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Building off the back of our article on mood contagion and how your mood as a leader travels through your organisation like electricity, we're diving deeper into the hidden psychology of decision-making.
Imagine you're in an important meeting. The room is tense. Decisions made here could pivot the future of your company.
Yet, despite the data and analytics laid out before you, something else is influencing the outcome...
We like to believe we're rational beings, especially in business.
But ego has a sneaky way of slipping into the boardroom, colouring our decisions with shades of emotion.
The challenge isn't just about setting ego aside; it's about understanding the psychological undercurrents that make ego such a formidable force.
Dr. Ron Friedman, a psychologist who delves into the intricacies of workplace behaviour, offers a compelling perspective.
He suggests that no matter our rank or experience, we're all tethered to an emotionally driven brain—a vestige of our evolutionary past. To navigate this, Friedman introduces the idea of two channels in decision-making.
First, there's the Task Channel. This is the logical side—the facts, figures, and strategies we discuss openly.
Then there's the Relationship Channel. This operates beneath the surface. It's our amygdala, the brain's emotional epicentre, assessing whether someone is an ally or adversary in real-time.
Here's the twist: To make better decisions, we need to address the relationship channel before diving into the task at hand. By doing so, we disentangle personal feelings from professional discourse. We interrupt the reflexive thought of "if you reject my idea, you're rejecting me."
Enter Dr. Anthony Suchman, a medical doctor turned organisational psychologist. He introduces a simple yet powerful tool: PEARLS. This acronym stands for six types of relationship-building statements:
These aren't just nice things to say, they are moves to help neutralise emotional defences and open up a more productive dialogue.
Now, let's shift to an extreme environment: hostage negotiations. Clinical psychologist Laurie Charles studied negotiators operating in life-or-death situations.
Surprisingly, the most effective negotiators weren't those who dominated conversations but those who listened and used communication approaches similar to PEARLS.
Their primary goal? To enable the person on the other end to make better decisions.
The parallels to the corporate world are striking. While executives might not face literal hostage situations, they often navigate emotionally charged scenarios where the stakes feel just as high.
Equip your teams to navigate both the task and relationship channels effectively. Studies have shown that organisations with high emotional intelligence outperform those that neglect these skills.
Encourage the use of relationship-building statements in meetings and communications. This approach fosters trust and openness, essential ingredients for effective decision-making.
Executives set the tone. When leaders model emotionally intelligent behaviours, it cascades throughout the organisation. It signals that while results matter, how we achieve them matters just as much.
Research supports these steps. A study published in the Harvard Business Review found that teams with high emotional intelligence outperform their peers in metrics ranging from productivity to employee satisfaction.
In moving forward, consider this: addressing the emotional layer in decision-making isn't a soft skill—it's a strategic advantage.
By acknowledging and managing the relationship channel, we pave the way for decisions that are not only rational but also inclusive and sustainable.
This article was originally written on the Cub Think Tank.
