred earlier this year? The beach has been closed on a number of occasions since because a shark has been spotted in the area? Yes or No?
If you answered Yes to question one and No to question 2 then I want you to reconsider your first answer. Are you really a good decision-maker?
Risk, reality and The Almond Effect®
Many people answer No to the second question because of The Almond Effect® which compromises our ability to evaluate risk because we are not thinking clearly, if at all.
The chances of getting killed by a shark are infinitesimally small. The recent non-fatal attack on Bondi Beach was the first in 86 years.
The fatality rate in the early 20th century was 3.8 a year in Australia. In the early 21st century that statistic has decreased to 1.2 deaths each year Australia wide even though every year, due to population increases, better transport and a continuing love of the outdoors, a greater number of people swim in the ocean, race in ocean swim challenges (like me!), paddle beyond the break on surf boards, dive and snorkel, kayak and fish dangling bait off the back of boats.
And of course, there are other reasons for the decreased mortality rates including smaller shark populations, netted beaches, no sewerage being dumped off the coast, faster rescues (if you’re at a patrolled beach) and better emergency medical care.
Decision making involves the assessment of risk
So logically, there is very little risk at all if you are one of the thousands of people who every week, 52 weeks a year, year in year out, swim at Bondi, one beach out of 35,000 kms of Australian coastline.
But our brains are hard-wired for survival and most of our amygdalae have seen Jaws or at least heard of it. Or have picked up on other people’s fear of sharks and so, just to be on the safe side, our brains have popped these images and fears into our own databases of things to be frightened of.
Lodge this data into your thinking brain:
In 2000 – 2006 the number of deaths caused by:
* Horses: 40
* Cows: 20
* Dogs: 12
* Sharks: 10
* Snakes: 3 - 4
* Bees: 2 - 3
* Road accidents: 1616 (in 2007)
* Drowning: 400 times greater risk than being taken by a shark
* Shark experts’ assessment of risk of being attacked by a shark: 264.1 million to 1
Source: AFR Jan 31- Feb 1 2009 quoting NCIS statistics
Logically it is much safer to swim at Bondi than to do almost anything else, including travelling by any means to get there. But unless you are a STAR and have mastered your primeval hard-wiring, my guess is that, even if you do get safely to the beach and go into the water, you now stay close to shore and stay between the red flags – and the Lifeguards are grateful for that!
Emotions, Decision Making and Veto power
The link between sharks and decision making is that you can’t make decisions in the absence of feelings. People who say they can are either kidding themselves, have learned the art of managing their emotions or simply don’t know what the neuroscientists tell us about the way our brain works.
The key to good decision making is to acknowledge and deal with the feelings attached to any decision in a calm considered way and not simply by default. Let me explain.
We know from the work of Joseph le Doux that healthy brains react emotionally first. We‘ve covered this before in previous editions of CLUES.
Our brain’s default position is to minimize danger and maximize reward.
But Benjamin Libet who conducted various neuroscientific experiments from 1983 until his death in 2007 gave us another piece of the brain puzzle. He concluded that we have the power of Veto over our brain’s default position.
This Veto power is at the heart of the STAR method for managing The Almond Effect® - training ourselves to choose our response to a situation as opposed to simply reacting without thinking.
Libet found (and other researchers have subsequently confirmed) that from the moment something enters our brains through our senses for processing until the moment we become consciously aware of it and have a desire to respond is about .2 to .3 of a second.
Libet says we will respond to that stimulus on default in about .5 of a second.
That means we have about .2 of a second to recognise the stimulus for what it is, then choose to override the default position and select the best course of action to take to get the best outcomes.
So in a situation where our amygdala perceives a threat (eg a snake or a piece of black hosepipe), we have .2 of a second to ascertain whether it is a real threat or simply The Almond Effect® kicking in – to ascertain whether the ‘threat’ is truly imperilling our lives or it just feels like it at that instant on the limbic system’s fast and cursory review of past experiences.
In that .2 of a second we can go with the default reaction (jump back or hit it with a spade) or choose what not to do i.e. exercise a power of Veto over our brain’s automatic survival mechanism by quickly focussing attention on the object, registering that it’s just a piece of pipe and therefore choosing to ignore it.
Veto Power in action
What this means is that whether we are about to go swimming at Bondi Beach or are confronted with an angry employee, a request for a ‘quick meeting’ from the boss, a ‘can I talk to you’ phone call from your spouse, an imminent performance management meeting, a ‘look’ from your manager or any number of situations that your amygdala can misinterpret, we have .2 of a second to focus attention and then choose our response.
For an instant we can be a fly on the wall, an impartial observer, someone on the outside looking in.
We can then simply do nothing and go with our default flight/fight/freeze or flock reaction.
Or we can be a STAR. We can Stop – notice that our amygdala is on red alert - we might be shaking, heart racing, blushing, feeling instantly sick etc. Then Think – i.e. do something to calm ourselves down so we can access the logical part of our brains. Only then will we Act, do what we choose to do. Later on, we’ll Rewire, reflect on the situation, on what we learned and embed the positive responses or think of ways to prevent any unhelpful reactions.
What kinds of decisions are being made during the GFC?
Personally I’m much more concerned with bluebottles than sharks. And I’m much more concerned about the decisions of some employers and managers in the current global financial crisis, who may be failing to acknowledge and take into account the impact that their personal fears and insecurities on the quality of their decision-making. These are people who do not understand the power of Veto and the STAR methodology.
Coaches and Mentors have a major role to play here, to hold up a mirror of reflection and ask decision-makers to honestly assess the feelings that they have that underlie the decisions they make.
However it happens, assessing the impact of our emotions and experiences on our decisions would be a significant step forward in the challenge to rebuild confidence in our economic future. Share the concept of the Veto power and STAR with decision-makers everywhere you can. And don’t be afraid to go swimming at Bondi Beach!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Clues on Uncertainty- the biggest fear of all
Uncertainty is the most crippling fear we can experience. But we create uncertainty ourselves, no-one does it to us. So if we
can create it, we can learn to manage it. Listen now for the CLUES you need.
can create it, we can learn to manage it. Listen now for the CLUES you need.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
CLUES Are you worried about money?
There has never been a more important time to be emotionally strong and mentally tough, to control your amygdala rather than the other way around.
Job cuts are now announced daily. We see iconic brand employers laying off staff. We watch well known retailers closing their doors. Does it cross your mind: “will I be next?”
In most organisations you will be under pressure to cut costs, reduce budgets, remain competitive, deal with your employees’ uncertainty and stress as well as your own and yet still manage your team’s performance for strong results in an economy lacking in confidence and optimism.
And how are things at home?
We haven’t even started to talk about the pressures and decisions you might be faced with at home.
If you have young kids – how do they ‘get it’ that in the course of six months, the ground has shifted under things they took for granted.
If you have parents – are they fretting about the drop in the value of their superannuation fund – in some cases of 50% or more. At least with our parents, many of them lived through tough economic times before – and if they can keep their ‘almonds’ under control, they’ll know it’s cyclical. But who would blame them for saying – I may not have time to wait out the cycle!
Don’t succumb to The Almond Effect®
It would be easy to give in to fear and alarm. That’s what your amygdala wants you to do. That’s what The Almond Effect® is all about. It’s the stronger and dominating emotional response – it’s automatic while being calm and optimistic requires a deliberate choice.
Remember it is The Almond Effect® that initially caused (and is still causing) people to react to appalling financial events way out of proportion to the threat that existed at that time. I strongly hold the view that this global financial and economic mess is the result of uncontrolled panic and fear reactions to perceived threats that in many cases were not real – but our reactions have now given those fears substance and reality.
I want him on my plane
In stark contrast think about the way Captain Sullenberger landed Flight 1549 in the Hudson River on January 18 saving the lives of all 155 people on board.
