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Why Resilient Leaders Aren’t Enough

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It’s time to think of resilience as a group process, not a personal quality.

 

It’s no surprise that there’s a strong correlation between effective leadership and the characteristics common among resilient individuals, which include self-reliance, an internal locus of control, a growth mindset, strong problem-solving abilities, and good interpersonal skills. Indeed, resilience experts at Sloan Group International reported in a recent presentation that, based on the available research, “people who self-select into a leadership role tend to have a higher ability to deal with stress and hold a high amount of resilience.”

Sure, but that model may deliver fewer returns as the workplace evolves. The more distributed leadership becomes, and the more collaboratively teams are asked to work, the fewer chances there are for hero leaders to come along and save the day when things go awry. But all’s not lost; it simply means shifting our focus from developing resilient leaders toward developing collectively resilient groups.

How? The first step is to start thinking of resilience more as a process than as an attribute or an outcome. We already know that resilience is predicated on a combination of internal assets and external resources–which makes it highly contextual. Unfortunately, you can never arm yourself ahead of time with a handy checklist of all the external stressors you’re likely to experience before entering a tough situation.

Nor has any research we’ve read detailed the precise ratio between a person’s temperamental qualities and the magnitude of environmental stressors against which they’re most resilient. As researchers Fergus and Zimmerman put it in a 2005 paper in the Annual Review of Health, all this “makes it difficult to identify universal promotive factors and raises concerns that asset lists may be interpreted to operate in the same manner for all groups, all contexts, or all outcomes.” Or in plain English: It depends.

 

RIDING THE HEAT CURVE

So where does this leave your team? Instead of focusing just on each team member’s individual skills and qualities, it’s more helpful to pay attention to how much pressure the whole group is facing. Keep piling on ever bigger sales targets or changing mandates on high, and eventually, even the most resilient individual is likely to break down. In our new book, we refer to this experience as a ‘heat curve’, which models what tends to happen as environmental stressors intensify.

[Image: courtesy of Michael Papanek and Liz Alexander]

 

At first, the ability to achieve breakthroughs actually increases, as everyone’s inspired to share great ideas and own them as a team. At some point, however, the heat becomes too much, and the team’s ability to handle the increased stress plummets. Ideally, your team should stay on the rising edge of the curve for longer, even as the heat goes up. But just putting a resilient leader in charge won’t cut it. Instead, each team member needs to have a resilient relationship with the rest of the group, thereby creating a team of people that become stronger and continues to work well together as the pressure rises.

 

Here are three practical approaches to help increase team resilience:

1. GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER BEFORE YOU TRY TO WORK TOGETHER

Make sure each person knows everyone else in the team as a person. We’ve seen even the most combative groups (including labour-management relationships) achieve amazing performance and ride the heat curve higher together when people share something personal and meaningful about themselves, not just their names, ranks, and years on the job. It’s amazing how simple and effective it can be to go one step beyond the usual icebreaker.

2. OPT FOR TRANSPARENCY

The economist Joseph Stiglitz once pointed out that “It is trust, not money, that makes the world go around.” It’s easier to talk about building a culture of trust than to create one. But one good place to start is just by sharing as much as you know as soon as you know it with the entire group. Without this transparency, we tend to doubt each other’s motives. Team members need to know they’ll be supported when they take risks in uncertain circumstances–especially when things don’t go as planned.

3. DON’T WASTE TIME MOVING FROM TALK TO ACTION

As Doug Conant, the former CEO of Campbell Soup, once said, “You can’t talk your way out of something you behaved your way into.” Evidence creates beliefs. Which is why any effective leadership, formal or informal, is all about the things you do, not what you say. Instead of team members hearing that management empathises with their challenges, their collective resilience depends more on actually getting the resources to overcome them.

Bottom line: Most of the time, we endure best when we endure together.

Adapted from an article by Michael Papanek and Liz Alexander originally posted on FastCompany.

Contact us at info@brg.co.za to speak to us about cultivating a ‘resilience’ culture in your organisation.

