Hijacked by Your Emotions?

If you regret having lost your temper and acted in a manner you later regret, this post is for you….Some of us that are die-hard Football lovers, might remember the 2006 World Cup Final game. In front of 28.8 million viewers in 213 countries Zinedine Zidane, a world-wide soccer role model, lost his self-control and head butted Marco Materazzi. Zidane was kicked out of the game. France lost the World Cup to Italy and Zidane’s career ended in disgrace and wonderment

“What was he thinking?” Again, he wasn’t.

When faced with danger, the primitive flight, fight or freeze response kicks in. Even though we are not faced with physical danger, anything we perceive as a threat, our mind views as danger. This releases a flood of hormones and hijacks our better sense.

Examples of threatening situations in our daily work life:

  1. An angry email from a key stakeholder
  2. Being put on the spot to answer an uncomfortable question in front of your team
  3. A crisis that came out of the blue

This phenomenon is known as the Amygdala Hijack!!!!!

Dealing with the Amygdala Hijack

  1. Become aware of your “hot buttons”: Recognize the situations that cause you to lose your cool. This will help you respond effectively as opposed to react
  2. Name the emotion: When faced with threatening situations, research has shown that naming/labelling the emotion helps calm you down
  3. Practice using this technique regularly until it becomes a part of your mental routine
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The Conjunction Fallacy – The Brain Sometimes Makes Connections Where None Exist

#AmosTversky and #DanielKahneman in their landmark work in 1983 asked participants to solve this problem. 80% of those that answered, gave a response that clearly proved they have a clear bias. How much have things changed in the last 40 years? The problem is given below….

Linda is 31 years old, single, outspoken, and very bright. She majored in philosophy. As a student, she was deeply concerned with issues of discrimination and social justice, and also participated in anti-nuclear demonstrations. Which is more probable?

1. Linda is a bank teller
2. Linda is a bank teller and is active in the feminist movement

More than 80% participants chose option 2, regardless of whether they were novice, intermediate or expert statisticians, even though the mathematical probability of Linda being both a bank teller and a feminist activist is much lower than the probability of her being a bank teller alone.

This example demonstrates how our brain makes connections where none exist: the #conjunctionfallacy.

We also have an inherent bias that detailed statements are more likely than general ones.

There has been criticism on this problem. It remains one of the earliest & most well-known examples of the way our brain interprets information, makes connections & deduces things about people.

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How a Leader Builds a Culture: Aditya Vikram Birla

A brilliant example of leaders supporting their employees, even when there has been a huge loss. This happened with the Late Mr. Aditya Vikram Birla and is often held up as a benchmark on treating employees at the Aditya Birla group

A senior employee at the Aditya Birla group had made a mistake that cost the company a lot of money. The incident was brought to the notice of the late Aditya Vikram Birla. He had to decide what to do with the employee.

He followed an unusual approach. He made a list of all the positives and the negatives of the employee, including the money the employee had made for the company. He then reviewed the lists carefully. The decision was clear. He decided to retain the employee. After due consideration and careful thought, Mr Birla decided that the gains the employee brought the company were much more than the losses that the company incurred due to the incident.

A leader sets the tone and molds the culture of the organization. By taking a decision like this, a clear message is sent out-the leadership has your back!!!!

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Ubuntu – I am because we are

The Disney movie #lionking opens with the mesmerizing song #Circleof life with its first few lines sung in Zulu. The powerful vocals and African drum heralding the new born lion cub! The circle of life – we go back to where we come from, and within and around this circle we encounter love, despair, success, failure, happiness, sadness, unexpected pathways and obstacles and back we come to where we began.- in one big circle – the circle of our lives.

Also, not so surprisingly, each of our circles are interconnected – crossing paths and intersecting at workplaces, homes, subway stations, online and god knows where else!!

#Ubuntu is a beautiful Zulu word that stands for this #interconnectedness. Ubuntu essential means #humanity but has gone on to have a more widespread meaning emphasizing on spreading kindness to connect people.

It is the understanding that we cannot exist in isolation and so Ubuntu is more commonly interpreted as “I am because we are”

#Ubuntu promotes the following:

  • #Interconnectedness of everyone to each other and to their surroundings
  • No one exists in isolation. We are all part of a larger circle, a #largesystem that effects us and that we are affected by
  • It is every person’s duty to #share and #contribute to the system/ community/society
  • Promote fairness and brotherhood. Spread love, integrity and acceptance

Africa’s, Ubuntu philosophy pervades almost all parts of the African continent. It is integrated into all aspects of day-to-day life and is a concept shared by all almost tribes.