Through his training and experience, the pilot showed complete mastery over the potential disastrous consequences of The Almond Effect®. Using his pre-frontal cortex (PFC) he over-rode his amygdala – and focussed on acting calmly and logically to get the best possible outcome to the crisis. I am sure that the passengers and crew were also very happy that he also glided planes for a hobby!
Yes we can
The saving of Flight 1549 was an example of self-control in a life threatening situation. You too can do this and rule your amygdala - especially in challenging but not actually life threatening situations such as the ones the economy is creating right now.
Lack of confidence, fear about the future – you can discipline yourself to think rationally and with hope about what this really means for you. Learn to ‘Flick the Switch’.
Flick the Switch
Here is an introduction to one of the tools we use when teaching the STAR method for mastery of The Almond Effect®. It is a simple process that we can use to respond thoughtfully rather than react emotionally.
I created the tool based on research from neuroscientists showing that a conscious act such as naming our emotions produces a decrease in amygdalic activity and an opportunity for the PFC to assert control. It is a clear example of STAR in action Stop - Think – Act – Rewire.
You’ll learn to do this quickly in your head but do it on paper the first time and at any time when you want to really take the time to think through what’s worrying you.
Create it as a flow chart for optimum visual impact.
What’s worrying me most at the moment?
Can I control it?
Yes
Best outcome?
How can I work towards this?
Physical actions? Now/future?
State of mind needed? Now/future?
What does the change and outcome look like?
Activate feeling or behaviour!
Triggers/techniques to Flick the Switch!
Worst outcome
How can I work to minimize this?
Physical actions? Now/future?
State of mind needed? Now/future?
What does the change and outcome look like?
Activate feeling or behaviour!
Triggers/techniques to Flick the Switch!
No
What can I do to manage my stress?
Physical actions? Now/future?
State of mind needed? Now/future?
What does the change and outcome look like?
Activate feeling or behaviour!
Triggers/techniques to Flick the Switch!
We expand, explore and practice these steps in our workshops. If you want more information on our workshops and tools, let me know.
Stop reacting, start responding at work
A major concern I have about the rapid increase in redundancies and sackings is the message it sends not just about the organisation’s lack of loyalty and compassion but its lack of leadership insight, courage, tenacity and strategic thinking. Not just to the retrenched but to all staff and customers.
We’ve been through it before in the 80’s and the 90’s. Mass redundancies and layoffs in a panic situation resulting in lowered engagement, innovation, teamwork and performance – everything that organisations in the 00s have invested in.
And will organisational history repeat itself? In the past, these actions resulted in bringing about the very things they thought they would avoid including increased costs, poor retention, low engagement and re-hiring on a more expensive basis.
Clever organisations and thoughtful leaders will react strategically at this time. They will not be frightened. They will see it as an opportunity to review, change and revisit the existing way of doing things. They will make hard but wise decisions with a view to the future as well as the short-term. They will respond not react.
And most importantly of all, they will stay the course back to prosperity and success. That will take intestinal fortitude on their part and yours.
Stop reacting, start responding at home
It’s a similar message for home. If you apply the same thinking you’ll insert a pause before acting, you’ll consciously take time to reflect and plan your responses, you won’t panic, fret and stress.
STAR tools can help you achieve that ability– based on neuroscientific research that is unlocking doors into the reasons why people behave the way they do – and what to do about it.
Scared again - I’m practising what I preach
This weekend I am swimming in the scary 2.7km ocean swim from Palm Beach to Whale Beach – my response to the cancer-related deaths of family and friends and for so many other friends who are dealing with this dreadful disease.
Thank you to the many of you have supported me with your words and your sponsorship in my quest to raise funds for Cancer Research. Perhaps the short video I sent influenced that - see it at www.anneriches.com.au/AnneCanSwim.html
In any event I want you to know that I am Flicking the Switch every time I think about the swim. If I wasn’t actively using STAR tools, I know I would be feeling sick (and wanting to break a leg or something so I didn’t have to do it) at the thought of Sunday. The adrenaline is still running I can assure you but I am visualising what it will be like to emerge from the sea at Whale Beach in one piece and constantly Flicking the Switch to that feeling.
I’ll let you know how I go.
You can still be part of Team Anne
And it’s not too late to sponsor me – it truly adds to the motivation I need to conquer The Almond Effect® and get into the water. Please go to www.anneriches.com.au/AnneCanSwim.html to be part of Team Anne as my wonderful supporters call themselves. I would be really appreciative of any contribution no matter how small.
Hope you enjoyed this edition of CLUES.
Till next time, take care.
Job cuts are now announced daily. We see iconic brand employers laying off staff. We watch well known retailers closing their doors. Does it cross your mind: “will I be next?”
In most organisations you will be under pressure to cut costs, reduce budgets, remain competitive, deal with your employees’ uncertainty and stress as well as your own and yet still manage your team’s performance for strong results in an economy lacking in confidence and optimism.
And how are things at home?
We haven’t even started to talk about the pressures and decisions you might be faced with at home.
If you have young kids – how do they ‘get it’ that in the course of six months, the ground has shifted under things they took for granted.
If you have parents – are they fretting about the drop in the value of their superannuation fund – in some cases of 50% or more. At least with our parents, many of them lived through tough economic times before – and if they can keep their ‘almonds’ under control, they’ll know it’s cyclical. But who would blame them for saying – I may not have time to wait out the cycle!
Don’t succumb to The Almond Effect®
It would be easy to give in to fear and alarm. That’s what your amygdala wants you to do. That’s what The Almond Effect® is all about. It’s the stronger and dominating emotional response – it’s automatic while being calm and optimistic requires a deliberate choice.
Remember it is The Almond Effect® that initially caused (and is still causing) people to react to appalling financial events way out of proportion to the threat that existed at that time. I strongly hold the view that this global financial and economic mess is the result of uncontrolled panic and fear reactions to perceived threats that in many cases were not real – but our reactions have now given those fears substance and reality.
I want him on my plane
In stark contrast think about the way Captain Sullenberger landed Flight 1549 in the Hudson River on January 18 saving the lives of all 155 people on board.
Through his training and experience, the pilot showed complete mastery over the potential disastrous consequences of The Almond Effect®. Using his pre-frontal cortex (PFC) he over-rode his amygdala – and focussed on acting calmly and logically to get the best possible outcome to the crisis. I am sure that the passengers and crew were also very happy that he also glided planes for a hobby!
Yes we can
The saving of Flight 1549 was an example of self-control in a life threatening situation. You too can do this and rule your amygdala - especially in challenging but not actually life threatening situations such as the ones the economy is creating right now.
Lack of confidence, fear about the future – you can discipline yourself to think rationally and with hope about what this really means for you. Learn to ‘Flick the Switch’.
Flick the Switch
Here is an introduction to one of the tools we use when teaching the STAR method for mastery of The Almond Effect®. It is a simple process that we can use to respond thoughtfully rather than react emotionally.
I created the tool based on research from neuroscientists showing that a conscious act such as naming our emotions produces a decrease in amygdalic activity and an opportunity for the PFC to assert control. It is a clear example of STAR in action Stop - Think – Act – Rewire.
You’ll learn to do this quickly in your head but do it on paper the first time and at any time when you want to really take the time to think through what’s worrying you.
Create it as a flow chart for optimum visual impact.
What’s worrying me most at the moment?
Can I control it?
Yes
Best outcome?
How can I work towards this?
Physical actions? Now/future?
State of mind needed? Now/future?
What does the change and outcome look like?
Activate feeling or behaviour!
Triggers/techniques to Flick the Switch!
Worst outcome
How can I work to minimize this?
Physical actions? Now/future?
State of mind needed? Now/future?
What does the change and outcome look like?
Activate feeling or behaviour!