 

Confidence Over Competence: The Key to Unlocking Female Leadership

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By Dr Tara Swart

As a neuroscientist and executive advisor, I am used to working in not one, but two male-dominated professions, regularly finding myself at the cross-section between science and business through my consultancy work with leaders. As a coach, I am able to observe the qualities which lend themselves to effective leadership, as well as to consider how we might change the physiology of the brain to improve our performance and behaviour, become more mentally resilient, and be better leaders.

IMPOSTER SYNDROME

My clients and peers tend to be men, due to the continued gender inequity at the top of business today. So I want to consider how understanding neuroscience can help empower women to join the ranks of the business elite.

I see a high number of male sufferers of imposter syndrome because of the gender makeup of my client base, but in our society, it is understandably perceived that sufferers of imposter syndrome tend to be women. This may be because women have lower levels of testosterone, the hormone which correlates with confidence, although research in this area is somewhat lacking. The condition is characterised by a feeling that, despite having the relevant qualifications, you aren’t sufficiently competent or expert to be in the position you are in, or that you do not deserve to be appointed to a higher post with more responsibilities. Imposter syndrome promotes the cycle that prevents female leadership: women don’t go for roles because they don’t believe they have the requisite level of competence, and in turn there are fewer women in leadership positions to set a precedent and make leadership look tangible and achievable to others.

REAPING THE REWARDS OF COGNITIVE DIVERSITY

However, there is a growing body of evidence which shows that diversity of thinking can really benefit a business’s bottom line. Diversity has been proven to help businesses and projects thrive, not only creatively but also financially. Currently, 80-90% of people in top-level leadership positions are male, yet research conducted by academics at the Ashridge and London Business Schools has shown that cognitive diversity will translate to higher performance amongst teams, and will therefore have a positive impact on the bottom line of an enterprise. There is a place for female leadership qualities (which can exist in both male and female brains) such as intuition, emotional intelligence, flexibility of thinking and valuing human capital – not least because these qualities are less difficult to imitate by technology; they will continue to be more valuable as the world of work changes and AI becomes more prevalent in decision making.  

We see time and time again that inclusive attitudes help to foster creativity and innovation, and to inspire confidence amongst the workforce which in turn, leads to bigger, bolder decisions and to the implementation of change.

CONFIDENCE AND THE POWER OF NEUROPLASTICITY

Indeed, confidence could be the crucial missing ingredient when it comes to female leadership. Whilst men naturally have up to 8 times higher levels of testosterone, no one is born confident, or under-confident for that matter. It can be developed and improved by helping our brains imagine what we can achieve and how to reach our goals.

Try thinking consciously and mindfully about some of your past successes, whether professional or personal. Even paying attention to the successes of similar people around you can help your brain to visualise these accomplishments as achievable for you as well, reframing what might originally seem out of reach as something attainable. Most people assume that our brains are fixed once we reach adult life. However, research has now shown that our brains are ‘plastic’ and can be adapted and changed, forging new neural pathways, according to how we stimulate and use them. This ability is called neuroplasticity and means that we can change the physical structure of the brain to rewire our responses to challenges and improve our behaviours. Repeating positive mantras is thought to help with this rewiring process as we reroute negative thoughts of self-doubt towards self-belief. Take your biggest self-doubt and create a mantra out of the opposite statement.

Confidence can be built up through our physical actions as well. Simply standing tall and acting with assurance is thought to boost testosterone levels and reduce levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. In the same way hunching and making yourself small will have the opposite effect, reducing testosterone levels. The posture studies have been somewhat discredited in terms of actually changing your hormone profile, but if they make you feel better – use them! Certain types of aerobic exercise, such as boxing, can actually help to increase testosterone production.

Finally, make sure you look after your brain. Rest it, fuel it, hydrate it, oxygenate it and simplify your decisions to free up cognitive resource. All of these things will go a long way to reducing your stress levels, strengthening your resolve and enhancing your mental resilience, helping you to power through to the next stage of your career.

