Emotional Mastery for Leaders: Avoiding the Amygdala Hijack

TL:DR

• The Amygdala Hijack is an autonmic process desigend to keep us safe

• It shuts down reasoning, logic and emotional control centers of the brain

• Leaders must be aware of the signs of the hijack and develop strategies to prevent the impact

• Leading is an emotional game with little room for error 

One of my first jobs after my undergraduate degree and post-graduate program in technology and management was working for Alterna, a company that built the first Java-enabled in-house bank. 

The target market was treasury departments of multinational organizations. The value proposition was to enable real-time visibility of free cash flow and manage the journal entries for intercompany loans instead of each entity borrowing money from banks. 

The value for the customer was putting capital to work and keeping interest internal. 

My job was as the technical demo specialist supporting the sales organization. We did presentations for companies like Phillips in the Netherlands, Cargil, and Visa; it was high-stakes sales. 

Preparing for these demos was challenging. The role required interpreting client requirements and balancing them with the sales team's vision and the application's limitations. We spent most of our time with the development team, specifically the CTO, trying to figure out how to reflect the prospect's processes in our system.

The CTO was German and very direct. He was not mean or disrespectful. In his opinion, the problem with business in North America was that we were all too sensitive. 

He often said, "Understand that you and your ideas are separate entities. Just because I call your idea stupid doesn't mean I think you are stupid."

He explained that once an idea was on the table, it would be independent of the person who put it there and free to be attacked, improved or shot down. 

He called many of our ideas stupid. We had to remind ourselves that he was not calling us stupid. I didn't appreciate his leadership style, and I could not adapt to separating feelings from ideas.

Why did it bug me? Our brains are programmed to respond to threats, physical or social, real or perceived. 

Our brains' ability to protect us has been critical to human survival. A critical autonomic response is the "amygdala hijack." While this is effective in nature, it works against us in the business setting. 

Let me explain.

First, a little science. 

There are many brain centers; two important ones are the limbic system, which processes emotions and memories, and the cerebral cortex, which processes information, decision-making, and planning.

The amygdala is a powerful part of the limbic system that, among other things, initiates the fight or flight response. When we feel threatened, the body responds automatically by releasing cortisol and epinephrine, also known as adrenaline, which prepare us to run or fight.  (for more information on the amygdala, go to the blog entry Unleashing Your Potential: How Our Brains and Society Limit Our Pursuit of Hard Goals)

As the body prepares to flee or defend, it must harness its resources and shut down unnecessary processes—specifically, the frontal lobe, the cerebral cortex's primary reasoning and emotional control center.

The combination of steps is called the amygdala hijack, an involuntary human process.

So when Alterna's CTO called my ideas stupid, my brain perceived that as a threat and actively shut down the part of the brain I needed to rationalize that it was not a real threat and to control my emotional response.

As a leader, how many times does your amygdala fire? Likely often.

If you have experienced defensive or combative behaviour that leads to fear and anxiety in the workplace by you or your team, the amygdala is at least in part to blame. It is the preprogrammed cranial functions attempting to keep you safe.

The challenge is that it's leadership's responsibility to create a psychologically safe environment for their teams. 

We must cultivate self-awareness, emotional regulation, and empathy by fighting natural processes in our brains, recognizing our triggers, and understanding how emotions influence our behaviour. Leaders can develop strategies to manage stress and maintain composure in challenging situations.

How do you know you are about to be hijacked? Key symptoms are:

• Very sudden onset in response to negative stimuli

• Increased heart rate

• Sweaty palm

• Inability to reason

• Urge to have an emotional outburst

What should you do if you suddenly feel these symptoms?

Recognizing one's feelings in the moment is 80% of the battle. Remember, this is an autonomic response. You are not consciously initiating it. 

The key to managing your response is a slight pause and a few deep breaths.  

Science has shown that as little as six seconds is required for the frontal lobe to wrestle control away from the amygdala. 

Six seconds of silence could seem like an eternity, so little techniques like grabbing a sip of water, doing a little reflective listening exercise where you play back what was said or embracing the silence, which will make the audience feel a little uncomfortable, are appropriate.

Reflecting on your triggers is vital for predictably outstanding leadership. Learn to listen to your body. IQ and EQ dominate leadership literature, but BQ, or body intelligence, as the Conscious Leadership group defines it, is the key to managing your responses to stimuli. 

There are patterns that you will follow. The better you understand your patterns, the more likely you are to architect situations that work in your favour. 

For instance, I know excessive caffeine affects my emotional control, and I am at my best in the mornings. I schedule high-stakes situations in the morning and only one coffee beforehand.

Get comfortable talking about your feelings. Leading is an emotional game. You must be able to identify and name your emotions to create an environment where your charges can feel comfortable expressing their feelings. 

Getting in touch with your emotions and talking about your feelings requires external assistance, which is an excellent role for a coach. 

The body-brain relationship is powerful and complex. Harnessing their combined power to improve your leadership skills is better than letting your emotions control you.

If you want to learn more or teach your leadership team about these concepts, please contact me.