Triggers/techniques to Flick the Switch!
No
What can I do to manage my stress?
Physical actions? Now/future?
State of mind needed? Now/future?
What does the change and outcome look like?
Activate feeling or behaviour!
Triggers/techniques to Flick the Switch!
We expand, explore and practice these steps in our workshops. If you want more information on our workshops and tools, let me know.
Stop reacting, start responding at work
A major concern I have about the rapid increase in redundancies and sackings is the message it sends not just about the organisation’s lack of loyalty and compassion but its lack of leadership insight, courage, tenacity and strategic thinking. Not just to the retrenched but to all staff and customers.
We’ve been through it before in the 80’s and the 90’s. Mass redundancies and layoffs in a panic situation resulting in lowered engagement, innovation, teamwork and performance – everything that organisations in the 00s have invested in.
And will organisational history repeat itself? In the past, these actions resulted in bringing about the very things they thought they would avoid including increased costs, poor retention, low engagement and re-hiring on a more expensive basis.
Clever organisations and thoughtful leaders will react strategically at this time. They will not be frightened. They will see it as an opportunity to review, change and revisit the existing way of doing things. They will make hard but wise decisions with a view to the future as well as the short-term. They will respond not react.
And most importantly of all, they will stay the course back to prosperity and success. That will take intestinal fortitude on their part and yours.
Stop reacting, start responding at home
It’s a similar message for home. If you apply the same thinking you’ll insert a pause before acting, you’ll consciously take time to reflect and plan your responses, you won’t panic, fret and stress.
STAR tools can help you achieve that ability– based on neuroscientific research that is unlocking doors into the reasons why people behave the way they do – and what to do about it.
Scared again - I’m practising what I preach
This weekend I am swimming in the scary 2.7km ocean swim from Palm Beach to Whale Beach – my response to the cancer-related deaths of family and friends and for so many other friends who are dealing with this dreadful disease.
Thank you to the many of you have supported me with your words and your sponsorship in my quest to raise funds for Cancer Research. Perhaps the short video I sent influenced that - see it at www.anneriches.com.au/AnneCanSwim.html
In any event I want you to know that I am Flicking the Switch every time I think about the swim. If I wasn’t actively using STAR tools, I know I would be feeling sick (and wanting to break a leg or something so I didn’t have to do it) at the thought of Sunday. The adrenaline is still running I can assure you but I am visualising what it will be like to emerge from the sea at Whale Beach in one piece and constantly Flicking the Switch to that feeling.
I’ll let you know how I go.
You can still be part of Team Anne
And it’s not too late to sponsor me – it truly adds to the motivation I need to conquer The Almond Effect® and get into the water. Please go to www.anneriches.com.au/AnneCanSwim.html to be part of Team Anne as my wonderful supporters call themselves. I would be really appreciative of any contribution no matter how small.
Hope you enjoyed this edition of CLUES.
Till next time, take care.
Monday, December 15, 2008
CLUES How will you make decisions in 2009
How will you make decisions in 2009? Logically or emotionally?
I didn’t know whether we would live or die. Nearly 10 years ago, on March 22, 1999 my husband and I were trapped in the centre of category 5 Cyclone Vance when it hit Exmouth, Western Australia. We were there for a scuba diving trip. The storm surge was predicted to be 3.6 metres so we got our scuba gear ready – potentially to use inside our holiday townhouse!
Happily we survived the devastation unharmed and indeed returned to Exmouth the following year to dive with the Whale Sharks as originally planned. Although 10% of all the buildings were either destroyed or damaged, Exmouth had rebuilt and looked beautiful.
How will you live out the global financial storm?
I’m sharing this story with you because the current global financial downturn might feel as devastating as a category 5 cyclone. Some people already have or will lose their jobs. Some will feel their homes and incomes are at risk. Some will see, as I have done, superannuation and retirement funds slashed and plans that were dependent on these funds, have now dramatically changed.
Many people will worry about their financial situation. And your brain won’t help you during this time, unless you take charge of it – not the other way around.
Logical or emotional decision-making – YOU decide
At the risk of sounding like an old record – please remember the essence of what I’ve been speaking and writing about for years. It will help you weather any storm.
Your brain automatically focuses on your fears. As you know I call this The Almond Effect®. And what we are experiencing now is the worst economic example of this – when fears have become a reality.
Although a correction was due in some places, I believe the world financial situation is a psychological over-reaction by governments and businesses that everyday people are caught in. It should not have gone as far as it has but as we know, toxic emotions are contagious. We have seen a global spread of negative emotion at a speed and with an intensity that is almost impossible to believe.
So right now I encourage you to stay in control of your lives. You can keep your fears, anxieties and worries in check in your life and your decision making by using my STAR approach. Take the time to read about it again now. I know it will help you.
Be a STAR
S - Stop: simply take notice the moment you become aware that fear, anxiety, uncertainty are impacting you and your ability to ‘think straight’. Your body will tell you – increased heart rate, tummy churning over, tears forming, flushed face, the shakes – everyone responds in their own way. How does your body tell you your brain is stressed?
T – Think: immediately take several deep breaths to minimize the impact of the adrenaline that’s swirling around your body. Acknowledge that your emotions are in play and ask yourself: Where are they coming from? What’s triggering this?
A – Act: Do something to control your emotions before you make any decisions. Here’s an idea from one of my closest friends: “I imagine my fears and anxieties are tied to me with string. Then I cut the string and let them fall away.” It’s a great idea.
And here’s the approach I use most: First, I name out loud the emotion I’m feeling: e.g. ‘I am feeling really anxious right now.’ (Or words to that effect!) Then I ask myself: ‘What’s the worst thing that could happen? And what would I do about it?’ This usually works – because both of these techniques engage the logical part of the brain and slow down our amygdalae. With practice, you can, at will, override your immediate emotional reactions.
R. - Rewire: Practice this over and over – whenever you feel your mind being clouded by irrational thoughts. You’ll be amazed at how much control you build into your life, the quality of the decisions you make and the relationships you have with others.
Me in a cozzie - Support me in my Craziness
Occasionally over the last two years I have shared with you my personal examples of overcoming The Almond Effect® in my quest to raise funds for cancer research as I learn to swim in the ocean and participate in ocean races.
If you’re interested and want to see how I’m going, please enjoy the short picture show http://www.anneriches.com.au/AnneCanSwim.html and if you feel inclined to support me, that would be so appreciated.
In any event, enjoy the 4 minute video! http://www.anneriches.com.au/AnneCanSwim.html
Happy Holidays
For those of you who celebrate Christmas – I hope you have a wonderful time with your family and friends or whoever you choose to spend this time with.
Even those of you who do not celebrate at this time, will inevitably get caught up in the season. So to all of you, warm wishes for a safe and happy holiday period.
And I wish you a fearless 2009 when you turn challenges into opportunities and potentially difficult times into the best outcome you could have dreamed for.
Take care
I didn’t know whether we would live or die. Nearly 10 years ago, on March 22, 1999 my husband and I were trapped in the centre of category 5 Cyclone Vance when it hit Exmouth, Western Australia. We were there for a scuba diving trip. The storm surge was predicted to be 3.6 metres so we got our scuba gear ready – potentially to use inside our holiday townhouse!
Happily we survived the devastation unharmed and indeed returned to Exmouth the following year to dive with the Whale Sharks as originally planned. Although 10% of all the buildings were either destroyed or damaged, Exmouth had rebuilt and looked beautiful.
How will you live out the global financial storm?
I’m sharing this story with you because the current global financial downturn might feel as devastating as a category 5 cyclone. Some people already have or will lose their jobs. Some will feel their homes and incomes are at risk. Some will see, as I have done, superannuation and retirement funds slashed and plans that were dependent on these funds, have now dramatically changed.
