Change hurts - Insights from brain science

–

LENA ROSS Change ConsultantFor NAB November 2015

www.lenaross.com.au | @LenaEmelyRosswww.lenaross.com.au | @LenaEmelyRoss

NEW INSIGHTS

OUR HARDWIRED BEHAVIOUR

SCARF MODEL

PARTING THOUGHTS

WHAT we CAN DO ABOUT IT

2

reflection

Wh

at

we

will

co

ve

r

Change is the new normal

www.lenaross.com.au | @LenaEmelyRosswww.lenaross.com.au | @LenaEmelyRoss3

The

ne

w n

orm

al

The intense dynamic of today’s VUCA world means that leaders have a greater responsibility to lead transformation in

conditions where

change is the new normal.


You can take the person out of the Stone Age...

but can you take the Stone Age out of the person?

So…are we hard wired to resist change?

Sometimes we embrace it, sometimes we don’t!

If we always resisted change, would we have come out of the trees?

4

The

pa

rad

ox


Four key areas

• Decision making and problem solving

• Emotional regulation

• Collaboration and influence

• Change leadership

5Based on work carried out by David Rock

and the NeuroLeadership Institute

Ne

uro

lea

de

rsh

ip


90% of what we know about the brain has only been discovered in

the last 7-9 years.

6

Re

ce

nt

insi

gh

ts


• Can measure our neural activity in real time

• Our Primal response is to be on alert for safety

• We Can see neural activity caused by change and the ‘unexpected’ with FMRI technology

• Change often registers as ‘pain’

7

Ne

ura

l a

ctiv

ity


So now we have a hard science to evaluate the human response to change.

We can take a closer look at human performance and what we experience when productivity dips.

8

Sc

ien

ce

an

da

rt


WITH OUR NEW INSIGHTS FROM BRAIN SCIENCE, WE CAN UNPACK WHAT’S GOING ON IN HERE WHEN PEOPLE ARE LESS PRODUCTIVE

9

The

pro

du

ctiv

ity

dip ORGANISATONAL

PERFORMANCE

TIME

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS

WHAT WE AIM FOR

$CURRENT

HIDDEN COST TO THE BUSINESSOFTEN NOT MEASURED

CHANGE INITIATIVE


• The amygdala hijack

• Emotional centre in brain

• Regulates

• Fight, flight and freeze

• Gateway before new information goes to the rational brain

• We respond to loss/threat/change with primal instincts

The amygdala hijack can reduce our IQ by 10 to 15 points!

Rational people do irrational things


Hu

ma

np

erf

orm

an

ce

Organisations are made up of peopleThreat comes at a cost to the organisation

Reduce the threat to optimise our people’s performance


• A change in the environment usually = UNCERTAINTY

• We have a Strong emotion attached to UNCERTAINTY and LOSS

• That emotion = THREAT

12

• Risk were high

• Conditions were perilous

• Survival was paramount

Pri

ma

l in

stin

ctsWe are

for life on the savannah as hunter and gatherer

We have a built in bias for safety


The physiology of our brain hasn’t changed since our hunting and gathering days!

13

Pri

ma

tes

in s

uits


We have a

response to

Ha

rdw

ire

d r

esp

on

se


The

SC

AR

Fm

od

el

David rock’s scarf model provides a valuable framework to understand and label our primal

threat triggers and responses

This framework offers us human-centred insights


The

SC

AR

Fm

od

el

Loss is the primal defaultThe threat response is more intense, lasts longer

and occurs more frequently than reward

rewardthreat response

winloss


The

SC

AR

Fm

od

el

About relative importance to others

Being able to predict the future

A sense of control over events

A sense of safety with others, friend or foe?

A perception of fair exchanges between people


How does each element of the

model apply to you?

When faced with change or new information, How do you rate yourself on each element in terms of

or ?

18

Re

fle

ctio

n


There are

tw0key benefits

For leaders and team members

to know more

about our

hardwired responses

19

The

be

ne

fits

of

aw

are

ne

ss


Labelling your own response improves self awareness and is proven to reduce the threat response

20

So

wh

at,

no

w w

ha

t? LABELLING

BENEFIT


Improved awareness of how colleagues and team members may respond when under threat

So

wh

at,

no

w w

ha

t? empathy

BENEFIT

www.lenaross.com.au | @LenaEmelyRosswww.lenaross.com.au | @LenaEmelyRoss 22

So

wh

at,

no

w w

ha

t? Awareness translates to action for Multiple applications

• self awareness

• coaching

• framing communication

• leading teams

• engaging with stakeholders

• curating a library of actions


Pa

rtin

g t

ho

ug

hts

Change is not a linear process.Everyone responds differently

Response to change has a neurological basis

We now have new insights into how our brain processes change and new information

The increased use of neuroimaging technology means that 90% of what we know about the brain

has been discovered in the last 7-9 years

Whilst we can’t influence what is change, we can label our response

to lower threat levels

Uncovering this type of information about

our hardwired responses encourages us to look at things with a

fresh perspective

www.lenaross.com.au | @LenaEmelyRosswww.lenaross.com.au | @LenaEmelyRosswww.lenaross.com.au | @LenaEmelyRoss

24

ab

ou

t m

e

If you enjoyed this presentation,

please share it or like it, or both

Lena Rossspeaker | facilitator | thought catalyst | conversation &

conference host | curious lifelong learner

24

@LenaEmelyRoss

https://au.linkedin.com/in/lenaross

www.lenaross.com.au

Visit my website for white papers on this topic, and more!

https://au.linkedin.com/in/lenaross

http://www.lenaross.com.au/

Change hurts - Insights from brain science

Leadership & Management