About the Author: Dr Tara Swart is a neuroscientist, leadership coach, medical doctor and award-winning author. She works with leaders at the top of the business world to help them get the best out of their brains, reach their peak performance and improve their mental agility and resilience.

Contact us at info@brg.co.za to enhance the diversity of your team’s thinking.

 

10 Skills For Navigating Paradox

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by Dave Ulrich

Leaders in HR who navigate paradox had the biggest impact on business results. Paradoxes exist when seemingly contradictory activities operate together. We experience paradoxes in daily life as captured by the popular phrases: tough love, do more with less, oil and vinegar, sweet and sour, work/life balance, Catch 22, go slow to go fast, good and evil, and so forth. When these inherent contradictions work together, success follows. Instead of focusing on either/or; paradoxes emphasise and/also thinking.

Organisations and leaders who respond to the disruptions above do so by navigating paradox. Navigating paradox accepts and heightens disagreements that enable organisations to change and evolve.  Without the tensions that come from paradoxical thinking and debates, organisations perpetuate the status quo and do not respond to change. Leaders of these organisations need to become paradox navigators to help their organisations respond to the pace of change.

HR professionals who are paradox navigators encourage, surface, and raise difficult issues so that they can be resolved. For example, we have found that there are times when a business team should diverge and other times when they should converge. Divergence means that alternatives are explored. When an HR professional is in a meeting where there are few options discussed, that individual should encourage divergence where new alternatives are discussed. On the other extreme, when a group remains divergent, the HR professional needs to create convergence and unity to focus attention. We found in our work that as Paradox Navigators, HR professionals may not be the most popular members of a business team because they raise difficult, but necessary issues. But, their ability to navigate paradox is the most important skill for business results.

How to improve skills to be a paradox navigator

Paradox navigation is not an innate trait, but a learned set of behaviours that translate into skills. Based on our research and experience, leaders who are Paradox Navigators possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities proposed in the table below. When HR professionals recognise, assess themselves, and master these skills, they are more able to drive business success.

Paradox Navigator Skills Table

HR professionals and business leaders can acquire and improve these paradox navigation skills through extensive training, development, and coaching. But, perhaps the most important prerequisite is to recognize the importance of navigating paradox in delivering business results. HR professionals who want to deliver real business value must become paradox navigators.

Read the full article at rbl.net

Contact us at info@brg.co.za to your HR team into a core business partner that will drive and achieve strategic organisational results.

 

5 Top Tweaks For Improved Creative Thinking

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Creativity isn’t an all-or-nothing proposition. The latest psychological research shows that simple tweaks to your environment and behaviour can make you a more imaginative and resourceful problem solver.

1. Keep your desk a little messy

In a study recently published in the journal Psychological Science, students met in either a messy or an organised room and had to come up with a new use for ping pong balls (a standard test of creativity). Judges rated the ideas, without knowing which rooms the groups were in. The result? Solutions from the messy room were gauged to be more interesting and innovative than those from the neat one. So if all your paper clips are lined up like soldiers and your books are in alphabetical order, throw caution to the wind and muddle things up a bit!

2. Color yourself blue

Blue is the hue for creative thinking, a series of experiments from the University of British Columbia found. More than 600 participants did cognitive tasks that demanded either creative or detail-oriented thinking. The tests were performed on computers that had either a blue, red, or white background screen. The blue screens encouraged participants to produce twice as many solutions during brainstorming tasks as other screen colours. (Conversely, red screens improved performance on tasks like proofreading and memory recall by as much as 31 percent, compared to blue.) “Through associations with the sky, the ocean, and water, most people associate blue with openness, peace and tranquillity,” study author Juliet Zhu told ScienceDaily.com. This makes people feel safe about being creative and exploratory, she said.

