Lessons from COVID-19 @ Psychological Level : Series 1 - Article 3

Thanks for your overwhelming response. Your deeper thoughts and comments encourage richer conversation and motivates me to share more. I continue to encourage all to keeping tweeting for collective learning.

A life without stress is not only impossible, but also would likely be pretty uninteresting — in fact, a certain degree of stress is helpful for growth," So, rather than striving for “no stress”, it’s better to strive for healthier responses to stress that is dysfunctional. The latter holds good both at an individual level and at team/organization levels.

Article 1 & 2 in this series focused more on science of wellbeing and tools to effectively handle stress at Individual level by elevating self-awareness. This article will try to attempt to provide insight beyond self. Creating group awareness and collective wellbeing. Enhancing the social quotient for us and others.

DO YOU KNOW?

Social and Physical pain produce similar brain responses

Brain scan captured through functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) shows same area associated with distress, whether caused by feelings of social rejections or physical pain.

In the organization’s context, people go through social rejection and emotional pain rather than physical pain as part of their professional journey. Leaders who understand the above science can be more effective in engaging their team to create an environment that fosters trust, engagement, and productivity.

Neuroscience evidence gets even more interesting with the below facts:

Neural network that holds information, planning and cognitive problem-solving Vs those supporting self-awareness, social skills and empathy resides in two different circuitries in brain.

These regions are inversely correlated.

“If any leader spends a lot of time in cognitive tasks, their ability to have empathy for people is reduced simply because that part of their circuitry doesn’t get much use”.

Then the big question is:

How to invoke and balance these two inversely correlated behavioural neural circuitries?

Is it possible ?

Is there a tool or framework to adopt?

The Answer is “YES”, we can invoke and balance these circuits with a framework

Borrowing from Dr.David Rock, five specific social qualities popularly called as SCARF addresses the above puzzle:

Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, Fairness

If you are in a people responsibility role, then every action you take either supports or undermines perceived levels of Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness and Fairness. The SCARF model provides a means of bringing conscious social awareness. It shows how to calibrate your words and action for a better effect.

Let's look how SCARF applied at Re-Organization:

A business Re-Org provides a perfect example to illustrate SCARF. Re-Org generates massive amount of uncertainty, which can paralyze employees to perform at their best. A leader attuned to SCARF might share as much “NEED TO KNOW” information as possible and paint a picture of future and explaining its implications. Much will be unknown but being clear about what is known will improve Certainty and Relatedness. Re-Org also stirs up threat of Autonomy because people feel lack of control over future. Astute leader will address these threats by giving people freedom to make most of their own decision (within framework) as possible. By doing so, one would foster Autonomy and sense of Fairness in the system. Engagement can be induced when people working towards an objective, feel rewarded by their efforts with a manageable level of stress. When a leader is self-aware, it gives others a feeling of safety and Relatedness even during uncertain times. It makes it easier for employees to focus on their work, leading to improved performances.

In summary, any culture that treats people fairly, draw people together to solve problems, provides autonomy, fosters certainty, and find ways to raise the perceived status will be the organization that thrives even during adversity. Talents that gets associated to these cultures will salute and celebrate.

Article 1 - https://bit.ly/2Z7Pdby

Article 2 - https://bit.ly/3hVZikq