Many people will worry about their financial situation. And your brain won’t help you during this time, unless you take charge of it – not the other way around.
Logical or emotional decision-making – YOU decide
At the risk of sounding like an old record – please remember the essence of what I’ve been speaking and writing about for years. It will help you weather any storm.
Your brain automatically focuses on your fears. As you know I call this The Almond Effect®. And what we are experiencing now is the worst economic example of this – when fears have become a reality.
Although a correction was due in some places, I believe the world financial situation is a psychological over-reaction by governments and businesses that everyday people are caught in. It should not have gone as far as it has but as we know, toxic emotions are contagious. We have seen a global spread of negative emotion at a speed and with an intensity that is almost impossible to believe.
So right now I encourage you to stay in control of your lives. You can keep your fears, anxieties and worries in check in your life and your decision making by using my STAR approach. Take the time to read about it again now. I know it will help you.
Be a STAR
S - Stop: simply take notice the moment you become aware that fear, anxiety, uncertainty are impacting you and your ability to ‘think straight’. Your body will tell you – increased heart rate, tummy churning over, tears forming, flushed face, the shakes – everyone responds in their own way. How does your body tell you your brain is stressed?
T – Think: immediately take several deep breaths to minimize the impact of the adrenaline that’s swirling around your body. Acknowledge that your emotions are in play and ask yourself: Where are they coming from? What’s triggering this?
A – Act: Do something to control your emotions before you make any decisions. Here’s an idea from one of my closest friends: “I imagine my fears and anxieties are tied to me with string. Then I cut the string and let them fall away.” It’s a great idea.
And here’s the approach I use most: First, I name out loud the emotion I’m feeling: e.g. ‘I am feeling really anxious right now.’ (Or words to that effect!) Then I ask myself: ‘What’s the worst thing that could happen? And what would I do about it?’ This usually works – because both of these techniques engage the logical part of the brain and slow down our amygdalae. With practice, you can, at will, override your immediate emotional reactions.
R. - Rewire: Practice this over and over – whenever you feel your mind being clouded by irrational thoughts. You’ll be amazed at how much control you build into your life, the quality of the decisions you make and the relationships you have with others.
Me in a cozzie - Support me in my Craziness
Occasionally over the last two years I have shared with you my personal examples of overcoming The Almond Effect® in my quest to raise funds for cancer research as I learn to swim in the ocean and participate in ocean races.
If you’re interested and want to see how I’m going, please enjoy the short picture show http://www.anneriches.com.au/AnneCanSwim.html and if you feel inclined to support me, that would be so appreciated.
In any event, enjoy the 4 minute video! http://www.anneriches.com.au/AnneCanSwim.html
Happy Holidays
For those of you who celebrate Christmas – I hope you have a wonderful time with your family and friends or whoever you choose to spend this time with.
Even those of you who do not celebrate at this time, will inevitably get caught up in the season. So to all of you, warm wishes for a safe and happy holiday period.
And I wish you a fearless 2009 when you turn challenges into opportunities and potentially difficult times into the best outcome you could have dreamed for.
Take care
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
CLUES How much is your ego costing you?
Which is more important – your ego or your cash?
What level is your credit card or frequent flyer status? Bronze? Platinum? Does it matter? I never even stopped to think about this until recently.
Some good friends were teasing me because I have a high tier frequent flyer card but I couldn’t see the joke. It meant I had a reasonable place to wait for flights, that I might not be the first to get bumped off an oversold flight and that occasionally, the staff member at the aircraft door would call me by my name instead of simply being told to take the second aisle.
So I suggested to my friends that their banter was just “card envy” But it stopped me in my tracks and made me think when David said: “well my goal is to have bronze”.
Bronze? His goal? He went on: “If I had bronze instead of platinum, it would mean that I wouldn’t be travelling as much and would be at home with my family more.”
What an insight. He’d certainly sorted out his priorities and made me think about mine.
Pre-approved – for more fees!
This issue of card status and its implications came up for me again when I got an unsolicited letter from the bank telling me I had been pre-approved for a platinum credit card.
Of course, in playing to our egos, what the banks don’t emphasise is that if we take up the higher level card it is accompanied by a higher credit limit, encouraging us to spend more. And if we don’t pay off our credit card accounts each month, the bank achieves its aim in sending out the pre-approval, i.e. to earn more interest.
So I got out all my credit cards and added up how much these cards were costing me in annual fees. The nasty thing about these fees is that unless you keep track of when they are due, the only time you are reminded of them is when they appear on your statement and that’s after they’ve been charged to your account.
Then there are the membership reward scheme fees on top.
So I started to do some analysis about what I really need my cards for. And then comparing that with the level of the card I had. I soon realised that I was paying for more expensive (higher level) cards when I didn’t need them.
What’s more, I didn’t need the extended credit limits and I would have to earn an enormous number of frequent flyer points to justify the difference between the costs of some of the cards. It would be cheaper to shop around for a discount fare!
Status and reward
So why was I hesitating in changing the cards? I began to think that my amygdala (and The Almond Effect - in this case an irrational fear of how it will look to others to have an ‘inferior’ card) was getting in the way of my downgrading from gold and platinum cards so I started to explore why.
It seems that reputation and standing (status) could be more important to our brain than cash. According to one of the authors describing an experiment in a study published in April this year in Neuron the part of the brain called: ‘the striatum became just as animated when players were given a shot at improving their social standing as it did when they won a buck...
And that wasn't the only indicator that they cared about how others perceived them... another brain region (the medial prefrontal cortex) involved in sizing up others went wild when players were shown photos of competitors who outperformed them.’
Hmmm. Maybe that’s the explanation for why, when I split the lunch bill with a friend the other day, and I put down a gold credit card and he put down platinum, I momentarily felt, well, of lower status!
And The Almond Effect® also is implicated. The researchers went on to note: ‘brain areas that process emotional pain (the amygdala and posterior cingulate) lit up when players failed to answer questions that inferior competitors had aced. The researchers speculated that this is because they were worried it would diminish their reputations as superior players.
The power of status in rational decision-making
Some of you will also remember the work of Robert Cialdini on Influence. Linking his work and the status theme, the way that status lights up parts of our brains reminds me of the mental heuristics (or shortcuts) that Cialdini talks about. In particular I’m thinking about his research on how we respond to social proof (“keeping up with the Joneses’) and to authority where Cialdini writes that people will tend to obey authority figures, even if they are asked to perform objectionable acts.
Authority and the perceived value of status seem closely connected to me. And this raises the whole question of how we make decisions and what we sub-consciously allow ourselves to be influenced by.
Managing your almonds (and your striatum!)
Coincidentally as I thought about these things, I was revisiting the writings of Viktor Frenkl. In particular the latter part of the following quote resonated with me:
"We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.
And this:
“Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."
Gold, Platinum and the patience to do something about it
As I write this at my desk, I now have three credit cards sitting in front of me. These are the cards that I am going to cancel or downgrade because I simply don’t need them - even though I like their colour!
As we face the fallout of the global almond effect (that’s the way I described the global financial crisis in the last CLUES) maybe, as I have done, this is a good time to ask yourself what you really need and whether your ego is costing you? Is it worth it?
And of course, the issue of status and ego goes way beyond credit cards and into the world of work where the ‘status card’ gets dealt endlessly by bosses to employees and by others who like to play with power and politics. Maybe that should be the topic for another CLUES.
In the meantime, I’m struggling with other parts of my brain including the amygdala. The parts that deal with garnering the patience and tolerance I’m going to need when I speak with the banks about changing or cancelling my credit cards.
Maybe that’s the real challenge here, not the potentially high cost of status but the emotional cost that has to be endured when trying to do something about it!
What level is your credit card or frequent flyer status? Bronze? Platinum? Does it matter? I never even stopped to think about this until recently.
