GUEST POST BY Wendy Jenkins OAM, READY RESILIENCE
Ready Resilience helps organisations thrive during times of change and challenge, using practical neuroscience-based resilience tools that have been proven to offer in-the-moment solutions and long-lasting results. Learn actionable tips you can apply right away in Ready Resilience Founder Wendy Jenkins’ articles, written exclusively for the TEMi community.
Unleashing the power of neuroleadership: Perspective
Have you ever considered how much of your leadership success and resilience depends on perception – how you interpret and respond to the situations around you?
Perception is not just about what we see, hear, or feel; it’s how our brain interprets and assigns meaning to those sensory inputs. At the heart of this process is the brain’s predictive nature.
The brain is constantly filtering information through past experiences, biases, and expectations to make sense of the world. This interpretation happens largely in the prefrontal cortex, the area responsible for decision-making and problem-solving.
When we encounter a challenging situation, our brain’s perception system kicks into high gear. It evaluates the situation, assesses potential threats, and predicts outcomes – usually all within milliseconds. How we perceive the situation can either amplify our stress response, or enable us to support our team by remaining calm and resourceful.
Reframing Challenges: When faced with difficulty, neuroleaders usually reframe the situation. For example, instead of seeing failure as a defeat, they view it as an opportunity to learn. Neuroscience shows that reframing activates the prefrontal cortex, reducing activity in the amygdala, the brain’s fear centre, and calming the stress response.
Ask yourself, “What else could this mean?” or “How might this benefit me and my team in the long run?”.
Shifting Attention: Neuroleaders are skilled at focusing on what they can control rather than what they cannot. This shift in attention engages the brain’s executive function, fostering a sense of agency and reducing feelings of helplessness.
Ask yourself, ‘What aspects of this situation are within my control?’ or ‘What small actions can I take to influence a positive outcome?’.
Challenging Cognitive Biases: Our brains are wired with biases that can skew our perception of reality. For instance, the negativity bias makes us focus more on threats than opportunities. Neuroleaders recognise these biases and consciously choosing a more balanced perspective.
Ask yourself, ‘What biases might be influencing how I view this situation?’ or ‘Am I focusing too much on potential threats rather than opportunities?’.
Reflect on a challenging situation you are currently facing and use these questions as a starting point for deeper understanding.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Wendy Jenkins is the founder of Ready Resilience, Co-Founder of the Lungitude Foundation, certified Neuroplastician, Speaker and Lung Transplant Survivor.
Ready Resilience helps organisations thrive during times of change and challenge, using practical neuroscience-based resilience tools that have been proven to offer in-the-moment solutions and long-lasting results.
Having been told she had two years to live over eighteen years ago, Wendy is driven to help people transform their perspective on challenges in life. To find out more visit www.readyresilience.com or connect with Ready Resilience Founder, Wendy Jenkins on LinkedIn.
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