The #Ubuntu philosophy has powerful lessons for all of us today-as individuals, managers of teams, leaders of organizations and most importantly members of society.

Our actions-good, bad and indifferent affect all those in the ecosystem. If we could truly internalize this important concept, our world would be a happier place!!!!

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Finding your Inner Goddess – Leadership Lessons from Athena

The Greek Goddess #Athena has left a legacy that is immortal and timeless. The lessons from 7000 BC are valid, even today for all #womeninLeadership positions. According to legend, the Athenian King Cecrops decided to have a contest amongst the Gods of the Acropolis, the winner of which will lend their name to the glorious city. The two most prominent Gods of that time, Poseidon and Athena, were the fiercest contenders.

The contest between them was so intense, they nearly went to #war with each other. Then, Athena had an idea. She #proposed that she and Poseidon present the city with a gift and the best gift would become the patron. King Cecrops and the people
of the city would decide the winner.

#Poseidon was the God of the Sea and gave the gift of #water, in the form of a massive foamy stream. This excited the people. But they found out quickly, the water was sea water and unfit for human consumption.

Athena, presented the city with an #olivetree. The olive seed bore fruit and proved to be a wonderful gift. It provided the people with sustenance, fuel, wood and a crop that was trade able. Athena was proclaimed the winner.

Thus #Athens got its name and Athena’s wisdom was immortalised.

Athena is considered the #GoddessofWisdom and a #War. She was a #prudent and #wise battle strategist.

1. She #creatively turned what could have been a destructive war into a gift for the people.
2. She ensured irrespective of who won the contest, the city and people won and #benefitted by default.
3. Athena is also considered the #Goddessofstrength, leadership, crafts (specially spinning and weaving) and was known for her generosity and kindness.

As women, in leadership roles much can be imbibed from these myths and legends of Athena. She embodied courage, wisdom as well as kindness and domesticity.

For us women striving to balance the home and workplace, we could, like Athena, embrace our feminity and yet, fiercely lead from the front line.

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Do you stop at Diversity or Are You Inclusive Too?

A beautiful example to bring out the difference between #diversity and #inclusion. “Diversity is being invited to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance”. There lies a vast #difference between diversity and inclusion, terms that are used interchangeably quite often.

Focus on diversity will ensure your organization has a #Mix, policies and focus on inclusion will ensure that this #Mix works in a way that is #meaningful to both the employees as well as the company.

While various hiring and retention #manifestoes can help companies achieve diversity, focused policy and #mindset changes are required for the purpose of inclusion.

#GodrejIndia Culture Lab has been working on a project that specifically makes the case for corporate India to embrace the 4.9 lakh documented #transpeople in India, 92% of whom are still unable to participate in the formal economy, according to
the #National Human Rights Commission.

A paper titled, ‘A #Manifesto for Trans Inclusion in the Indian Workplace’ was presented by Shahani, head of Godrej India Culture Lab.

This manifesto, makes a case on why #hiring and inclusion of LGTBQ community into mainstream corporate world can have many #financial and other #benefits for an organization.

Yet, the process of including and #integrating them into the workforce is one that can pose many challenges and obstacles.

The Manifesto also has #guidelines for companies to adopt #inclusivehiringpractices
sensitizing current employees, widening the scope of health insurance and medical benefits, rethinking restroom infrastructures…..

There are real cost implications in the short term; in the long term companies which
demonstrated a clear focus on inclusion have reaped many #benefits:

1. Coveted employer #credibility
2. More wide spread #revenue streams
3. Greater #employeeengagement and retention

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How business leaders THRIVE and not merely survive in the VUCA world

In the VUCA world, companies adapt to the changes, survive. But few leaders thrive in this environment. They pull everyone forward along with them. What lessons could we learn from those leaders? BE THE CUSTOMER

a) Indra Nooyi, CEO of Pepsico, asked employees not to be representatives of customers but become customers themselves. She herself visited retail stores as a typical customer and experienced the business from a consumer’s mind. She encouraged everyone to do the same.

b) Amazon was so successful in selling books because Jeff Bezos was an avid reader. He himself is an extreme user. He knew the desires, needs of his targeted user segment.

c) iTunes store was an essential reason for iPod’s massive success. iTunes store solved a lot of problems and gave a wonderful experience to the music fans. One reason — Steve Jobs himself was a huge music fan -a hardcore Bob Dylan fan. Being an avid user, Steve knew what were the real needs of a music listener.

d) Harley Davidson promotes a culture where employees are encouraged to become riders so that they could understand the customers.

e) Nike’s founders Phil Knight and Billy Bowden were track athletes. They knew the problems faced by professional athletes with the shoes as they had experienced themselves.