3. Dim the lights

Turning the lights down “elicits a feeling of freedom, self-determination, and reduced inhibition,” which is key to imaginative thinking, according to German authors of a study recently published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology. The researchers assigned a group of 114 students to work on a series of problem-solving tasks that require creative thinking. Those in a dimly lit room (150 lux) solved significantly more problems than those in a brightly lit room (1,500 lux). (Typical office light is about 500 lux.)

4. Work when you’re tired

It sounds counterintuitive, but night owls may actually be more creative first thing in the morning, and early birds may do more innovative thinking late at night, according to a study by researchers at Michigan State University and Albion College. The researchers believe that you use more creative thinking when you’re less inhibited, which happens when brain fog compromises your attention span. So early-bird students, for example, may do well to save art and creative writing projects for later in the evening.

5. Change up your routine

Psychology Today reported that Dutch study participants who prepared their breakfast sandwiches in reverse order had a more productive brainstorm than those who made them their usual way. “If you want to get into a creative mindset, do your normal routine in a completely different way,” cognitive psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman, PhD, said after analysing the research for PT. “Write with your other hand. Moonwalk backwards on your way to work. Eat something new for lunch. Smile at strangers. Be weird. With your brain re-shuffled, you’ll be in a better position to be creative.”

The full article originally featured on Reader’s Digest.

To give your team the innovative advantage click HERE or contact us at info@brg.co.za for more on the innovative work we do.

 

6 Foods To Help You Cope With Stress

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We’re all aware of the foods that can promote anxiety, such as alcohol, caffeine and fatty foods.  But what about the foods that help us feel energised, refreshed and calm?

Here are six foods which are great at helping to manage your anxiety. From getting your neurotransmitters the nutrients they need to lowering blood pressure – these foods are optimal for stress relief.

1. Almonds

Balance your mood with the zinc found in almonds. The iron they hold will assist you with brain activity. You will also benefit from the healthy fats they contain for the optimal functioning of your neurotransmitters.

You may not think that your tired brain is linked to your anxiety. However, a lack of mental energy can increase your anxiety when you have a fatigued state of mind.

2. Turkey

Put yourself to sleep with the tryptophan in turkey. Importantly, tryptophan does not only induce a restful sleep but also serves as a precursor to serotonin. Your serotonin secretion is believed to act as a mood stabilizer that can calm you down.

3. Avocados

Your super food for health truly is avocado. This is because it provides you with fibre, heart-healthy fatty acids, potassium and an abundance of vitamins!

Your blood pressure will thank you for eating avocado, as with their high levels of potassium -higher even than that found in bananas – they are fantastic at lowering blood pressure. Your neurotransmitters also receive vitamin B from avocado as well as monounsaturated fats. This allows them to function at their optimal.

4. Water

We all know that hydration is key to overall health and wellness. Therefore, it should not come as a surprise that it can assist in relaxation. It has been shown that even mild dehydration (when you start to feel thirsty) can have a large impact on your energy levels and general mood. Staying hydrated keeps your body regulated naturally and can result in lowered levels of anxiety.

5. Eggs

Your brain will operate at its best when assisted by the high levels of vitamin B in eggs. You will also assist your brain from becoming confused, irritable, or exhausted with the choline found in eggs.

6. Salmon

As a fish high in omega 3 fatty acids, salmon has been shown to help improve general mood and assist the brain in managing stress levels.

This article originally featured on longevitylive.com

Advice From Your Brain’s Personal Trainer

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By Dr Tara Swart

What did you eat for breakfast this morning? It matters more than you might think.

Anyone whose job depends on their body—like an Olympic athlete, builder, or ballet dancer—needs a diet to match; they might start the day with a slow-release carbohydrate to give them longer-lasting energy. But few people with “thinking” jobs sit down first thing in the morning and consider which foods and drinks will help them make good decisions that day, improve their focus, and reduce stress. And that’s a mistake.

