Childhood memories
When sitting cross legged as a child, I was taught that
humans have two life giving organs; a brain, and a heart. Our brain is a palace
to logic, the heart beats for passion. The two influence us in a very different
manner; one has to appeal to both when trying to create adaptive change.
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| Robin Williams rousing his class in 'Dead Poets Society' http://www.peterweircave.com/dps/pics/desk3.jpg |
Casting my mind back to my high-schooling, there were two
principals during my six years of education. The first was the personification
of the inspiring leader. Striding across the boards of the assembly stage he
would gesticulate, he would weave imagery, he would inspire. Yet when
explaining the financial reasoning behind the construction of a new auditorium
he was lost, pontificating with no real substance behind his words.
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| A 'typical' accountant http://542partners.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/choosing-an-accountant.jp |
His
successor was the polar opposite: he knew the precise statistics of the schools
financials and VCE performance; down to the decimal place. Yet when he stood
before the school, he blandly regurgitated facts and figures. One principle
inspired and confused me; the other informed and bored me; to be an effective leader
you need to ‘engage with your heart, mind, spirit guts’ (Heifetz, Grashow & Linsky 2009).
Psychological explanation
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| Antonio Damasio http://www.illywords.com/wp-content |
So why is it so important to have both emotion and logic
within ones leadership? From a psychological perspective, it can be explained
using the ‘somatic marker hypothesis’, proposed by notable neurobiologist
Antonio Damasio. It suggests that when making complex decisions, the cognitive
areas (i.e. logical) of the brain can become ‘overloaded by infinite variables
and possibilities’(Damasio, Damasio, Christen 1995). As a result, the emotion based areas of the brain – using
emotional flags (somatic markers) –help this by pointing towards generally
advantageous outcomes, simplifying the decision making process.
Case study
One of Damasio’s most famous cases was the patient he referred
to as ‘Colin’. Colin underwent surgery to remove cancer from his frontal lobe
and as a result suffered a major personality change. His intelligence, language
skills and mobility were not affected in any way but in the wake of the
operation he lost his job, became bankrupt and divorced two women. It was
discovered that Colin had lost the ability to feel emotion and therefore could
not properly make decisions. In a specific exchange, Damasio asked when
they should next meet, on a Tuesday or Wednesday. For the next 40 minutes,
Colin tried to make a decision; weighing traffic conditions, the weather, the
amount of petrol in his car etc. Yet he could not reach a solution, as without
his emotional flags, he could not make an effective decision.
Antonio Damasio explaining his patients symptoms
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wup_K2WN0I
Applications
So we understand why emotions are so important in our
decision making, but how can we utilise this for adaptive change? When trying
to enact change within a group of people (whether that be a company or a project
group at school), they will often be unmoved by facts and figures, needing
emotion to be convinced. If we apply another adaptive leadership tool – connect
to a purpose– we can activate their emotion based areas, easing their acceptance
of change. The idea behind ‘connect to a purpose is to galvanise you and your
team behind a single, emotive resolve. This has multiple benefits: it offsets cold
logic, unifies the group and ‘provides guidance, sustenance, and inspiration’(Heifetz, Grashow & Linsky 2009).
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| 'Unity' http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xp2MpDnGKGk/URfmJW27WuI.jpg |
Scenario
The betrayal and upheaval of the Labor party during their
time in power between 2007 and2013 was the very public dismantling of a
political collective. Infighting was rife and squabbles between the politicians
spilt out into the public space. The party needed a strong leader if they had
any hope to pull the party back from oblivion and emerge victorious from the
election. We now know that they ultimately failed, conceding to the Liberal
party; but if we use our imagination, how could adaptive leadership have been
applied to improve the situation.
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| Kevin Rudd on the campaign trail http://www1.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Kevin+Rudd+Australian+Labor.jpg |
It has been reported that the party leader at
the time – Kevin Rudd – was holding his policy meetings whilst campaigning
around the country, informing his ministers of policy decisions exclusively through
memos and emails. This policy information effectively formed the ‘logical’
aspect of Rudd’s leadership, yet he neglected to also connect with his colleague’s
values or beliefs. If Rudd personally met with the other party members, if he
presented a single vision within which he was fully invested – the Labor party’s
quest for equality in Australia – he would have been able to truly connect with
the ministers, uniting them behind his leadership. If this had occurred, the
face of history would be re-written, but only because he connected with their
hearts and their minds, the mark of a true leader.
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| The head and the heart http://static.tumblr.com/mk1l7lr/pLhlzosnh/eye2heart2head.jpg |
References
Heifetz R, Linsky M, Grashow A 2009. The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World Harvard Business Review Press. Boston
Damasio A, Damasio H, Christen Y 1995 Neurobiology of Decision-Making Springer Publishing, New York
Damasio A, 2008 Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain Random House, London