How business leaders thrive and not merely survive in the VUCA world?

Source: Article by Shah Mohammed

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6 Features of Hurry Sickness

If you are constantly racing to cross items off your to-do list, juggling several tasks at a time and easily agitated by small delays, you might be dealing with “hurry sickness”-a term coined by cardiologists Meyer Friedman & Ray Rosenman

6 Features of Hurry Sickness

1. You treat everything like a race

You find yourself treating even small, everyday tasks like shopping, eating or driving as a race; delays cause anxiety

2. You find it impossible to do just one task at a time

Focusing on just one task, feels unbearable to you. You’ll try to figure out what you can squeeze in while you brush your teeth

3. You get highly irritable with delays

Traffic, waiting at the doctor’s stresses you out. You’re the kind of person who presses the “close door” button in the elevator repeatedly

4. You feel perpetually behind schedule

There are never enough hours in a day to accomplish what you need to do. You always feel like you’re playing catch-up

5. You interrupt or talk over people

You may not intend to be rude, but you’ve been told you have a habit of cutting people off mid-conversation.

6. You’re obsessed with checking things off your to-do list

You love the burst of satisfaction you get when you complete a task and get to cross it off your list. But that high doesn’t last long, you quickly move to the next thing.

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How learning helps companies beat Covid shocks

#Learning helped Mondelez India advance product entry of cakes into India, during the 2020 lockdown and pandemic, as well as shift an entire chocolate line from China to India without the machine manufacturers coming to the floor. #Unbelievable but #true.

Mondelez decided to launch its entry into cakes in 2020. The process was complicated due to covid restrictions. Well before the pandemic, Mondelez India had been experimenting and getting their personnel trained on running the production line remotely.

“We would have had no option but to shut the line for 3 weeks, had the shift engineer not run it from his laptop” says Mondelez International President (India) Deepak Iyer.

#Machinelearning and #ArtificialIntelligence helped Mondelez move the chocolate line, without any delays or glitches. Instructions were provided over cameras and mobile platforms on how to dismantle the line, package it, ship it, unpack it and assemble it. Deepak Iyer says all this is possible because Mondolez is focused on learning.

#Learning has clearly moved from a one time event to a life long affair. If we are to stay #relevant, individuals, teams and organizations need to learn and upgrade themselves continuously. The #VUCA world has necessitated this change. The pandemic and the increasing use of technology has hastened the process.

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KEY TO INNOVATION – Satya Nadella

Satya Nadella, Says This 1 Trait Is More Important than #Talent or #Experience. It’s Something Anyone Can Learn. You would think the leader of a company like Microsoft would look for talent or creativity or experience. And, I’m sure he does. It’s just not the most important thing.

Nadella, used just one word to describe where he thinks innovation comes from: #Empathy.

Nadella says:

“To me, what I have sort of come to realize, what is the most innate in all of us is that ability to be able to put ourselves in other people’s shoes and see the world the way they see it. That’s empathy. That’s at the heart of design thinking. When we say innovation is all about meeting unmet, unarticulated, needs of the marketplace, it’s ultimately the unmet and articulated needs of people, and organizations that are made up of people. And you need to have deep empathy.

So I would say the source of all innovation is what is the most humane quality that we all have, which is empathy”.

Businesses, as Nadella observes, “are made up of people.” Truly innovative companies are made up of people. Those people aren’t just focused on spreadsheets, product design, software code–they’re focused on people who use the products, software, or spreadsheets. They’re focused on empathy.

The one trait that Satya Nadella thinks is the Key to Innovation

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A successful experiment to reduce GENDER BIAS

How an organization was able to substantially reduce their #genderbias in their hiring process through a simple cost-effective method.

Till the 1970’s, the top five orchestras in the U.S. had fewer than 5% women. By 1997 they were up to 25% and today some of them are well into the 30s.

How did this happen?

A simple change in the procedure…

Candidates are situated on a stage behind a screen to play for a jury that cannot see them. In some orchestras, blind auditions are used just for the preliminary selection while others use it all the way to the end, until a hiring decision is made.