Some good friends were teasing me because I have a high tier frequent flyer card but I couldn’t see the joke. It meant I had a reasonable place to wait for flights, that I might not be the first to get bumped off an oversold flight and that occasionally, the staff member at the aircraft door would call me by my name instead of simply being told to take the second aisle.
So I suggested to my friends that their banter was just “card envy” But it stopped me in my tracks and made me think when David said: “well my goal is to have bronze”.
Bronze? His goal? He went on: “If I had bronze instead of platinum, it would mean that I wouldn’t be travelling as much and would be at home with my family more.”
What an insight. He’d certainly sorted out his priorities and made me think about mine.
Pre-approved – for more fees!
This issue of card status and its implications came up for me again when I got an unsolicited letter from the bank telling me I had been pre-approved for a platinum credit card.
Of course, in playing to our egos, what the banks don’t emphasise is that if we take up the higher level card it is accompanied by a higher credit limit, encouraging us to spend more. And if we don’t pay off our credit card accounts each month, the bank achieves its aim in sending out the pre-approval, i.e. to earn more interest.
So I got out all my credit cards and added up how much these cards were costing me in annual fees. The nasty thing about these fees is that unless you keep track of when they are due, the only time you are reminded of them is when they appear on your statement and that’s after they’ve been charged to your account.
Then there are the membership reward scheme fees on top.
So I started to do some analysis about what I really need my cards for. And then comparing that with the level of the card I had. I soon realised that I was paying for more expensive (higher level) cards when I didn’t need them.
What’s more, I didn’t need the extended credit limits and I would have to earn an enormous number of frequent flyer points to justify the difference between the costs of some of the cards. It would be cheaper to shop around for a discount fare!
Status and reward
So why was I hesitating in changing the cards? I began to think that my amygdala (and The Almond Effect - in this case an irrational fear of how it will look to others to have an ‘inferior’ card) was getting in the way of my downgrading from gold and platinum cards so I started to explore why.
It seems that reputation and standing (status) could be more important to our brain than cash. According to one of the authors describing an experiment in a study published in April this year in Neuron the part of the brain called: ‘the striatum became just as animated when players were given a shot at improving their social standing as it did when they won a buck...
And that wasn't the only indicator that they cared about how others perceived them... another brain region (the medial prefrontal cortex) involved in sizing up others went wild when players were shown photos of competitors who outperformed them.’
Hmmm. Maybe that’s the explanation for why, when I split the lunch bill with a friend the other day, and I put down a gold credit card and he put down platinum, I momentarily felt, well, of lower status!
And The Almond Effect® also is implicated. The researchers went on to note: ‘brain areas that process emotional pain (the amygdala and posterior cingulate) lit up when players failed to answer questions that inferior competitors had aced. The researchers speculated that this is because they were worried it would diminish their reputations as superior players.
The power of status in rational decision-making
Some of you will also remember the work of Robert Cialdini on Influence. Linking his work and the status theme, the way that status lights up parts of our brains reminds me of the mental heuristics (or shortcuts) that Cialdini talks about. In particular I’m thinking about his research on how we respond to social proof (“keeping up with the Joneses’) and to authority where Cialdini writes that people will tend to obey authority figures, even if they are asked to perform objectionable acts.
Authority and the perceived value of status seem closely connected to me. And this raises the whole question of how we make decisions and what we sub-consciously allow ourselves to be influenced by.
Managing your almonds (and your striatum!)
Coincidentally as I thought about these things, I was revisiting the writings of Viktor Frenkl. In particular the latter part of the following quote resonated with me:
"We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.
And this:
“Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."
Gold, Platinum and the patience to do something about it
As I write this at my desk, I now have three credit cards sitting in front of me. These are the cards that I am going to cancel or downgrade because I simply don’t need them - even though I like their colour!
As we face the fallout of the global almond effect (that’s the way I described the global financial crisis in the last CLUES) maybe, as I have done, this is a good time to ask yourself what you really need and whether your ego is costing you? Is it worth it?
And of course, the issue of status and ego goes way beyond credit cards and into the world of work where the ‘status card’ gets dealt endlessly by bosses to employees and by others who like to play with power and politics. Maybe that should be the topic for another CLUES.
In the meantime, I’m struggling with other parts of my brain including the amygdala. The parts that deal with garnering the patience and tolerance I’m going to need when I speak with the banks about changing or cancelling my credit cards.
Maybe that’s the real challenge here, not the potentially high cost of status but the emotional cost that has to be endured when trying to do something about it!
Thursday, November 06, 2008
CLUES A Global Almond Effect
CLUES Put your money under the bed
A few weeks ago I was in Brussels. Walking to a restaurant to have dinner about 7.30pm one evening, I noticed an unusually large number of people at a Dexia Bank cashpoint (ATM) queuing to withdraw money.
I remembered that it had been reported, earlier in the day, that Dexia was in trouble. It was a striking example that the global financial crisis had hit. I was instantly reminded of events I had read about where people had made a run on the banks to withdraw their funds to protect them but I never honestly though I would see that in October 2008 in the city of the European Union headquarters.
Panic spreads quickly
In a matter of months, or was it weeks, major economies of the world crashed. Banks collapsed, companies folded, stock markets took the concept of roller coasters to a new dimension, and people became scared – for their jobs, for their homes, for their lifestyle, for their futures.
Potential retirees have watched the value of their superannuation funds plummet and are now revisiting their retirement plans. Those who have retired are watching the value of their assets declining and wished they had more in cash.
Many businesses started to experience bad debts, decreased orders and supplies. Some are starting to contemplate closures and foreclosures.
A Global Almond Effect(R)
Never have so many banks got into so much trouble taking the rest of the world with them. Their excesses and recklessness have caused havoc.
Fear, uncertainty and anxiety are rampant. Humiliated CEOs and many senior executives have been and will be sacked as taxpayers have to bail out financial institutions, providing guarantees to save businesses and to stop people putting their money under their beds!
If we ever imagined a global example of The Almond Effect® – this is it. As the full extent of this crisis is revealed and when history reflects on it and its aftermath, we will see decisions and actions driven by recklessness, fear, anxiety and uncertainty.
Amygdalas – unable to perceive the difference between real and psychological threat – will cause, and have caused people to act rashly, unmediated by their pre-frontal cortexes; i.e. without thinking.
Stay in control
This is one of those times when we have to be really clear about what is going on in our own heads and stay in control. While Governments try to sort out this mess, the most important thing that we can do is remain calm.
Yes it will be tough. Our brains hate uncertainty. We pass most of our days, weeks and years in routine and predictability – responding to patterns that our brains have been laid down over time to enable us to get on with our lives without needing to continuously create new pathways.
Too much change – even welcome change – can place significant demands on our working memories resulting in tiredness, anxiety and an inability to think straight. Add the stress caused as the adrenaline flows when our amygdalas respond to the media bombardment of gloom and doom and heartbreak – no wonder there are reported increases in calls for help to corporate employee assistance programs.
Nothing to fear but fear itself
Roosevelt said: we have nothing to fear but fear itself. So put the STAR model into action immediately.
Stop. Try to notice when you are getting caught up and impacted by the headlines, the TV and radio reports and the worrying talk of others. When you catch yourself, take a deep breath and notice what is happening to you.
Think: how much of it is directly impacting on you. How much is your life going to change? The magnitude of this crisis is in the order of (though of course, different from) September 11 - and just like then, the world will change.
But at the time of 9/11 when lives were lost and the laws of 'war' were rewritten, people worried that it would be impossible for the world to ever be 'normal' again. Yet normalcy did return. Think about that. Take the time to consider and plan for the future to the extent that you need to make changes.
Act: Then act according to your plan and stay the course. Constantly monitor what is happening to you and to the people you care about.
