TRUST AND TRUST: coach Natalia Kadya on how interpersonal skills and hormones can make your team happy

Trust is called the main currency of the future, which will allow to keep talented specialists in companies Author: Natalya Kadya, partner of law company Danevych.Law, career and life-coach of Erikson University International - 01.31.2019 Share Natalya Kadya It becomes harder to attract and motivate talents than to retain them . And this is a new challenge for CEOs and Eychars. Neuroscience is trying to solve this problem. For the past several decades, she has seriously studied the nature of how the sense of involvement arises and collapses. And finds the answer in the word "trust". Neuromanagement considers the social role of man, and in particular communication, the main manifestation of "humanity". And communication can be successful only when there is trust. The fact is that man is a social being. And by nature, social interaction is essential for survival ability. In the truest sense of the word. We will understand? The neural connections that make us feel helpless control us from birth. A man is born helpless. His first communication is a cry for help (actually crying), in response to which the mother holds her baby for the first time. Hence, communicating about your need is a natural reaction of the brain. Neural connections that cause us to feel helpless have ruled us since birth. And in adulthood, when our appeal or request is ignored, we also experience stress - despite the fact that we are aware that ignoring does not threaten our lives. When we succeed in successfully fulfilling our social role (communicating), our need or request is satisfied, and we receive a vital hormone of happiness. When we succeed in successfully fulfilling our social role (communicating), our need or request are satisfied, and we receive a vitally needed happiness hormone. . When communication fails and we do not get what we want - that is, we get a social failure, the stress hormone (cortisol) is synthesized in the body. It is he who prevents us from thinking about anything, except that we lose what we want. At the core of both processes lies the basic instinct: we will die if no one hears us. But we are not aware of this, and therefore cannot control. Studies have shown that monkeys that actively build social ties have advantages in “marital” relationships and provide better survival to their offspring. Our brain also tends to social interaction. He craves social attention as if our existence depends on him. OUR EXISTENCE DEPENDS ON THE ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE In other words, our existence depends on the ability to communicate. We are born with a minimum amount of communication skills. And how much we develop them in the course of life depends directly on what we achieve in life. Teamwork as a manifestation of social interaction is the natural need of the brain of a healthy person. Most of the history of the people lived their lives, closely related to the group in which they were born. Today, a person’s long-term attachment to a specific group — the team, the company, what all HR managers and CEO want — is becoming increasingly rare. Although biologically man is inherent in group binding. If work in a company is not related to teamwork, most likely, the level of stress and discomfort in the team will be high. Inside the group, the person feels more comfortable. It is laid by nature. Over time, we learned to live outside groups, but this still provokes discomfort and stress. Loneliness is unnatural for man. If work in a company is not related to teamwork, it’s likely that the level of stress and discomfort in the team will be high. What provokes frequent job changes. The breakthrough in the study of social interaction and trust as its main prerequisite was the discovery of the role of the neurochemical mediator - oxytocin. The cooperation and interaction of a person with the environment constantly carry a certain risk. The brain subconsciously always looks for the right balance between caution towards strangers and interaction with them. This process is not controlled by man. It is oxytocin that indicates that the person with whom the interaction takes place is safe. A sense of security reduces stress and leads to a significant decrease in the activity of areas of the brain associated with fear. The relationship is very simple: the release of oxytocin affects trust, increasing the emotional connection with others and increasing our empathy. As a result, we feel motivated to help others, even completely strangers. In addition: - Oxytocin increases the level of trust and willingness to take social risks; - after the release of oxytocin, people find strangers more reliable and less worried about possible betrayals; - oxytocin makes us generous; - oxytocin increases attachment; - oxytocin accelerates recovery; - oxytocin causes a feeling of satisfaction and security in the partner’s company. In general, oxytocin inhibits the activity of brain areas associated with self-control, fear and anxiety. So the neuro-management task is to create a working environment in which oxytocin could be released many times during the day. And scientists have found such a set of tools. As a result of years of experimentation, eight classes of organizational and leadership practices have been identified that contribute to increasing confidence (that is, releasing oxytocin), and as a result, they support high team performance. Neuroscientists have combined them in the abbreviation of the name of the hormone - OXYTOCIN, where O - Ovation - recognition X - eXpectation - waiting Y - Yield - performance T - Transfer - transfer O - Openness - openness C - Caring - care I - Invest - investment N - Natural - naturalness This is what it means in practice. Ovation (recognition) a person receives through praise. Open and unexpected recognition affects twice as much. Leaders and organizations that create a culture in which employees “do things right” promote the release of oxytocin, which enhances mutual understanding and collaboration. In companies where there is a culture of recognition of achievements, contributions, results, staff turnover is 31% lower