Even when the screen is only used for the preliminary round, it has a powerful impact; researchers have determined that this step alone makes it 50% more likely that a woman will advance to the finals.

It may not always be possible to have a completely gender blind interview. If we think out-of-the-box, towards this objective, we are likely to definitely make an impact!!!!

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Daniel Kahneman’s decision making test

Given an option to choose between which of 2 events is likely to happen, how do you decide? How do you take decisions? How accurate is your decision making? Take a #test

#Option1: Delhi Airport is closed. Flights are cancelled.

#Option2: Delhi Airport is closed due to critical VIP movement. Flights are cancelled.
Is #Option1 more likely or #Option 2?

Most of us will choose option 2, even though it is more unlikely. The airport could be closed due to any number of reasons accident, strike, bomb threat, bad weather.
Why? The #conjunctionfallacy. When faced with details that are more #convincingly and vividly #potrayed, we believe them

Even #experts are not exempt from the Conjunction fallacy. In 1983, at an International

conference for future research, experts were divided into 2 groups

Group 1 was told “Oil consumption will decrease by 30%”

Group 2 was told “A dramatic rise in oil prices will lead to a 30% reduction in oil consumption”

Groups had to indicate how likely they felt the forecast was.

Group 2 felt much more strongly about the forecast than group 1

#DanielKahneman believes 2 types of thinking exist:

1.Intuitive, automatic and direct

2.Conscious, rational, slow logical

Intuitive thinking draws conclusions long before the conscious mind does

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The Winners Curse

Why does #WarrenBuffet recommend you should say “no” to auctions? From Google Ad words to eBay, from auctions for telecom spectrum to submitting tenders as suppliers, #auctions are ubiquitous.

At a personal level, several studies show, we mostly end up #payingmore for goods, during an auction. Even companies are not immune to this phenomenon.

According to a #McKinsey study, mergers and acquisitions (the ultimate auction) destroy value in more than half the cases. The acquisition brings losses ultimately

The winner gets the goods but they have to #pay for it. Sometimes, much more than the true value

It’s the winner’s curse!!!

So why do we fall victim to the winner’s curse?

1.The real value of many things is uncertain. The larger the number of parties, the higher the probability of an over enthusiastic bid

2.We want to outdo competition

Take Warren Buffet’s advice on auctions. “Don’t go”. If you are in an industry, where auctions are the norm, set a maximum price on it and deduct 20% to offset the winner’s curse.

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The MARSHMALLOW experiment at Stanford

40 Years of #StanfordResearch Found That People with This One Quality Are More Likely to #Succeed. In the 1960s, a Stanford professor named Walter Mischel conducted the #MarshmallowExperiment.
Children (aged 4-9) were left in a room with 1 Marshmallow. The instructions given:

If you wait for 15 minutes, you will receive 2 Marshmallows. The researcher left the children alone in the room for 15 minutes.

Some children waited for 15 minutes to receive the 2 Marshmallows, some did not.

The #interesting part of the study came several years later The researchers conducted follow up studies for over 40 years and tracked each child’s #progress

The #results showed that the children who were willing to delay gratification and waited to receive the second marshmallow ended up with

1. Higher academic scores

2.Lower levels of substance abuse

3.Lesser marriages ending in divorce

4.Better responses to stress

5.More job stability and higher career trajectories

6.Generally better scores in a range of other life measures

Important question to ask:

1.Are we able to resist the first Marshmallow and reap the rewards of delayed gratification?

2.Do we have the patience to stay the course for the grand prize?

3.Are we resilient to the pressures of instant gratification that will often tempt us?

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Everyone is beautiful at the top

What makes an ace sports player, an expert to give us advice on mutual funds? Or an actor, to tell us which food brand is best? We are so used to seeing #celebrities promote products, we never stop to consider why their #support should make the product better suited to us.

This is the #haloeffect. We subconsciously associate the “success” of people with the “success” of products, even though there may be no correlation.

Edward Lee Thorndike discovered the halo effect, a 100 years ago. His conclusion, a single quality viz beauty, social status, age produces a positive/negative effect that #outshines everything else and the overall effect is disproportionate.

Several studies have shown, we #automatically regard good looking people as more pleasant, honest and intelligent.

Physical characteristics logically, have nothing to do with #inner behaviors. Yet, our mind believes differently.

The halo effect obstructs our view of true #characteristics. We need to go beyond the surface. #Digdeeper and then form an opinion.