Don’t get caught up in the emotional contagion of others. If you see friends, family and colleagues getting upset, explain to them what is happening in their brains and The Almond Effect® and share the STAR model.
Rewire: If you’ve been through other demanding events, review how you got through them and see what you can apply to this situation.
Cliché time: the sun will rise tomorrow and Australia will win the Rugby world Cup again one day
OK – I’m ever the optimist! But do keep things in perspective. It was only a few weeks ago that climate change was the most important item on the global agenda. I have a feeling it’s slipped!
Remember some of the other occasions in your lives when you thought it couldn’t get any tougher. You came through. We’ll all come through this one. Interestingly it might just be easier for those of us who have lived through these sorts of events before. It will be tougher for the younger people who have never experienced depressions, recessions and horrendous interest rates – their neurons will have to make some new pathways!
It’s not going to be easy as we see jobs slashed and home values fall. But, as longtime readers of CLUES, you have the skills to manage your emotional responses at this time. It won’t fix the situation but at least you’ll be making some calm, rational decisions about the way forward.
A few weeks ago I was in Brussels. Walking to a restaurant to have dinner about 7.30pm one evening, I noticed an unusually large number of people at a Dexia Bank cashpoint (ATM) queuing to withdraw money.
I remembered that it had been reported, earlier in the day, that Dexia was in trouble. It was a striking example that the global financial crisis had hit. I was instantly reminded of events I had read about where people had made a run on the banks to withdraw their funds to protect them but I never honestly though I would see that in October 2008 in the city of the European Union headquarters.
Panic spreads quickly
In a matter of months, or was it weeks, major economies of the world crashed. Banks collapsed, companies folded, stock markets took the concept of roller coasters to a new dimension, and people became scared – for their jobs, for their homes, for their lifestyle, for their futures.
Potential retirees have watched the value of their superannuation funds plummet and are now revisiting their retirement plans. Those who have retired are watching the value of their assets declining and wished they had more in cash.
Many businesses started to experience bad debts, decreased orders and supplies. Some are starting to contemplate closures and foreclosures.
A Global Almond Effect(R)
Never have so many banks got into so much trouble taking the rest of the world with them. Their excesses and recklessness have caused havoc.
Fear, uncertainty and anxiety are rampant. Humiliated CEOs and many senior executives have been and will be sacked as taxpayers have to bail out financial institutions, providing guarantees to save businesses and to stop people putting their money under their beds!
If we ever imagined a global example of The Almond Effect® – this is it. As the full extent of this crisis is revealed and when history reflects on it and its aftermath, we will see decisions and actions driven by recklessness, fear, anxiety and uncertainty.
Amygdalas – unable to perceive the difference between real and psychological threat – will cause, and have caused people to act rashly, unmediated by their pre-frontal cortexes; i.e. without thinking.
Stay in control
This is one of those times when we have to be really clear about what is going on in our own heads and stay in control. While Governments try to sort out this mess, the most important thing that we can do is remain calm.
Yes it will be tough. Our brains hate uncertainty. We pass most of our days, weeks and years in routine and predictability – responding to patterns that our brains have been laid down over time to enable us to get on with our lives without needing to continuously create new pathways.
Too much change – even welcome change – can place significant demands on our working memories resulting in tiredness, anxiety and an inability to think straight. Add the stress caused as the adrenaline flows when our amygdalas respond to the media bombardment of gloom and doom and heartbreak – no wonder there are reported increases in calls for help to corporate employee assistance programs.
Nothing to fear but fear itself
Roosevelt said: we have nothing to fear but fear itself. So put the STAR model into action immediately.
Stop. Try to notice when you are getting caught up and impacted by the headlines, the TV and radio reports and the worrying talk of others. When you catch yourself, take a deep breath and notice what is happening to you.
Think: how much of it is directly impacting on you. How much is your life going to change? The magnitude of this crisis is in the order of (though of course, different from) September 11 - and just like then, the world will change.
But at the time of 9/11 when lives were lost and the laws of 'war' were rewritten, people worried that it would be impossible for the world to ever be 'normal' again. Yet normalcy did return. Think about that. Take the time to consider and plan for the future to the extent that you need to make changes.
Act: Then act according to your plan and stay the course. Constantly monitor what is happening to you and to the people you care about.
Don’t get caught up in the emotional contagion of others. If you see friends, family and colleagues getting upset, explain to them what is happening in their brains and The Almond Effect® and share the STAR model.
Rewire: If you’ve been through other demanding events, review how you got through them and see what you can apply to this situation.
Cliché time: the sun will rise tomorrow and Australia will win the Rugby world Cup again one day
OK – I’m ever the optimist! But do keep things in perspective. It was only a few weeks ago that climate change was the most important item on the global agenda. I have a feeling it’s slipped!
Remember some of the other occasions in your lives when you thought it couldn’t get any tougher. You came through. We’ll all come through this one. Interestingly it might just be easier for those of us who have lived through these sorts of events before. It will be tougher for the younger people who have never experienced depressions, recessions and horrendous interest rates – their neurons will have to make some new pathways!
It’s not going to be easy as we see jobs slashed and home values fall. But, as longtime readers of CLUES, you have the skills to manage your emotional responses at this time. It won’t fix the situation but at least you’ll be making some calm, rational decisions about the way forward.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
CLUES Great shark expectations
In this edition, I’m going to talk about how life’s little surprises can sometimes catch us out – and what to do about it! In particular I’m going to talk about the role of expectations at work.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
CLUES What's the difference between my dad and going to work?
Do you fight fear with fear?
When a member of your team gives you a scare - how do you respond? If you let your amygdala do the talking - they may well do the walking!
When a member of your team gives you a scare - how do you respond? If you let your amygdala do the talking - they may well do the walking!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
CLUES Procrastination - do you? Or would you like to answer that later?
Do you procrastinate? Put off stuff you really want to do (or think you do) and then beat yourself up for not doing it?
In my most recent newsletter I've looked at this topic and talked about why we procrastinate and what to do about it. If you want to read more sign up for CLUES on the right or go to http://www.anneriches.com/
I've also asked my readers to share their examples and what they think are the reasons. I'll summarize them here soon. In the meantime - would love to hear your examples, don't put off sharing them!
In my most recent newsletter I've looked at this topic and talked about why we procrastinate and what to do about it. If you want to read more sign up for CLUES on the right or go to http://www.anneriches.com/
I've also asked my readers to share their examples and what they think are the reasons. I'll summarize them here soon. In the meantime - would love to hear your examples, don't put off sharing them!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
CLUES Fears at Work
I recently conducted a survey asking what are your fears at work?
There were some interesting responses. For example:
Hi Anne...I work as a Contracts Manager [new role in the last 5 months]...my 'fear' is not knowing what to advise or worst still, giving the wrong advice, when a contractual issue arises...people [clients, managers & my staff] rely on me to be correct...this is sometimes difficult...my strategy at present is to research/consult/evaluate options & risk before advice...works at the moment, but sometimes demands exceed timelines with my strategy. What do you think?
Other 'fears' included:
There were some interesting responses. For example:
Hi Anne...I work as a Contracts Manager [new role in the last 5 months]...my 'fear' is not knowing what to advise or worst still, giving the wrong advice, when a contractual issue arises...people [clients, managers & my staff] rely on me to be correct...this is sometimes difficult...my strategy at present is to research/consult/evaluate options & risk before advice...works at the moment, but sometimes demands exceed timelines with my strategy. What do you think?
Other 'fears' included:
- Discussing with people why they are accountable for their actions, and that it is not necessarily someone else's fault or problem.
- Performance appraisal interviews
- Providing different opinion to manager or colleagues and having to prove my point confidently.
Care to comment on or add to the list?
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
CLUES Up close and personal
They say you teach what you most need to learn - but did I need to be reminded so dramatically?
Monday, December 04, 2006
CLUES Talk to the boss!
