Do you think you make business decisions based on logic? If you’re like most people, you make decisions based on emotion and then find the facts to substantiate them. Even if you use the most sophisticated data analytics, your bias influences the hypotheses you pursue, the alternatives you consider, and the decisions you make.
A study by Antoine Bechara, Hannah Damasio, and Antonio Damasio shows that we all make decisions ...
Continue Reading → Share
We often think we can get away with denying how we’re feeling. How often do we pretend we’re doing fine when things aren’t running smoothly? But no matter how good your poker face is, other people can detect your emotional state simply by consciously becoming attuned to it. So don’t deny what you’re feeling. If your words and actions aren’t congruent with your emotions, you’ll be perceived as ...
Is it really possible to create workplace conditions that lead to employee happiness? Each person’s happiness is triggered based on unique conditioning, the person’s distinctive experiences and beliefs, so there’s rarely a single set of environmental factors that lead to happiness across a group. Positive emotions are vital for peak performance, but the best way to engender them is by influencing primal emotions and helping employees self-manage emotions.
Happiness ...
Continue Reading → Share
Neuroscience is indicating that we get our biggest thrill from the opportunity to pursue the fruits of the world, and the act of seeking the fruits is far more appealing than consuming the fruits we find. Research indicates that we have a “seeking” emotional system, and we get the most pleasure from activating this system. This discovery can provide some valuable insight for motivating teams.
First, consider that in laboratory tests, ...
Continue Reading → Share
Phil, a systems analyst at General Engines, is irate. He’s on the team that supports technology for the sales group, and his boss, Jonathan, just told the team the company is not going to fund tablets for the salespeople. The sales staff is counting on Phil to get them the tablets, and he had been planning to roll them out at the upcoming annual sales meeting. Before he has ...
Tom’s got a full agenda to cover so he gets to the conference room a few minutes early to make sure the powerpoint is ready. Joe and Bill are already there, and they’re obviously grumbling and moaning about something. He hears “they are idiots” and “how can they be so stupid”, while they snarl and shake their heads. Tom’s going to need to get them focused on the meeting ...
David, a web developer at General Engines, has always been feisty, with strong opinions about what should be built on the website. But right now he is pissed. His manager, Laura, just told his team they’re not getting the budget increase they requested. David shouts “customers are going to be irate when we don’t deliver the features they want!” He continues, in a heated voice, to complain that they’re ...
How do you get the best people on your team and keep them there? Sure, it pays to be using the latest technology and have an attractive reward system, but it’s also largely influenced by something more primal: the way it feels to be part of your team. Teams generate an emotional signature that heavily influences who is drawn to join them. Consider the story of Steven, an ...
I remember the day a colleague plodded into my team meeting and moaned “John Price has just been appointed CEO”. Our entire team became paralyzed with fear. We knew the leaders of our company’s three divisions, who always competed more than cooperated, had been vying for the open CEO spot. Price was from the “other” division, our rivals, and openly didn’t like our group. Now he was going to ...
Tyler trudges into the office, worrying about the disgruntled team he leads. He works hard at being a good leader, and his team likes him a bunch, but there’s too much negative influence out of his control. Upper management keeps changing technologies, priorities and staffing levels, all of which challenge his team’s sense of mastery and security, and at ...