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How to get others fired up and ready to get THE BARACK OBAMA WAY

I came across an old and brilliant clipping of #BarakObama. This is before he won the Democrat nomination to stand for President. Remember, here, he was a relatively unknown African American Senator from Illinois. This clipping demonstrates a brilliant #storytelling, building a #sharedvision and #passion that touches the audience.

It’s a great lesson for all of us as managers, leaders and influencers. The #principles are common. My take aways:

1.He paints a #detailedpicture of the scene. It’s like you have a ringside view of the scene

2.Extremely #specific. This allows you to feel the emotion he want you to see

3.Clear #calltoaction, without being pushy

For me, this is a must watch for all of us that use storytelling to build a common vision and shared understanding….get teams all #firedup and #readytogo

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CURIOSITICA – The first principle to be an everyday genius by Leonardo Da Vinci

How do you gauge if you are a #learner or not? Leonardo Da Vinci, a brilliant thinker and artist asked #dumbquestions. If birds can fly why can’t I? If a building has to stand up straight & not collapse, what should its proportions be? If Mona Lisa stood by the window in the morning light, would her face shine as much or lesser than at noon? Seemingly strange questions, but the pursuit of these answers gave unexpected results.

Micheal Gelbstudied the works & mind of Da Vinci. He coined 7 principles to be an #everydaygenius. Curiositica-an insatiable thirst and quest for knowledge and continuous learning is the first.

Culturally, we are discouraged from being #curious. We are reprimanded by teachers for asking too many questions. We are told, “Curiosity killed the cat” a term that is part of our subconscious, warning us of the dangers of being too curious.

Your #curiosity & ability to act on it, will define if you are a learner. Are you someone who constantly wants to know more, be a better version of yourself, find solutions to problems, understand why someone acts the way they do, find new ways of doing things? If you are, you are unlikely to be bogged down by challenging situations. Your mind has been sharpened to think in several dimensions. You will find #creativesolutions.

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The Power of Rejection

Having worked for a year on a project/an exam/a relationship for years and then it goes south Just heartbreaking. You think of the countless hours of work, the blood, sweat and tears that has gone to reach the stage and it makes you want to cry with frustration. #Learningfrom rejection is something I understood much later in my life.

#Steve Jobs, in his famous 2005 #StanfordUniversity commencement speech said something similar.

“I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.”

Steve Jobs said that this time away from #Apple was actually #beneficial.

Steve Jobs’ famously combative leadership style possibly led to him being fired from Apple, In 1985, he was fired from the company he founded when Apple’s board of directors removed him. In the interim, he launched a software company NeXT, and bought an animation studio called Pixar. In 1997, he returned to Apple and the rest is History.

I have always learnt more from my failures that my successes.

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1 quality that companies hire CEO’s for

Out of 110 mandates for #CXO positions, given to a global executive search firm, 70% were based on clear mandates given by companies for a leader who is #humble, has high #EQ and #goodpeopleskills.

I read an article a couple of months ago where a senior executive being considered for the position of a CEO was turned down because he was extremely rude to the driver that had come to pick him up for the job interview because he was running late.

Several companies may overlook senior leaders riding roughshod over the emotions of team members, however we see this trend changing. Slowly but surely, the value of control over one’s emotions, demonstrating emotional intelligence & being empathetic are slowly competencies that people hire for.

Clearly companies are no longer just looking for the archetypical “A” leader that cares only for the bottom line, with scant regard for the overall wellbeing of their team.

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Does COLLABORATION really work?

Why doesn’t Collaboration work? Why don’t teams collaborate? Collaboration is a key theme of several programs we conduct at #ShradhaHRD. Most participants agree on the need for collaboration but candidly accept, it’s hard. It means putting the organization/team/department above a narrow circle that you define as “me”

This anecdote is a brilliant example of how the spirit of #collaboration bears rich dividends.
In the olden days, it was a common custom for shopkeepers to keep a small chair outside the shop as soon as they opened the shop in the morning.

As soon as the first customer arrived, the shopkeeper lifted the chair and took it inside the shop.

When the next customer came, the shopkeeper would look around the market. Pointing to a shop with a chair still placed outside, he would say – “You will get what you need from that shop.” I have already got my bohni (the day’s first business) in the morning.”

This was because having a chair outside the shop was a sign that the shopkeeper had not received any customers yet.

Clearly putting the interest of the #community above narrow #self-interests, ensured  #prosperity #business and #growth for all. And it always works!!!

This post was shared by Dr. Jitendra Kumar Soni, IAS on FB.

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