Fixing our Catatonic Culture: understanding ourselves as brain function.

Definition: Catatonia is a disorder that disrupts a person's awareness of the world around them. People with this condition sometimes react very little or not at all to their surroundings, or might behave in ways that are unusual, unexpected or unsafe to themselves or others. (Cleveland Clinic).

Of course, I don't mean we all have a psychological disorder, but this definition of Catatonia, does ring alarm bells! Purely because it sounds so familiar when thinking of the common-all-garden production environment ... and behaviour in 'business' in general.

This 'catatonic' definition, seems to provide an over-exaggeration of how we often see teams going through life on autopilot when imposed control, from leaders (ego's / aggression), process, policy and systems, stop them thinking for themselves.

A la, Learned Helplessness (Seligman)

Such conditions, i.e. a real or perceived absence of control over the outcome of a situation [technical definition], is normalised in most places of work, leading to exactly the opposite types of 'brain function' we need to encourage if we want a 'CI' (Continuous Improvement) culture in which everyone contributes and performance excels, sustainably.

It turns out, the ambitions of Lean, Six Sigma, OpEx, Agile, project management, change management, the art of management itself and leadership education, have very little to do with the tools and methods promoted, and a LOT to do with how people feel, especially in respect to [imposed] 'Control' and their own sense of Autonomy / Agency ... which is often a privileged brain state, reserved for those at the top of the hierarchical pyramid.

It turns out, quality of life (a neurological brain state, we often describe in psychological terms), is more important to the quality of the product (where people are switched on, engaged, rather than turned off and disconnected / [neurologically / emotionally] shut down) than any statistical assessment of machine tool accuracy or high-speed camera enhanced measuring systems!

Such details and awareness of what really matters in terms of QCD (Quality, Cost, Delivery) are often masked by ambiguous terms like 'Culture', encouraging a disconnect in thinking, when it comes to people (brains) and technology inhabiting the same space.

As we've heard for millennia, (but ignored to a much greater extent in recent decades), the solution, to the ills of modern life and organisational woe, lies in a greater understanding and acceptance of ... ourselves! (& each other).

Let's face it, it's only when we understand 'Brain' that we can consciously create the conditions in which that brain can function at its best. If we don't know this 'little detail' (how our brain works / what it 'needs' to function optimally), we systematically, at global scales, share 'best practice' that creates 'socio-technical' conditions that lead to increased depression, anxiety, stress, burnout (think cyber-security), high attrition rates, lost skills, widening pay gaps, increased costs & lower productivity, despite increasing capex budgets consumed by new technology and the often catastrophic project management / change management approaches used to implement it.

(= Deadlines missed & budgets exceeded, on a regular basis).

This is the space i've focused on for the last few decades, bridging the gap between the ridiculously complex vocabulary surrounding 'brain' (which scares people off / intimidates and is therefore often ignored as irrelevant) and what leaders need to know to ensure their people get more widgets out the door with as few issues as possible, to maximise engagement, productivity, quality, safety and profit, while reducing timelines for delivery, reducing cost and resistance to change, to improve culture, by ... creating the conditions in which people feel part of something, valued, respected ... and what that all means as far as human brain function is concerned.

It's an interesting field that delivers greater benefit than other approaches. Exploring the internet in a variety of ways that don't normally feature for those of us who spend our time in industry, I'm pleased to say, this field is showing signs of fertility.

Using 'Academia.edu' I asked the following question: "Who is working on the integration of neuroscience into leadership and management best practice, to improve culture, performance and productivity, while reducing disengagement and resistance to change?"

Here is an overview of the results.

The algorithm looks at 100 Million peer reviewed papers ... Over the last 15 years, we see papers on 'neuroscience entering the business world' start to appear, albeit in a small way. (Note the scale on the left).

Over the last 10 years, this graph shows organisational neuroscience research increasing, with a slight contraction of papers focused on L&D firms using neuroscience to enhance their offering (51 down to 49), while papers on avant-garde Corporate HR departments leading the charge and waking up to the need for a shift in thinking (pardon the pun) is on the rise, slowly but surely.

Interestingly, over the same time period, those few papers (>100) that do exist, suggest the consultants jumping on the 'neuroscience' bandwagon has increased and quickly reduced again, no-doubt, recognising the workings of the human brain is not something you can easily or effectively include into a service offering, as it requires genuine knowledge and experience of / ability to, demonstrate one's own adapted brain function over time (having applied the principles, so one is able to lead by example) ... this of course must be linked to 1st hand experience in the real world of widget production, end of shift timelines and learning how not to 'lose your shit' when the wheels fall off, for the benefit of the brains around you.

Couple that with the effect of the Pandemic, when it made more sense for consultants to batten down the hatches and do what is proven to work, while in survival mode (a normal brain response for any human) and no-doubt we'll see that situation shift as the current volatile geopolitical landscape settles (hopefully). As things normalise, i'm sure more consultants and coaches will add the word 'Neuro' back into their marketing materials as corporate demand outstrips supply and it becomes a lever consultants can pull to increase sales.

Who knows, we might even see the clever marketing brains out there, couple the word 'neuro' with the ridiculous fragmentation of 'Lean' and get 'Neuro-lean Design', or 'Neuro-lean sales' (Yawn!).

