And now for the science part: Claire Dale and Patricia Peyton explore the world of physical intelligence, which gives leaders the ability to manage the balance of key chemicals in their bodies to achieve more and work more happily
Changes in today’s workplace are estimated, by McKinsey Global Institute, to be occurring at 10 times the pace of the Industrial Revolution – and 300 times the scale. Yet, most businesses are expected to consistently operate at a differentiated level in this increasingly complex, exponentially changing environment.
Leaders are at the coal face of this. They are contending with a constant push for innovation and growth, disappearing jobs, endless cost savings initiatives, a constant drive for increased profit, a shrinking workforce and the competition to hire and retain top talent. This is in addition to executing the traditional leadership responsibilities: establishing and communicating clear goals and objectives, identifying business issues and implementing strategies in response, building agile teams and leading change initiatives.
The list of challenges is endless and it can seem overwhelming. It’s no surprise that workplace stress has increased significantly over the last three decades. The truth is, humans are not evolving as quickly as the pace of change, yet that pace is accelerating, leaving many of us struggling to meet, let alone exceed expectations.
So, how can leaders successfully adapt to this, learn how to perform at their peak in this environment and improve their leadership performance? The answer lies in neuroscience.
You’re familiar with cognitive intelligence (IQ) and emotional intelligence (EQ). How familiar are you with physical intelligence? Right now, literally hundreds of chemicals are racing through our bloodstreams. Those chemicals dictate how we think, feel, speak and behave. Yet, most of us operate largely at the mercy of those chemicals – experiencing thoughts, reactions and emotions – without realising that we can strategically influence them. Physical Intelligence is the ability to detect and actively manage the balance of certain key chemicals through how we think, breathe, move, and communicate in order to achieve more, stress less and live (and work) more happily.
While there are many chemical interactions that we can’t and wouldn’t want to influence, we can influence eight chemicals that work in combination to make or break our success. When they’re in balance, we call it the ‘Winning Cocktail’.
Acetylcholine
After a busy week and good rest, you find yourself breathing out in long sighs and feeling relief. Acetylcholine, responsible for energy renewal, recovery from pressure, learning and memory drives that. Signature feeling: balance
Adrenalin
We all know an adrenalin rush – increased heart rate/blood flow in survival situations and energy and strength to facilitate immediate action. However, adrenalin also can increase nervousness, making it difficult to communicate effectively. Signature feelings: fear or excitement
Cortisol
Worry, anxiety, impatience, anger, often believing you or others are to blame are all high cortisol speaking. In today’s demanding environment, cortisol is rising. The positive effects of cortisol keep us alive. However, sustained periods of pressure increase cortisol leading to underperformance and poor decision-making. Signature feeling: anxiety
DHEA
The high-performance chemical, DHEA supports vitality, longevity, stamina, memory, responsiveness, and cognitive, immune system, and heart–brain function. DHEA levels drop after 30 – accelerated by stress and high cortisol, leading to premature aging. Improving our capacity to perform under pressure slows the aging process. Signature feeling: vitality
Dopamine
Have you ever felt disappointment (missing those concert tickets or that promotion)? Lack of expected reward is a lack of dopamine – the great motivator. When we get it, we want more – think binge watching television programmes…eating all of the crisps. Dopamine impacts goal orientation and engaging people in change. Signature feelings: pleasure and need
Oxytocin
Think of a time when you liked being somewhere…felt safe and included. That’s oxytocin, whose levels fluctuate based on whether we’re in the ‘in’ or ‘out’ group…feel safe or threatened. Oxytocin facilitates social bonding and feeling responsibility to others. Too much and we may be overly dependent on others. Too little and we may not build relationships or use networks for support. Signature feeling: belonging
Serotonin
Serotonin influences happiness, status, satisfaction and well-being. We believe that we are enough, have enough. Serotonin is important for the immune system and deep-seated confidence. High cortisol will drain serotonin levels until depression sets in. Signature feeling: happiness
Testosterone
Testosterone (along with dopamine) drives our desire to achieve and compete, enables risk tolerance and confidence and is vital for empowerment. Too much and we become overly confident, arrogant, don’t prepare well or work well on a team. Too little and we become risk-averse and avoid competition. Signature feelings: power and control
The more we understand the neuroscience that underpins our behaviour, the more we can strategically manage the balance of our own winning cocktail.
There are more than 100 physical intelligence techniques we can use to strategically manage the balance of these eight key chemicals. To get you started, here are a few that will help you manage your chemical balance and enhance your leadership performance in key areas:
Building confidence
- Perfect your posture. It impacts how we and those around us feel and perceive us. With good posture we feel empowered, stronger, and more present and at ease. Open, expansive posture projects confidence and leadership ability more so than any leadership title.
- To reduce nerves and increase confidence, stand in a winner (starfish) pose for two minutes before key events (balancing cortisol and adrenalin).
- Paced breathing helps us manage our response to demanding situations. Use it daily to release acetylcholine (recovery chemical that counteracts adrenaline): breathe diaphragmatically, smoothly and regularly, measure the length of each breath in and out, exploring the counts comfortable for you (try for a longer out breath to dispel CO2, which reduces cortisol) – for at least 10 minutes a day.
Holding your ground and managing change
- Being centred, puts everything in perspective, promoting confidence and inner strength. To ‘ground’ yourself, feel the weight of the body on the ground or in the chair – rooted rather than ‘uptight’. Continue paced breathing, release tension throughout the body; place your centre of mass where you need it (move your body forwards sideways and backwards to find the optimal point); breathe down to below the navel (to your centre of gravity), and focus. Repeat three times: Balance, Breathe, Focus.
Generating innovative/creative solutions and adapting to others
To reduce cortisol and boost oxytocin, dopamine, DHEA and serotonin:
- Stretch to release ‘hot spots’ where you hold tension.
- Shake out your arms and legs.
- Twist at the waist two times per day.
- Spark creativity by taking a walk or looking at beautiful objects in art/nature.
- Encourage a combination of convergent and divergent thinking across teams.
Strengthening interpersonal relationships and inspiring trust
- Creating excellent trusted relationships requires balancing our own agendas with those of others, communicating well and flexing our behavioural style to create the chemistry of trust – balance of oxytocin (social bonding and trust), dopamine ( goal-orientation/seeking and gaining reward), and testosterone (independent competitive action), and management of cortisol (threat).
Building resilience
- Maintain optimal cortisol levels by blocking out time in your schedule each week for REST (Retreat, Eat [healthy], Sleep and Treat). Write the word ‘REST’ in blocks in your calendar; guard those windows.
Bouncing back from disappointment
- Think of a setback or mistake you’ve made. Zoom in and see a ‘close-up’ of yourself. Remember the intensity of feelings at the time. Zoom out, hover in wide angle over the scene, including contributing elements past and present. Know that you’re not alone and others have experienced/are experiencing similar situations. If you’re dwelling on something, talk to someone you trust about it, then commit to letting it go.
Maintaining a positive mindset
- Start the day with a positive mindset by listing (in writing or in your head) all of the things that are going well at work and home. Feel gratitude.
- Smile at yourself in the mirror every morning. It boosts serotonin.
- Literally jump for joy – jumping promotes optimism.
Achieving long term goals
- Set daily and long term priorities, goals and milestones. To generate energy to move forward, firm/flex your muscles; say out loud, ‘Come on! You can do this!’ (boosts dopamine). Celebrate achieving each milestone (boosts dopamine and testosterone).
Claire Dale and Patricia Peyton are the authors of new wellbeing book Physical Intelligence (Simon & Schuster), available now in ebook and hardback.
