Brain – Bloch&Østergaard ApS

A bit of brain science to set the scene

Line Bloch — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 10:28:15 +0000

A bit of brain science to set the scene

By Puk Falkenberg, date

Hippocampus and Amygdala are two (or actually four) smaller areas in your brain, with a great deal of influence onto who we are, and how we cope with pressure, fear, and stress.

They are located deep in the brain and with one of each, in each side of the brain.

Hippocampus plays a role in

Memory formation
Spatial navigation
Creative thinking

Amygdala plays a role in

Emotional reactions like fear, anxiety and anger
Memory/emotional learning

Hippocampus

Hippocampus is by science said to have 3 major roles in the brain:

Memory: Hippocampus is where the consolidation of information from short-term memory to long-term memory takes place; meaning that is stores what you have just learned for later use.

Spatial navigation. It processes not only information on what, but also on where. It is responsible for storing information on places,and responsible for you to find your way around.

Creative thinking. It plays an important role in our ability to be creative. Hippocampus can be described as the ‘relation database of the brain’, meaning that it contributes to maintenance and on-line processing of relational information – exactly what creativity can be defined as: “rapid generation, combination, and recombination of existing knowledge to create novel ideas and ways of thinking” source

And what if it fails?

The first part of the brain that gets damaged in an Alzheimers patient is hippocampus, and that gives a quite good picture of what happens if hippocampus gets damaged, or in other way inhibited. Symptoms are lack of short term memory, general memory loss, and disorientation. You can no longer remember the little things and what you just did, and eventually it will be difficult to recall what you used to know. Forget about learning new stuff, and at the same time that you loose creativity, you get lost, trying to go from a to b.

But

The amazing thing bout hippocampus is, that is is what scientists call plastic. It can develop new neurons and new connections, so it is able of restoring if damaged.

Bonus info

The hippocampus contains high levels of cortisol receptors. Why that is important we will get back to in this.

Facts on Hippocampus

Hippocampus is part of the limbic system, and named after a seahorse because it apparently looks like one. We have two hippocampi, placed on each side of the brain, each should be responsible for different kinds of function, but they can overtake in case of one is damaged

Amygdalae

Is basically responsible for preparing the body for escape or defense, via these:

Emotional reactions: Amygdala is where emotions such as anger, fear, sadness and anxiety have their root. It also plays a part in controlling and expressing aggression.

Memory/emotional learning: It is in the amygdalae memory and emotions are combined. Meaning if you experience something fearful, amygdala makes sure that you remember it, so that you can avoid it in the future.

Al in all, the amygdalae are responsible for a set of raw reactions, unfiltered for reason, ethical or political correctness. This filter is luckily applied elsewhere in the brain.

And what if it fails?

Obviously, if the amygdalae are over-reactive, all of the above gets magnified and overtakes the more rational reaction pattern. We get more intense reactions like increased aggressive behavior and panic attacks.

Defects in the amygdala is linked to the loss of emotions, lack of fear and depression. You get cold and numb.

Facts on Amygdala

Amygdala is like hippocampus, part of the limbic system. They have their name from looking like almonds. We have two, lying close to the hippocampus, in each side of the brain, and each side have distinctly different functions. Fun fact is, that the male amygdala is larger than the but also that females gets stronger memories for emotional events than men.

What creates stress at work?

Line Bloch — Thu, 05 May 2016 09:47:28 +0000

What creates stress at work?

By Puk Falkenberg, date

This is a part of an article in 5 parts, taking you through the physics of stress, and how to prevent it. You can start reading here – or go to one of the below sections to dig deeper into each element.

Losing an employee to a long sick-leave due to chronic stress is exactly that: losing. As employer we lose the people and the competences, and as humans and seen from society, we burn out people.

How much a person can handle is individual, but it is known, that combining stressors – as we call the factors that causes stress – increases the risk of getting ill with chronic stress.

But what are the stressors at work? Can we identify what factors in combination or alone would eventually lead to chronic stress? And if we can, is it then evident how to eliminate them?