The issue, is more to do with such fragmentation which moves us away from systems thinking and an holistic understanding of 'People-Process-Systems' (incl. technology) and how it all works together... but hey! If those educated to improve their piece of the pie can sense an opportunity to improve a KPI to get a bonus, the 'solution' that contributes to the problem will keep on selling.

In addition to those observations, my question to the Academia.edu algorithms turned up the following, which all in all, despite my obvious scepticism and despondency in response to current thinking in the global market of change, is encouraging.

Example.

Leadership Seen by Neuroscience

Jeremie A.

International journal of applied research in business and management, 2022

ANALYSIS

• The research paper discusses how neuroscience can provide insights for leaders to improve management and productivity, and how understanding neurochemicals can help create a healthy organizational culture.

ABSTRACT

In this essay, we will explain how neuroscience can be an effective tool for leaders to better manage their organizations through discovery of the human brain and how neurochemicals in the human body drive human behavior. Leadership is becoming more and more important in organizations and team management. Neuroscience can provide many insights into the various ways in which leaders can be more effective. The method used will initially be limited to a literature review. By better understanding the mechanics of neuroscience and how neurochemicals are produced in the body to affect our actions and thinking, individually, employees could use this to enable a boost in productivity. Employers can further use this biological knowledge to create a healthy culture within the organization by ensuring embedded company policies and lead in such a way that employees are happy with. Typically, this all comes back to how the organization is lead, an effective leader would know what is best for each employee and would stimulate this within the organization to balance each employee’s well-being. This essay is an opening to further research on the use of neuroscience in decision-making processes, identifying stressful situations and better preparing leaders to avoid being in a critical situation.

What really stands out when we look through the papers listed in the answer to my question (which I did), is that they are either narrowly focused on a particular provider of such services, or they offer a literature review, or review of other papers and research. Jeremie's essay above, being one of the better ones.

All suggest the wide array of benefits that can be demonstrated by getting the 'people' (brain) piece of the jigsaw right, and that can be achieved by introducing knowledge about neuroscience to leaders, but (unless I've missed something) they do nothing to deliver a solution.

This suggests there are, as yet, very few, 'Practical' ways to introduce a working knowledge of neuroscience, to inform, enhance and improve leadership, change and culture. This is unsurprising, seeing as the advances in the field of neuroscience have only really been made in the last 2 decades and history suggests it takes a minimum of 50 years for such advances to break through the conditioned thinking within 'the establishment' e.g. Germ Theory in Medicine & The World being round rather than flat, in Religion are just two 'stand-out' examples.

Fortunately, we at Duxinaroe have spent more than 20 years following the evolutions in the fascinating world of neuroscience, and we've lost blood, sweat and tears, to sort the wheat from the chaff. We can now ensure the complex and confusing world of brain function (and the language associated to it), can be easily understood by anyone and everyone in business!

Through the #BTFA experience, we effectively and efficiently introduce the pertinent science that rapidly forms a new lens, through which our clients come to see, and practically address, the common challenges they all face in their places of work, e.g. disengagement, misalignment, resistance to change, ineffective strategy deployment, etc. ... as reported by massive global studies. (Like Gallups 'State of the global workplace').

In addition, we do this in a way that rapidly attains the outcome objective, by ensuring the knowledge of neuroscience is built into and informs the delivery method and is not just part of a new curriculum delivered in the same old fashion.

From what I can determine through my investigations, the BTFA experience puts us at the front of this new and exciting field of Leadership development.

I'd like to think our scaleable delivery solution*, focused on culture, strategy, organisational effectiveness and teamwork, and not just the positive development of individuals, makes us the best option for any forward thinking leaders, #CEOs, who recognise and acknowledge there has been something missing from the standard approach, and who want to take action to do something about it.

*The scaleable delivery solution is confirmed as effective by clients. Example client comments, provided 2-weeks to 9-months after experiencing BTFA.

I think of BTFA everyday ... it's a prompt to do the hard work on ourselves, so we form new, better habits.

I came in too strong to a new team and alienated a couple of people. After BTFA one fear based relationship in particular is now very harmonious.

Thanks to BTFA, I'm now able to reflect and consider my reactions. I can honestly say, I am a more resilient person following the course

BTFA has changed the way I react ... I now have better relationships!

I am more conscious of how I conduct myself which is already building stronger working relationships.

I am applying BTFA whenever I can, I think it’s changed me to be more positive. I now know if I want others to change, I must lead by example.

BTFA is not just another model! It is a genuine change in how I view the world and how I view people. I now have a completely different understanding allowing me to make better choices for myself and everyone, so all benefit. By this I mean that everyone will feel valued, engaged, listened to, connected and aligned over shared goals.

I am already doing things differently. I am listening more and working on a better understanding between the shop floor and the office.

I am already beginning to change my approach using metacognition to apply BTFA and engage everyone around me.

When we consider statistics which show 'Engagement' leads to 23% improved profit (Gallup) amongst a whole host of other business performance benefits, it makes it obvious, getting the people piece of the jigsaw right, is the most beneficial route to greater ROI in all areas of your organisation.

To discuss the introduction of the benefits, which BTFA can lead to in your organisation, connect with me / send me a Linkedin message, join the BTFA Group here on LinkedIn, or send us a note to arrange a call [email protected]