Leading with Emotional Intelligence: Hands-On ... - always yours

EMOTIONAL SELF-CONTROL TOOLS AND STRATEGIES 87
distort things in this quick reaction, as the following examples of
Fallen Stars show.
It has been found that the amygdala in animals can respond to
a perception in as little as 12 thousandths of a second (.012). The
antennae are up in the amygdala to constantly scan the environment
for anything that may hurt us or that we should fear. Any strong
emotion, anxiety, anger, joy, or experience of betrayal trips off the
amygdala and impairs the prefrontal cortex’s working memory. The
power of emotions overwhelms rationality. That is why when we are
emotionally upset or stressed we can’t think straight.
Matthew Lieberman, a neuroscientist, has found an inverse
relationship between the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex, the
brain’s executive function where rational thought and judgment sit.
When the amygdala is active with blood and oxygen, there is less
activation in the prefrontal cortex. When this occurs our thinking
power is disrupted and there are deficits in our problem solving
because the blood and oxygen are in the amygdala rather than the
prefrontal cortex. It is like losing 10 to 15 IQ points temporarily,
which explains the “What was I thinking?” experience. In this situation
we are thinking, but with less capacity and brainpower.
In today’s economy most people are walking around with
greater than normal stress, apprehension, and fear of the future.
You could say that every organization is suffering at some level
from emotional hijacks, and thus organizations may be operating
in a “dumbed-down” fashion because too much stress turns off the
prefrontal cortex. This is at a time when we need all our IQ points
and more resources, not less.
Emotions are contagious, so if one person is emotionally hijacked
on your team or in your organization, most likely others will catch
it, like the flu. Thus, your team can quickly lose IQ points, thereby
jeopardizing executive decisions and deteriorating teamwork and
collaboration.