I believe that the key is found the other way around, so lets look at what creates a motivating, fun and productive workplace. With a little help from Daniel Pink, Simon Sinek, Kolind & Bøtters and Alexander Kjerulf we get this:

How to create motivation at work

A motivating, challenging, developing and fun workplace has four essential characteristics:

1. Social safety
You need recognition and timely feedback. You need to feel valued for who you are, and you need to feel supported by your community. You need relations.

2. Autonomy
You need to get the right amount of responsibility for the task with out being micromanaged, and you need to have the mandate to perform the job.

3. Mastery
You need to have the right competences to do the job, and you need to feel good about what you do and the quality of your work. You need the right experiences, but also the needed support form peers or managers, and you need to have time enough to do the task right. Achieving results is a big part of motivation and happiness at work.

4. Purpose
There must be a clear purpose for the company, for the team or the product you work on, and the work, and the specific tasks you are working on, has to make sense to you. It has to be meaningful.

How to create stress at work

That was the good stuff. If you revert this, you get the ‘recipe’ for creating work-related stress:

1. Lack of social safety
Lack of recognition, lack of support form peers or the manager and lack of social relations, makes us feet unwanted.

2. Lack of autonomy
Lack of influence on decisions that impact your daily work, hyper control and micro-management, and working on something, where you at the end of the day, do not have the mandate. But perhaps most common, at least in the corporate world I know of: lack of control of own time. When it is other peoples meeting-bookings that decide what you should do when, when thousands of emails floods your inbox and time, and when deadlines are unrealistic and set by others.

3. Lack of mastery
When you don’t have the skills and competencies to do the work. When you don’t have the right experience and don’t get appropriate support to do the tasks. When you lack time to deliver a result you are comfortable with. When you lack delivering results.

4. Lack of purpose
If the company purpose is unclear – or does not exist. If the translation of the purpose into the team, the product or the specific task is missing, and if what you do, it does not make sense

It is important to realize, that even if the above is essential for all of us, not all factors have same impact for everybody. People are different, and have different luggage in life, so a high stress factor for one, can mean nothing to another.

The important thing is to use this, and identify what causes the malfunction, and if and how, it can be changed.

My advise to you, is to print both of these slides out, and use them for reflection on both your own situation or for helping your employees – or peers.

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Neurochemistry for leaders

Erik Østergaard — Sun, 12 Oct 2014 18:53:47 +0000

Neurochemistry for leaders

By Puk Falkenberg, date

There are four elements of neurochemistry, that you need to know the effect of as leader.

Dopamine ← uhm, yummy
Oxytocin ← uhm, yummy
Adrenaline ← use with care
Cortisol ← careful, avoid!

These fab four are neurotransmitters in our nervous system. They affect your brain and body, your feelings and emotions, and your patterns of reaction. You as a leader should know these four, know which to nurture and when – and which to avoid and how.

The purpose? The fab four are key elements in establishing a great working climate, and part of your happiness at work – arbejdsglæde, in Danish! That’s why it’s relevant.

Dopamine

Dopamine, known as the “reward drug”. Dopamine makes you feel good. You produce dopamine when you are successful, obtain results, or receive something that you are (happily) addicted to, like, when you eat great food or chocolate, from sex, from a glass of wine etc.

And, you get it from helping other people – and from getting help! When you help someone with a problem, both you and the one you’re helping will produce an amount of dopamine. It creates a good feeling and a bond; and since it’s addictive, you’ll automatically seek it again. The effect will be a little larger next time – and next time.

Additionally, the person(s) overlooking the two people helping each other will also produce dopamine. Not as much as the two directly involved, but still enough to notice it and have an effect.

Hence, as a leader you should seek to

Encourage employees to help each other, and make it visible
Establish frequent meetings in your project or environment, where you seek and get help
Visualize and celebrate results, even the small ones (traceable achievements and gamification)

This is one of the reasons for having kanban-standup meetings: To bring up issues in the open in order to connect people for problem solving – and to let it be visible. We seek to establish and nurture relations between the employees. That’s also why social media is a great means for culture, as it exposes help, support, achievements and acknowledgements. Results and relations are what we seek (ref. Alexander Kjerulf, the Chief Happiness Officer).

Oxytocin

Oxytocin, also known as “the love drug” or “the hug drug”. A drug you produce when you are in physical contact with others. It establishes care, comfort and trust; reduces fear and anger; creates smiles and happy energy.

