Encouraging positive workforce is a leadership no-brainer

A good leader’s role is to create a work environment that encourages positive emotions.

To lead successfully, it is important to understand how the brain works and what strategies to use for peak performance — not only for self-regulation but also to build strong teams.

Neuroscientist Evian Gordon found the brain’s organising principle is to minimise danger and maximise reward. This happens unconsciously, with the brain scanning the environment for threat or reward.

Negative emotions such as frustration, fear, anxiety, anger or impatience create a threat state. This causes less focus, fewer insights, less risk-taking and a feeling of being less connected. Positive emotions create a reward state, creating clearer thinking and more effective production. Creating a reward state is vital to boosting brain efficiency.

Aside from being contagious (it’s hard to feel negative around a positive person), do emotions matter in the workplace?

According to a study of 5400 executives by Macquarie University, Australian National University and the University of NSW, people in high-performance workplaces feel more valued, proud, optimistic, cheerful and loved than those in low-performing workplaces. People feel more anxious, worried, depressed, inadequate, and fearful in low-performing workplaces.

Disengagement is costly. In studies by the Queens School of Business and by the Gallup Organisation, disengaged workers had 37 per cent higher absenteeism, 49 per cent more accidents and 60 per cent more errors and defects. In organisations with low employee engagement scores, they experienced 18 per cent lower productivity, 16 per cent lower profitability, 37 per cent lower job growth and 65 per cent lower share price across time.

Emotions affect our performance, and a leader’s role is to create an environment of a reward state. This is even more important today with the amount of threat generated by change, uncertainty, information overload and globalisation due to communication at all hours.

The prefrontal cortex needs the right mix of neurochemicals for peak mental performance. This part of the brain is where we understand, analyse, decide, plan, recall and regulate emotions. Some people need more stretching and challenging; others need to feel stable and comfortable to be at their best.

The mix of neurochemicals in the brain can be influenced just with how we think about things.

It’s about recharging the prefrontal cortex when it is running out of fuel by taking a break, eating nourishing food, having a stimulating talk with someone — whatever is needed to move out of a threat state and into the reward state.

A good leader will see problems as challenges and opportunities rather than threats. By reappraising a situation positively, different parts of the brain get activated to support better brain function. It is vital to reappraise regularly by asking, “How can this problem be tackled as a challenge rather than a threat?”

A break every 90 minutes rests the brain. This is a good time for toilet breaks, to eat or for reflection. Having breaks allows for regrouping to focus on the next task with total clarity.

Meetings don’t have to be the obligatory 30 or 60 minutes long. Schedule meetings at 20 or 45 minutes in length. They will be more focused and staff will have time to reflect or plan for the next. They also won’t arrive in a threat state from having back-to-back meetings, as occurs so often these days.

Finally, diet, sleep and exercise all affect the brain’s efficiency. Having strategies to bounce back from negative emotions as well as a holistic approach to wellbeing gives the leader the best chance of regulating emotions, managing stress and being more resilient. These strategies to boosting brain efficiency are key to successful leadership.

Kristen Hansen is the author of Traction: The Neuroscience of Leadership and Performance.