Does Impulse Control Matter?

Impulse control is the ability to override emotions and behaviours—specifically short-term gratification—in the pursuit of a better outcome in the longer term.?

In the extreme, someone with the psychological disorders pyromania or kleptomania will be unable to resist the urge to light fires or to steal.?At the other end of the spectrum, a student may spend over 5 years or intense study, without earning an income, in pursuit of a university degree—hopefully, the ticket to a career of high income and social status.

Certainly, for those who may face incarceration, impulse control does matter.?Likewise, for those with high ambition, impulse control does matter.

Where does this start?

The benchmark study is the legendary “marshmallow test”, which was devised by psychologist Walter Mischel at Stanford University in the 1970s.?Children aged 4, in a room on their own (and with no distractions), were faced with a tray of confections and invited by an adult to choose one that they wanted.?The child was then told they could eat the treat now, or if not eating it while waiting for the adult to came back, the child could have 2 treats.?

Over the course of the study, a third of the 4 year-olds ate the treat immediately, a third fiddled around with it and a third clearly ?resisted the temptation to eat—for a full 15 minutes of adult absence.?This third group used a range of tactics including singing, self-talk and playing—diverting their attention from the treat.?They also scored higher for measures of attention, effectively controlling their impulse to eat.?

Those who ate at their first opportunity were overridden by their impulse for instant gratification.?Those who didn’t, were employing a high level of executive brain control—foregoing gratification in the expectation that they would achieve a bigger goal in the future.??

It was the follow-up work, tracking these kids into adulthood, that found a stunning correlation.?Those who demonstrated impulse control, had more successful life outcomes.

This is one of the studies highlighted in Daniel Goleman’s most recent book Focus.?

He highlights another in Dunedin, NZ, in which school children were subject to tests for resistance to frustration, concentration and persistence. Many years later, as adults, these same subjects were tested for markers in health, wealth and crime.

The researchers found that high self-control was a higher predictor for success in each of these areas than was intelligence (IQ ratings) and social class.?Those children who scored low in self-control were more likely to suffer low achievement, ill health and to commit criminal acts as adults.

Goleman says that these and other studies show that:

“High self-control predicts not just better grades, but also a good emotional adjustment, better interpersonal skills, a sense of security and adaptability.”

So, what does this have to do with leadership in general??

While we may not have the marshmallow test results to rely on, it’s not such stretch to see that such attributes can provide a wonderful template for assessing past and present performance, while acting as reliable guides to future performance.?

Are we a leader who is:

• Able to delay gratification—creating and articulating the personal and business visions, inspiring followship, then putting in the hard graft, suffering the inevitable setbacks and still winning through in the end?
• Conscientious—drafting a strategy, allocating resources, sticking to individual tasks and our general responsibilities to achieve successful outcomes for the owners of the business and the people wo work there?
• Strong on self-control—setting high standards of health and personal development; ignoring the calls to an easier life, putting aside our own comfort in pursuit of the greater good?

And what are the implications for the business entity, more particularly the people, we are leading??

For a successful organisation, does it not make sense that recruitment at all levels is based on these same criteria for the leader?

Does it not make sense that members of the executive team, the leadership successors, are guided by such attributes in all that they do?

A fast track to self-awareness, to self-control, to superior performance is available through 1to1 coaching and the kind of group process offered by Band of Leaders.

?Next week:?Being a Contribution

?About the Author

Jeff Bell?is Principal of executive consultancy ResultsWise in Perth, WA.?

To boost your leadership, ask Jeff about consulting, coaching, strategy facilitation, his Band of Leaders Australia (BoLA) group or Advanced Leadership Course: [email protected]; mobile 0439 988 662.