Our brains evolved from lower animals:
· Our primitive reptilian brain remains responsible for split-second survival reactions (i.e., the “freeze, fight or flight” response).
· The middle mammalian brain or your limbic brain is the seat of emotions, where the inner drama queen reigns.
· The upper primate/human brain or your neocortical brain weighs a situation logically and generates a conscious plan of action. It may collect data from the reptile and limbic brains, analyze it, and make practical decisions.
Because our neocortical brain has expanded over time, most people believe they think analytically when making decisions. However, some on us have come to believe that all decisions are emotion and we rationalize and justify them analytically.
These three brains may at times work together but they also function independently, especially under stress. This is what happens when people shift, becoming difficult and hard to reach.
The Amygdala Hijack
The amygdala is a part of the brain that processes memory and emotional reactions (especially fear and anger).
When it takes over, the primitive reptile brain runs the show, and surges of adrenaline keep us from thinking clearly over the next few minutes — an effect that may take hours to fade.
The term “amygdala hijack,” first coined by psychologist Daniel Goleman, refers to what happens under acute stress.
When you try to reason with someone in a full amygdala hijack, you’re wasting your time. You must speak to him before the hijack occurs — or talk him down from it using empathy.
Mirror Neurons
Years ago, when scientists were studying Macaque monkeys’ brains, they found that specific nerve cells fired when the monkeys threw a ball or ate a banana. To their surprise, these same cells fired when one monkey watched another perform these acts.
When the brain’s “mirror neurons” fire, we have the ability to feel what the other person is experiencing. These cells are nature’s way of teaching us to care about other people.
Psychiatrist Mark Goulston suggests that many of us suffer a “mirror neuron receptor deficit.” CEOs and managers feel they give their best, only to be met day after day with apathy, hostility, or worse, no response at all. Their brains don't get enough mirror neuron receptor activity. In other words, there's not enough empathy going around the office.
Realize the power of emotional intelligence in becoming an effective leader.
Leaders know and science has discovered emotionality's deeper purpose: the timeworn mechanisms of emotion allow two human beings to receive the contents of each other's minds.