Ever been apprehensive about talking to the CEO? You need to deal with it or it could become a career limiting move. Listen here for tips on talking with the boss.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
CLUES The jealous amydgala
Sometimes jealousy can really cost us. In this edition of CLUES listen to an extract of 'Where Did That Come From?' If you want more go to www.AnneRiches.com/almond-effect.html
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
CLUES I don't intend to die
Sometimes you have to choose. Why are we so poor at succession planning? It's our amygdala again. Listen here for more.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
CLUES Teenage brains - an emotional cauldron
Teenagers seem to be risk taking, fearless and reckless at times. It's not just their hormones - it's the way their brain is developing. Listen hear for more information.
Monday, October 09, 2006
CLUES My husband won't hold my hand!
Ever done irrational things based on old emotion memories? And are you risk averse or risk seeking? Listen here for some answers.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
CLUES Look at me when I'm talking to you
Have you ever found yourself saying: Look at me when I'm talking to you! Well you might get a better answer if they don't. Listen here if you want to know why.
Monday, September 11, 2006
CLUES The Croc Hunter and the racing car driver
Last week Australia lost two icons - two fearless men. Listen here for more about their fear, or lack of it, and the worrying impact of anticipation
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
CLUES Fast but maybe furious!
Do you make 'snap judgments'? Of course you do and that's important in life threatening situations - but is it OK at work? and can you do anything about it? Listen and find out.
Friday, August 11, 2006
CLUES The High Cost of Gutlessness
Lack of courage may be costing your organisation money, people and customers. listen and find out why and what to do about it.
Friday, August 04, 2006
I burst into tears - was there a better way to handle it? (Cirstie)
Cirstie wrote:
All the girls in our office decided to go out for a girls lunch. We asked our boss (male) would that be ok and he said yes but he didn't look happy. However upon our return he was agitated and called me into the office (being the supervisor) and blasted me about all and sundry. He was so angry he was shaking and really the things he was saying were just ridiculous. There are 6 of us so we all went in different cars and he timed how long we took etc. I truly believe it was an almond reaction to not being invited to lunch. Anyhow I burst into tears because he was being so unreasonable. Did I therefore have an almond reaction to his aggressiveness and is there a better way I could have handled it?
Here's my reply:
Phew!! From what you say, it was a classic Almond Effect ® on his part! I wonder what that was about? What was he anxious about? Was there work to be done that he was frustrated might not get done and he had a lot riding on it? Was he fearful about being left out, talked about? Has he got a problem with a group of women having fun because of some past experience? I can’t possibly know without talking to him and I guess you can’t know unless you asked him. But certainly from what you have told me, your diagnosis was right.
As for your reaction, probably also right but don’t beat yourself up! Without you wanting it to do this when surprises like that happen, your amygdala interprets the event as a threat to job security, good relations with your boss, i.e. life as you know and want it – and then we react in ways that surprise us (the logical us) and afterwards we regret what we did!! Just learn from it and ask yourself what you could do differently if it ever happened again.
Without wishing to sound commercial, that why I wrote the E-book Where Did That Come From? – it gives a lot of examples of what other people have done and do in similar situations, starting with the ability to recognise what is happening to you and learning to distract your amygdala so your top brain has time to click in and get you back in control.
Hope that helps – whatever you do, don’t let it get to you. If you need to clear the air with him, think clearly how you’re going to do it, even write out a script and practice it with a person who loves you and wants to help, then go to it. Doing this pre-warns your amygdala that the situation is going to arise and hopefully allows you to stay more in control.
Otherwise let it go and try very hard not to store that memory. Whatever you do, don’t stop going out to those kinds of lunch – if you did that it would just reinforce your ‘fear’ of his reaction, and similar situations would cause you anxiety – whoever your boss might be.
Hope that helps. Taking it as you described, it’s a classic situation of poor self-control and self-awareness from a boss.
Cirstie's reply:
He is very insecure, young (only just 30 - most of us are in our 40's and beyond) and I think he does worry that he is being left out. Will have to try and include him a bit more but still ensure we have our girls days. I really don't think it had anything to do with work load although he may have been a little insecure about being asked something he didn't know how to answer while we were out.
All the girls in our office decided to go out for a girls lunch. We asked our boss (male) would that be ok and he said yes but he didn't look happy. However upon our return he was agitated and called me into the office (being the supervisor) and blasted me about all and sundry. He was so angry he was shaking and really the things he was saying were just ridiculous. There are 6 of us so we all went in different cars and he timed how long we took etc. I truly believe it was an almond reaction to not being invited to lunch. Anyhow I burst into tears because he was being so unreasonable. Did I therefore have an almond reaction to his aggressiveness and is there a better way I could have handled it?
Here's my reply:
Phew!! From what you say, it was a classic Almond Effect ® on his part! I wonder what that was about? What was he anxious about? Was there work to be done that he was frustrated might not get done and he had a lot riding on it? Was he fearful about being left out, talked about? Has he got a problem with a group of women having fun because of some past experience? I can’t possibly know without talking to him and I guess you can’t know unless you asked him. But certainly from what you have told me, your diagnosis was right.
As for your reaction, probably also right but don’t beat yourself up! Without you wanting it to do this when surprises like that happen, your amygdala interprets the event as a threat to job security, good relations with your boss, i.e. life as you know and want it – and then we react in ways that surprise us (the logical us) and afterwards we regret what we did!! Just learn from it and ask yourself what you could do differently if it ever happened again.
Without wishing to sound commercial, that why I wrote the E-book Where Did That Come From? – it gives a lot of examples of what other people have done and do in similar situations, starting with the ability to recognise what is happening to you and learning to distract your amygdala so your top brain has time to click in and get you back in control.
Hope that helps – whatever you do, don’t let it get to you. If you need to clear the air with him, think clearly how you’re going to do it, even write out a script and practice it with a person who loves you and wants to help, then go to it. Doing this pre-warns your amygdala that the situation is going to arise and hopefully allows you to stay more in control.
Otherwise let it go and try very hard not to store that memory. Whatever you do, don’t stop going out to those kinds of lunch – if you did that it would just reinforce your ‘fear’ of his reaction, and similar situations would cause you anxiety – whoever your boss might be.
Hope that helps. Taking it as you described, it’s a classic situation of poor self-control and self-awareness from a boss.
Cirstie's reply:
He is very insecure, young (only just 30 - most of us are in our 40's and beyond) and I think he does worry that he is being left out. Will have to try and include him a bit more but still ensure we have our girls days. I really don't think it had anything to do with work load although he may have been a little insecure about being asked something he didn't know how to answer while we were out.
Thursday, July 27, 2006
CLUES His Boss was a Woman!
Do you know someone with IED? Intermittent Explosive Disorder? Yes it really exists - could it explain road-rage and other times when people lose it. Listen and find out.
Monday, July 17, 2006
CLUES And your greatest fear is?
"The mind is a wonderful thing. It starts working the moment you're born and never stops - until you get up to speak in public." Listen to the latest edition of CLUES to learn why this happens and what to do about it.
Monday, July 03, 2006
CLUES Why what you can't remember...
Ever been caught offguard by an old memory? It can be a CLM! Listen to this edition of CLUES to find out more.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Having cleared minds not to resist change, how do you maintain a culture of consistency that allows the company to attain its long term goals? (Pat)
Consistency is not just about behaviours but also about systems, processes and procedures. If people are open to the idea of change, doing something differently, but for example, the admin systems or supplier arrangements or customer interfaces don't support the new way, then it'll be almost impossible to keep your people engaged in the new direction.
The most significant contributor to culture is the way people actually behave not necessarily what the 'rules' require. So consistent approaches by managers, all managers from top to bottom, is essential. That's where strong leadership becomes essential, to not only model the way but be prepared to make tough decisions about managers and others who by their behaviours, sabotage change initiatives.
