Leadership, Stress, and Decision-Making
As I continually examine my current state of leadership, I find myself reminiscing about the days when I could truly live out what I believe, putting it into action. Now, more often than not, I find myself frustrated that much of what I know and think about leadership, I am failing to move into action, at least not externally.
Recalling Eve Poole’s insights in “Leadersmithing,” we know that constant stress kicks us out of our neocortex and into our amygdala, where our flight, flight, freeze, and fawn processes take control[1]. Edwin Friedman’s “Failure of Nerve” affirms the detrimental impact of stress, highlighting how we perpetuate the “toxic-leadership climate” that is American society by operating out of stress because it creates echo chambers that keep us “gridlocked” in anxious cycles[2].
In exploring this week’s reading, “Thinking Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman, I couldn’t help but see a continuation of many of the themes these two other authors had spoken about, as well as feel a more profound sense of urgency to do something about the leadership crisis I’m tackling in my NPO. Kahneman’s book explores the two “systems” of our brains constantly fighting for control over our behavior and actions. While these are not actual systems you can find functioning inside the brain but rather terminology he uses as homunculi, he makes a case for this framing because he believes “it fits the way our minds work” and thus is helpful to understand what happens within our brains, as we make decisions and take action in our daily lives.[3] He calls these two systems, System 1 and System 2. System 1 is automatic and impulsive, whereas System 2 is conscious, aware, and considerate [4]. Another way to think about this is to see System 1 as a mental activity performed without effort, whereas System 2 is a mental activity that requires effort. Through understanding these two systems, Kahneman teaches us where we can and can’t trust our gut feelings. He also shows us how our brains are naturally lazy and default to the route of least resistance. Therefore, rather than utilize our whole intellect, our brains are wired for what’s easiest, giving way to various intellectual errors.[5] He highlights this tendency through an example called the bat and ball problem. I tried it myself and was one of the many who instantly noticed System 1 at play, which left me in error because I perceived the problem as more straightforward than it was, passing it over to System 1 when it was not equipped.
This idea that we’re so often blind, regularly walking around thinking we’re right and making conclusions off our sense of “rightness” makes me think of Kathryn Shultz’s work “On Being Wrong” and how relying too much on a feeling is dangerous. I’ll never forget the story she tells of the doctor at Mass General Hospital in Boston who operated on the wrong side of a woman’s body. When the Director of PR spoke about the incident, they said, “For whatever reason, the doctor simply felt like he was operating on the right side of the body”[6]. Tim Harford, author of “The Data Detective,” shares similar feelings, claiming that we rely too heavily on emotions based on our gut reactions rather than considering if what we heard was true and if we value the truth[7]. In the same way he points out errors in how we filter, and begs us to be more cautious before making decisions, Kahneman also invites us to slow down, be cautious of our emotions and bring more intentionality to our decision-making, especially when money is involved.
Once more, I can’t help but see connections between all we’ve been reading and the impact stress/burnout has on my ability to think, engage and ultimately naviagate life right now. To date, all we’ve explored calls us to deeper self-awareness and understanding regarding patterns in default tendencies and the human condition. We live in a world of volatility, uncertainty, chaos, and ambiguity, where we can’t take things at the surface level nor always trust ourselves to operate in our best interest because what’s in our best interest isn’t always straightforward. Our minds are complex, our world is complex, and we are complex. The key to combating the stress and trauma that kick System 1 into overdrive, leaving us vulnerable to being gridlocked in anxious cycles that further perpetuate toxic leadership, is slowing down and being intentional. However, it’s important to mention that slowing down, in and of itself, is a System 2 response. Again I’m left wondering how we lead in our current culture of anxiety, especially for people whose mere existence in a world not designed for them to thrive serves as a chronic stressor, keeping them on high alert at all times.
Earlier on, I shared feelings of leadership failure, naming how frustrating it has felt to not be able to externally put into practice leadership in the way I’d like. Books like Kahneman’s help me provide grace when it’s hard because they affirm and make sense of some of my struggles. As I contonue to navigate burnout and focus on healing, it’s to be exppected that System 1 will be running the show, most of the time. How could one expect to operate out of System 2 or develop themselves into a more differentiaed leader while at the same time their body is stuck in a trauma response, jumping at unhealthy coping mechanisms to combat the stress? I’m reminded of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and how once your body’s primary needs feel threatened, striving towards higher dimensions of self-actualization, like leadership, becomes impossible.