What we put into our bodies has a powerful impact on our brains, which only weigh 2–3% of our body weight but use up 25–30% of the energy that’s found in what we eat. Our brains need to be properly cared for in order to make sure we perform at our best. You’d never jump in your car and set off without filling up the tank or checking the oil. If you tried to, you wouldn’t expect to get very far. Our brains are similar: They need to be properly fueled and hydrated in order to run smoothly, and we shouldn’t expect optimal performance when they’re not.

Here’s what your brain needs more and less of in order to work at its best.

More Water

Drinking enough water should be, well, a no-brainer—except that many people don’t do that. Our brains require about 500 millilitres of water for every 30 or so pounds of body weight. (So for the average 165-pound American adult, that’s about 2.75 litres of water each day.) This is the minimum level of hydration needed to avoid denting your memory, concentration, and decision-making. But there’s a real risk to missing that threshold even by a little. In fact, researchers have found that even a 1–3% shortfall in adequate hydration can substantially affect these functions. Water aids the free flow of chemical and electrical signals between cells, which is required for effective brain functioning.

Less Alcohol

If a glass of water can boost your brain, a glass of Chianti can slow it down. Drinking alcohol leads to increased levels of the hormone cortisol as the body reacts to the intake of a toxin. Cortisol is a natural part of the body’s response to stress, but chronic stress can lead to excess cortisol, which can have a host of negative effects on the body—like weight gain—as well as the brain, including anxiety and depression, particularly when coupled with a diet high in caffeine and sugar. So having a glass of wine every evening to unwind, as many people do, may have the opposite effect.

More Greens, Beans and Grains

Foods rich in magnesium can suppress the release of cortisol, but when we’re stressed we deplete our bodies’ magnesium stores more rapidly. Whole grains, beans, and leafy greens are good magnesium sources, as are nuts and seeds—which can also be great alternatives to sweet snacks. Unfortunately, these natural sources aren’t always enough to replenish our magnesium supplies during high-stress periods, so supplements, which are often available as tablets or even body salts and bath products, can help make up the difference.

Less Tuna, More Mackerel

Salmon and oily fish like mackerel are great for the brain because of their Omega-3 essential fatty acids, vitamin B12, and protein. These nutrients assist in brain-cell growth and can prevent cognitive decline. On the other hand, smoked fish and fish that are typically high in mercury (like tuna and swordfish) can increase levels of pro-oxidants in the body and actively damage brain cells. Your choice in seafood one day doesn’t just impact your brain in the near-term, it also has an effect on your future brain power.

More Rest, Less Thirst and Hunger

Speaking of brain power, there’s one factor we tend to grasp much better when we think about sleep than about diet: quantity. It’s not just about what you eat and drink, it’s how much you do. Being over-tired can lead to behaviours many of us are all too familiar with—from our attitude toward others to how we make decisions—plus a few we aren’t aware of, like the extent to which our choices are affected by our unconscious biases.

Much as it does when you aren’t well rested when you’re hungry or thirsty, your brain reverts to “survival mode.” It draws blood away from the rational cortex toward the part of the brain that controls basic functions you depend on to get through the day. So while you might have not much trouble getting dressed, commuting, or doing routine tasks when you’re underfed or dehydrated, your brain will struggle with higher “executive functions,” like complex problem-solving, thinking flexibly and creatively, regulating emotions, and overriding biases.

When they’re underpowered, our brains revert to well-trod neural shortcuts that require less cognitive energy. One well-publicized study even found a pattern of judges granting more parole after mealtimes, with their sentences getting harsher in the subsequent hours. The implications for reading resumes, interviewing job candidates, and making other important decisions when you haven’t eaten are clear—and worrying.

It might feel overwhelming to totally change your diet, but sticking with even one behaviour change to boost your brain health can make a real difference. So start small—swap that bag of chips today for a bag of nuts. Your brain will be grateful.

This article originally featured on FastCompany.

About the Author: Dr Tara Swart is a neuroscientist, leadership coach, award-winning author and a medical doctor. She works with leaders all over the world to help them achieve mental resilience and peak brain performance, improving their ability to manage stress, regulate emotions and retain information.