than where there is no such culture. Expectation (anticipation) - it is assumed that the manager must challenge the team in the form of tasks with clear success criteria and a time frame. Group calls stimulate oxytocin release and build trust between team members. But at the same time, challenges stimulate stress. It also has a positive effect on interaction and job satisfaction. But leaders need to be careful that stress does not turn into chronic and destructive. Therefore, it is important to set challenging, but realistic goals. Yield (performance) - the organization should give team members the opportunity to participate in decision making and consider mistakes as an opportunity for learning. To do this, it is important to give the team and specialists some flexibility in solving the problem and place control and responsibility on the results on them. The more a person is involved in the final product, the lower the threat of stress factors inhibiting the release of oxytocin. Transfer (transfer of rights) allows employees to choose which tasks to solve in order to create the greatest value for the company. This means that leaders need to plan project resources, taking into account the transfer of responsibility at each stage to their subordinates. Numerous studies have shown that every fourth employee in companies does not have the necessary resources to be successful in their work. Organizations with a high level of transfer of rights allow employees to independently manage their own working time, days off, place of work and participation in it. They are considered as responsible people and are not loaded with micromanagement. Openness means the ability to share information with colleagues in an organization. In interpersonal interactions, openness facilitates the release of oxytocin - increases contact between people and reduces chronic stress associated with uncertainty. Openness stimulates productivity at the expense of clear goals and all the completeness of the information necessary for employees to make decisions, just as owners take them. Caring is the purposeful building of relationships with employees, where non-indifferent people are considered as a key cultural factor. As social beings, we form relationships with other people based on trust. Those who do not sympathize with others, neglect their ideas and treat them with disrespect, cause physical and emotional pain. Employees who work in a caring environment are more productive, innovative, and less stressed. Invest (investing) - the culture of investing in the development of the team contributes to the growth of each of its members. Investing in professional development of colleagues is a key factor in job satisfaction. Talented employees who have limited opportunities for professional and personal development leave companies to look for new challenges elsewhere. Investing assumes that people at work are individuals, not pieces of “human capital”. In development-oriented organizations, employees are more likely to be innovative, productive, and “profitable,” according to research. Natural - natural leaders are honest and receptive. They do not just talk about trust, but they themselves are trusted people. They do not dictate to others - they ask for help, ask opinions and, when the decision is made, they perceive the results, regardless of whether they are positive. Natural leaders perceive the leadership role as a “ministry” and trust their colleagues more. If all these things are an integral part of the company's culture, the people who work in it, direct their attention, efforts and emotions to achieve a result, instead of focusing on personal survival and protecting their own interests. And the vector of the company's culture is determined by the leader, it also develops on it and ends there. Oxytocin and Trust Management activates reward centers in the brain and prepares it for action. When there is trust, efficiency and productivity increase. When we physically touch another person, the response to such a touch is a release of oxytocin. Therefore, a hug or light touch to the shoulder of a person is physiologically calming. If there is a conflict in the group, we first of all try to help those with whom we have confidence. In other words, communication with someone stimulates the production of oxytocin. Oxytocin has a powerful antistress effect. Oxytocin affects the sense of safety and comfort in a team. Oxytocin helps create new social connections. People who communicate a lot with others are more stress-resistant than those who have less social contacts. A bit of chemistry: Oxytocin lasts no more than 5 minutes. Therefore, the timely strengthening of a sense of trust must be taken care of constantly. Communication with the manager will cause positive emotions if you are systematic and expected employees. Constant communication supervisor - a subordinate should become the norm. Stimulate the production of oxytocin and can be remotely. If you, as a manager, work with a team remotely, trust can be reinforced through systematic video chatting or email. The oxytocin level enhances collective activity. A leader who engages colleagues in discussions and stimulates his thoughts, “contributes” to the release of oxytocin. Oxytocin stands out in situations where they trust us. A leader who seeks to achieve trust and affection of colleagues must learn to delegate tasks and powers, minimize control and micromanagement, systematically provide feedback, help colleagues to openly express their own opinions and ideas, form transparent rules and policies. Oxytocin forms trust, causes a benevolent attitude, increases loyalty and altruism only in relation to people whom we perceive as members of "our" group. With increasing levels of oxytocin, the sense of separation into "their"- “aliens” is enhanced, and in cases of alleged aggression by “aliens”, that is, in fact, when a sense of fear arises, oxytocin provokes preventive aggression towards “aliens”. Therefore, the leader should first become “their” among the employees, and before starting any programs, make sure that everyone in the team perceives their colleagues as “their” and there is no division into groups.

By Leadership Journey.