The drug is easily produced by hugging. Some sources say, that you need as much as 30 seconds of hugging to release it, but you can easily manage with significantly less. Just the regular “man hug, with double-pat on the back”-hug will suffice.

Naturally, not everybody should be hugged. You need to know when to shake hands, when to touch the upper arm, the shoulder, and when to hug.

We had a strategy day with an icebreaker consisting of (amongst other things) everybody hugging their nearest coworker for 10 seconds. The amount of smiles and happy energy in the room afterwards was overwhelming and convincing, and it started a new cultural wave of relations and care. Lots of hugging and smiles occur, frequently. It’s contagious.

Hence, as a leader you should seek to

It IS intimidating, but try to encourage a culture where you lightly touch each other
Know when to shake hands, touch the upper arm only, or hug
Know when to avoid it, simply out of respect of intimate space

Try to discretely lay a hand on your colleague’s upper arm for just a second next time you talk.

Adrenaline

Adrenaline, also known as epinephrine, is a drug that prepares your brain and body for fight or flight. It enhances focus so we can think sharply and act quickly if we are in danger.

Adrenaline is created when we work towards a deadline, when we give an important presentation, when we have a tough feedback situation, when we are exposed or uncomfortable in any way. We want to run away and avoid, and we prepare the body for fight. It’s a powerful and hence impressive drug, that should be understood.

However, if you have adrenaline rushes too often, you loose the effect, and introduce fatigue, indifference or irritation. This kills motivation and happiness at work. It’s contagious since it spreads to your colleagues. Adrenaline is followed by production of cortisol (see below). Exhaustion is a possible ultimate consequence.

Hence, as a leader you should seek to

Have a balance of normal work and high performance periods – and rest afterwards
Nurture an environment of comfort and calmness, with eagerness to kick ass when needed
Watch for symptoms of too much adrenaline; symptoms which points towards exhaustion. Act fast, if you see the symptoms. It’s a shared responsibility between you and your colleagues

Unboss plays a vital role here. I apply motivation theories (e.g. my Unboss’ed version of Daniel Pinks autonomy + mastery + purpose = motivation) on daily basis, in order to let the motivation come from insight and inside rather than from pressure and deadlines – hence I strive to avoid “too much, too often”-adrenaline.

I talk a lot about pressure and workload, and talk openly of fatigue and exhaustion. I strive to act fast enough, because I care. We should only prioritize the important, purposeful actions. And we should strive to celebrate our victories.

Cortisol

Cortisol, known as the “long term adrenaline”, is produced to increase blood sugar in the brain and muscles, making you a temporary super human in high-pressure situations, e.g. when you have to get a kid out of a fire or save your village from raging Vikings. As a side-effect, it suppresses the immune system, digestive system and reproductive system,

It is a main cause for stress, stemming from heavy workload, unhealthy working climate, unrealistic expectations, lack of care and sympathy etc.

Long term exposure to cortisol will create a change to your brains or even a brain damage. It gets exhausted, and the brain cells become irritable. Nagging or numbness is a clear symptom of this. Eventually it leads to collapse and depression.

For a thought-provoking, honest and frightening introduction, please see Line Bloch’s popular article on “Stress, work culture and brain damage”, in Danish.

Hence, as a leader you should seek to

Same steps as for adrenaline, see above
Talk openly about stress and stress handling. Don’t stigmatize victims of stress.
Act fast and consistently if stress occurs

Several colleagues and near friends have been hit by stress. I’m by no means a stress expert or stress coach, but I think it’s caused by combination of many things – amongst other our leadership/management culture.

We as leaders should be the first to work against stress. Our culture, HR, relation building, 1:1′s, delegation/mandate practices, allocation processes etc. should all be with people and care in mind.

And remember, you could get stress too. How are you doing?

Know them and use them

Know the fab four, and try to incorporate them in your leadership style and practices deliberately:

Dopamine ← uhm, yummy ← help each other, in public too
Oxytocin ← uhm, yummy ← touch (and even hug) each other
Adrenaline ← use with care ← balance peaks and rest periods
Cortisol ← careful, avoid! ← have a culture that intends to eliminate stress

It creates happiness at work – arbejdsglæde! Happy employees create happy customers, who buy more.

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