That said, there is still hope. Hope because I am at least noticing and noticing is empowering, not only personally, for me in this chapter of life, but even more so for what it means to my NPO and larger research. Noticing, naming, and accepting what one’s body and mind are doing due to stress is a vital part of the process of healing required to create healthy coping mechanisms and be able to grow in ones leadership abailities.
[1] Poole, Eve. “Leadersmithing | Eve Poole | TEDxDurhamUniversity.” www.youtube.com. TEDx Talks, April 12, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73L1613KDnw.
[2] Friedman, Edwin H, Margaret M Treadwell, and Edward W Beal. A Failure of Nerve : Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix. New York, New York: Church Publishing, 2017.
[3] Talks at Google. “Daniel Kahneman: ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ | Talks at Google.” YouTube Video. YouTube, November 10, 2011. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjVQJdIrDJ0.
[4]Göke, Niklas . “Thinking Fast and Slow Summary – Four Minute Books.” Four Minute Books. Four Minute Books, April 3, 2016. https://fourminutebooks.com/thinking-fast-and-slow-summary/.
[5]Kahneman, Daniel. Thinking, Fast and Slow. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011.
[6]Kathryn Schulz, “On Being Wrong,” www.ted.com (TED, March 2011), https://www.ted.com/talks/kathryn_schulz_on_being_wrong?language=en.
[7] Harford, Tim. Data Detective : Ten Easy Rules to Make Sense of Statistics. New York City, New York, US: Riverhead Books, 2022.
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Akwese
6 responses to “Leadership, Stress, and Decision-Making”
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Hi, Akwese, I am glad that you point us toward hope in the last paragraph of your posting. I myself, sometimes when stressed, I panicked instead of stop, relax and think about how to deal with as you implied in your post. I like the way you incorporated the authors and what leadership lesson we could learn from each of them.
What do you think about system 1 and system 2, how could we incorporate them into our leadership process?
Thanks Noel. There are pros and cons to each System and I think that by understanding these we can learn to leverage their stengths in our leadership, while put in place supports to be mindful fo their trip ups. Awareness is a big key for me AND at the same time I understand that we must follow it up with action too. Somthing Ive been thinking about as it relates to System 1 is how we can turn it into a “hack.” Kahneman talks about this as ” intuitive exepritise” and it’s got me fascinated…
Hi Akwése, Thank you for this post. I have enjoyed reading about your journey. I share your frustrations in not being able to practically use the many things I know about leadership. I constantly have to give this to the Lord, trusting I am in certain seasons for a reason.
When System 1 is running the show in an unhealthy way, what has helped you get out of that automatic, impulsive response? This is something I have been navigating the past year.
Elysse, first off, Im sorry to hear you’ve been navigating the same this year, as it is NOT fun. That said, your line of “I constantly have to give this to the Lord, trusting I am in certain seasons for a reason”, really resonates. This has been one of the biggest supports for me. It doesn’t always happen instantly but eventually, I’ll remind myself that I am learning from this season too and for that I am grateful. At the same time, I feel what is the most frustrating is when I have to engage with the world/others from this space. I mean, if I was just out in my own little bubble, I think it’d be different lol. Noticing how much of my frustration comes from external pressures allows me to also challenge those voices ( I ask myself, “Is this your real belief AK or someone else’s), strengthen my faith ( I ask, “What does God say about me? and do I really believe it”) and then look for support ( I ask myself “what I need to be successful?”) This has been powerful because often I know that where Im at isn’t healthy and I don’t want to stay there. Once I can accept this, let it okay and come out of the ” just try harder” mentality then normally I know what I need. The struggle then becomes sourcing that need because 1) it isnt readily given, or 2) I do not know where to begin looking for it, or 3) Im afraid that if I ask for what I need I’ll be deemed “asking for too much,” “stupid,” or that ill simply be rejected. All that said, what I try to focus on is baby steps in it all. How can I take just one step at a time and make that step VERY small so that I basically set myself up for a win. The tiny win gives me momentum which helps me keep going. I hope there’s something helpful there ❤️
Akwése, I greatly appreciate your post for two reasons. First, it was a great syntopical approach to many of the authors we have read so far in the program. It was helpful to see how you identified themes strung through the various readings. Second, your vulnerability is helpful. Your suggestion that noticing, naming, and accepting is a form of empowerment is a great insight for me. Thank you!
Thanks, Chad, I really appreciate that! This past week was hard, and my mind struggled to compose a post. I was beating myself up for feeling like I wasnt able to write in the way I wanted to but then just said, ” let that be okay Akwese and write whatever comes to mind.” For me it was a lot of different connections that feel they need more unpacking but hey, it’s connections none the less and as you say, a “syntopical approach” at that! Thanks again 🙏🏾