The most significant contributor to culture is the way people actually behave not necessarily what the 'rules' require. So consistent approaches by managers, all managers from top to bottom, is essential. That's where strong leadership becomes essential, to not only model the way but be prepared to make tough decisions about managers and others who by their behaviours, sabotage change initiatives.
CLUES Passion Persistence Performance
In this latest edition of CLUES, check out the role of passion at work - how it can drive us to success or failure.
Friday, June 02, 2006
CLUES Do your people love or hate their jobs?
Listen to the latest edition of my e-zine and find out why some people leave their jobs and what you can do about it
Monday, May 22, 2006
CLUES Do you fear failure?
Does our fear of failure bring about the very thing we are afraid of? Listen to this issue of CLUES and learn how to deal with this fear more effectively.
Monday, May 08, 2006
CLUES Let's talk about Love!
Listen to the latest edition of CLUES and learn about the amygdala in love and out of control!
Sunday, April 30, 2006
CLUES - Why deadlines drive you crazy
Why do deadlines drive you crazy? In this issue of CLUES, you'll learn how to deal with deadlines more effectively.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Reaction Management - What strategies can one put in place that makes them think about a situation before they have a negative reaction? (Lisa)
It all starts with being consciously aware of yourself. You have to take the time to analyse what your triggers are, what happens to you physically when you react without thinking and what situations you've experienced that have left you regretting your actions. I know you're reading my fortnightly newsletter on this, CLUES, and in the next few weeks, I'll be covering more on this topic.
In the meantime, take a moment and write down all the things that really irritate you. Now write down what happened when you reacted first and thought second. Did you notice anything happening to your body - were you getting tense, tummy in knots, shaking? Your body will often tell you (if you're alert to it) that you're getting worked up long before your thinking brain clicks in. Learn what your signals and your triggers are, and the moment you sense it happening, take a slow deep breath and count to five. However instead of counting to five, count to 'I'm fine.' ie 'one, two, three, four, I'm fine'. Do this a few times if you can. This should start to slow down the adrenaline flow, start sending 'stand down' messages to your amygdala and give your thinking brain time to click in. But you have to do a lot of thinking and preparation now to train your brain for what you really want it to do before The Almond Effect (R) kicks in.
There'll be an e-book of with more explanations and more than 50 strategies to develop Reaction Management on my website www.anneriches.com in the next few weeks.
In the meantime, take a moment and write down all the things that really irritate you. Now write down what happened when you reacted first and thought second. Did you notice anything happening to your body - were you getting tense, tummy in knots, shaking? Your body will often tell you (if you're alert to it) that you're getting worked up long before your thinking brain clicks in. Learn what your signals and your triggers are, and the moment you sense it happening, take a slow deep breath and count to five. However instead of counting to five, count to 'I'm fine.' ie 'one, two, three, four, I'm fine'. Do this a few times if you can. This should start to slow down the adrenaline flow, start sending 'stand down' messages to your amygdala and give your thinking brain time to click in. But you have to do a lot of thinking and preparation now to train your brain for what you really want it to do before The Almond Effect (R) kicks in.
There'll be an e-book of with more explanations and more than 50 strategies to develop Reaction Management on my website www.anneriches.com in the next few weeks.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
How does the brain react when I'm feeling angry or upset? Do I have any control over these responses? (Candy)
You could be feeling angry or upset because, through your senses (ears, eyes etc), your amygdala has perceived a threat. So your limbic system triggers the distribution of adrenaline and hormones to literally prepare your body to fight off the threat or flight, run like crazy away from it. Your heart starts thumping to get the blood to the large muscles in your legs, you might even go pale as the blood streams there too. You might feel sick or you might need to run to the loo - because your body has suspended digestive functions to concentrate on the fight or flight necessity. You may shake, become tense, get a headache - all symptoms of your body's preparation for fight or flight.
If it is a real life threatening situation, then you'll be pleased all this is happening, it's life saving. Often however it is not - it's just that the amygdala has reacted without waiting for the neo-cortex - thinking or rational part of the brain) to let it know what the real situation is. And then we can just 'go off' and do or say something we regret and this is The Almond Effect.
You can train yourself to control these through a number of ways. The first and most important one is to develop strong self-awareness, to be able to instantly realise when your body is showing signs of stress (adrenaline flow etc) or you find yourself reacting emotionally not rationally. Then you can immediately deploy the strategy that most works for you to calm yourself down.
I am about 3 weeks away from completing an e-book and a CD on a more detailed look at how to control The Almond Effect. Email me if you want more details.
If it is a real life threatening situation, then you'll be pleased all this is happening, it's life saving. Often however it is not - it's just that the amygdala has reacted without waiting for the neo-cortex - thinking or rational part of the brain) to let it know what the real situation is. And then we can just 'go off' and do or say something we regret and this is The Almond Effect.
You can train yourself to control these through a number of ways. The first and most important one is to develop strong self-awareness, to be able to instantly realise when your body is showing signs of stress (adrenaline flow etc) or you find yourself reacting emotionally not rationally. Then you can immediately deploy the strategy that most works for you to calm yourself down.
I am about 3 weeks away from completing an e-book and a CD on a more detailed look at how to control The Almond Effect. Email me if you want more details.
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Does The Almond Effect vary depending on the generation? Do Y's differ in effect from X's or baby boomers? (Iven)
Good question. Each generation's brains are essentially the same from a neuro-biological point of view. But the great mystery is why different brains react differently in the same situations? The amygdala sits within the limbic system in the brain. Memories and experiences are stored there. Can we say this is also the place that stores our values, our belief systems - possibly, but no-one knows for certain and there are heaps of theories. But these are what impact the various generations' reactions to the world.
The neuro-scientists can tell us that the neo-cortex in young people (teenagers) is still coming to full form whereas their amygdala is already functioning from a very early age. Maybe that's why they go off at things we don't think are that important - they don't have the ability to moderate their behaviour as well as adults.
And at the other extreme, baby boomers and seniors, have probably 'seen it all' and have taught themselves, either deliberately or by accident, to allow the thinking brain more time to click in when something stirs them up.
Underpinning our reactions are the neuro-patterns we have stored and that our amygdala identifies as a threat to life as we know it. Our experiences individually and in groups, at school, our social and work environments, the influence of the media, religion, world events and so on will all impact on what our amygdala perceives as life threatening. So yes I think there is a difference between generations, just as there are differences between individuals. It is a multi-layered response.
The neuro-scientists can tell us that the neo-cortex in young people (teenagers) is still coming to full form whereas their amygdala is already functioning from a very early age. Maybe that's why they go off at things we don't think are that important - they don't have the ability to moderate their behaviour as well as adults.
And at the other extreme, baby boomers and seniors, have probably 'seen it all' and have taught themselves, either deliberately or by accident, to allow the thinking brain more time to click in when something stirs them up.
Underpinning our reactions are the neuro-patterns we have stored and that our amygdala identifies as a threat to life as we know it. Our experiences individually and in groups, at school, our social and work environments, the influence of the media, religion, world events and so on will all impact on what our amygdala perceives as life threatening. So yes I think there is a difference between generations, just as there are differences between individuals. It is a multi-layered response.
Why have you chosen an almond? (Ian)
The part of the brain that is always on the look out for life threatening situations is the amygdala. It is the part of the brain that acts when it perceives a threat without waiting for the neo-cortex, the thinking part of the brain, to identify whether it's a real threat or not. Problem is, the amygdala often gets it wrong. And amygdala is Greek for almond. It also has the shape of an almond, so we get The Almond Effect.
What is The Almond Effect(R) (Ian)
At its most basic, The Almond Effect is when your emotions drive you to speak or act without thinking about it first, you go off half-cocked and usually regret it!
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