The art of managing emotions | Daniel Goleman | WOBI

Summary

The transcript explores the concept of 'flow' as an optimal state for job performance, where individuals excel both in skill and emotional well-being. It emphasizes the role of leadership in facilitating this state through clear goals, immediate feedback, and challenging tasks. The discovery of 'mirror neurons' highlights the social brain's impact on emotional contagion, underscoring the leader's responsibility to positively influence the emotional state of their team and, by extension, the company's image.

Takeaways

• 🔍 Majority of people feel disengaged at work, which suggests a lack of optimal brain state for performance.
• 📈 The optimal state for performance is called 'flow', characterized by high focus, flexibility, and a sense of joy and rapture.
• 🛠 The art of leadership is to help individuals achieve and maintain this 'flow' state for peak performance and well-being.
• 🎯 Clear goals and flexibility in approach are crucial for creating an environment conducive to flow.
• 🔁 Immediate feedback is essential for individuals to gauge their progress and adjust their efforts accordingly.
• 💪 Challenging tasks that stretch an individual's skill set are vital for maintaining engagement and promoting growth.
• 🧠 The 'social brain' concept highlights the importance of brain-to-brain interactions and the influence of mirror neurons in empathy and emotional contagion.
• 🤝 Mirror neurons allow us to sense and match the emotions and intentions of others, which is fundamental for smooth social interactions.
• 🌐 Emotions are contagious, and leaders, being the most influential figures, can significantly impact the emotional state of their team.
• 🏢 The emotional state of customer-facing employees directly affects how customers perceive the company.
• 🗣️ Leaders have a 'secret weapon' in their ability to harness the social brain to improve team performance and company image.

Q & A

What is the common issue with people's feelings towards their job according to the transcript?

A large proportion of people feel disengaged at work, treating it as merely a job they do just enough to keep.

What is the role of cortisol in the context of job performance mentioned in the script?

Cortisol levels are an indicator of a person's brain state at work. Too little cortisol suggests a lack of engagement, while too much can lead to feelings of being overwhelmed and a drop in performance.

What is the optimal state for job performance and why is it significant?

The optimal state for performance is called 'flow.' It is significant because it is the state where people perform and feel their best, leading to the best return on investment for both the individual and the company.

How did researchers discover the concept of 'flow'?

Researchers discovered 'flow' by asking a diverse group of people, including ballerinas, basketball players, chess champions, surgeons, and business people, about a time when they outdid themselves and were surprised by their own performance.

What are the characteristics of the 'flow' state as described in the script?

The 'flow' state is characterized by unperturbed attention, flexibility, adaptability, skills being challenged to their highest level, and a feeling of great joy or rapture.

What are some tips provided in the script to create a 'flow' state?

Tips to create 'flow' include having clear goals, immediate feedback, challenging assignments that grow a person's skill set, and matching people's abilities with the tasks given to them.

What is the 'social brain' and how does it relate to leadership?

The 'social brain' refers to the recent discovery of brain circuits that facilitate interaction between two people, including mirror neurons. It is relevant to leadership because leaders can use this understanding to skillfully manage the emotional states of their team members and clients.

What are mirror neurons and how were they discovered?

Mirror neurons are brain cells that fire both when we perform an action and when we observe someone else performing the same action. They were discovered by scientists in Italy while studying a monkey's brain, noticing a neuron that fired when the monkey raised its arm and also when it observed a human raising a gelato.

Why are emotions considered contagious according to the script?

Emotions are considered contagious because of the presence of mirror neurons, which create a brain-to-brain bridge that senses and matches the emotions and intentions of others.

What is the special condition or caveat for leaders regarding the 'social brain'?

The special condition for leaders is that people tend to pay more attention to and be influenced more by the most powerful person in the group. Therefore, leaders have a significant impact on the emotional state of their team and clients.

How does the emotional state of the interface between a company and its customers affect the company's perception?

The emotional state of the individuals at the interface of a company and its customers directly affects how the customers feel about the company, as their feelings at that moment are a reflection of their perception of the company as a whole.

Outlines

00:00

🧠 The Art of Leadership and the Flow State

This paragraph discusses the importance of engagement in the workplace and the concept of the 'flow state'. It suggests that many people feel disengaged at work, which can be attributed to a lack of optimal brain chemistry, specifically cortisol levels. The speaker explains that as individuals become more motivated and engaged, they move towards an optimal performance zone. However, too much pressure without adequate support can lead to a decline in performance. The 'flow state' is described as an optimal internal state for peak performance, characterized by intense focus, adaptability, skill challenge, and a sense of joy. The paragraph concludes with tips on creating flow, such as setting clear goals, providing immediate feedback, and matching tasks with individuals' abilities. It also introduces the concept of the 'social brain' as a tool for leaders to help their teams achieve flow.

05:01

🤝 The Power of Mirror Neurons and Emotional Contagion

The second paragraph delves into the discovery of mirror neurons, which are neural cells that activate both when we perform an action and when we observe someone else performing the same action. This discovery was made by observing the brain activity of a monkey, where a specific neuron fired not only when the monkey moved its arm but also when it observed a human raising an ice cream. The paragraph explains that mirror neurons create a 'brain-to-brain bridge' that allows us to sense others' movements, emotions, and intentions, contributing to the phenomenon of emotional contagion. It emphasizes the importance of leaders being aware of their influence on the emotional state of their team and the company's image, as they are often the most powerful figures in the group dynamics. The leader's emotional state can significantly impact the overall mood and performance of the team and the company's customer interactions.

Keywords

💡Disengagement

Disengagement refers to a state of being uninterested or emotionally detached from one's job. In the context of the video, it is described as a common feeling among a large proportion of people, indicating a lack of motivation and a 'just enough to keep the job' attitude. This is linked to the concept of cortisol levels and brain state, suggesting that disengagement may be a sign of being in the wrong mental state for optimal work performance.

💡Cortisol

Cortisol is a hormone associated with the body's response to stress. The video script mentions it as an indicator of a person's mental state at work. Too little cortisol is associated with disengagement, while the optimal level helps individuals stay in an engaged and motivated state, which is essential for peak performance.

💡Optimal Zone

The optimal zone is a term used in the script to describe the ideal mental and emotional state for an individual to perform at their best. It is characterized by motivation, interest, and engagement, which are all elements that contribute to a person's ability to achieve their peak performance at work.

💡Overwhelm

Overwhelm is the feeling of being excessively burdened or stressed to the point where performance begins to suffer. In the video, it is mentioned as a result of too much pressure, too little support, or too many tasks, which can push individuals beyond their optimal state and into a negative mental state that hinders performance.

💡Leadership

Leadership, as discussed in the video, is the art of guiding individuals to achieve and maintain an optimal state for performance. It involves understanding the needs of the team and providing the right balance of challenge and support to keep them engaged and performing at their best.

💡Flow

Flow is a psychological term introduced in the script to describe the state of complete immersion in an activity, where individuals are fully engaged and performing at their highest level. It is characterized by intense focus, flexibility, and a sense of joy. The video emphasizes the importance of leaders helping their team members achieve this state for optimal performance.

💡Clear Goals

Clear goals are mentioned in the script as a crucial element for creating flow. They provide a sense of direction and purpose, which is essential for individuals to know what they are working towards and how to achieve it. The script suggests that clarity in goals, combined with flexibility in approach, can help individuals stay in the flow state.

💡Immediate Feedback

Immediate feedback is highlighted in the video as a key component for maintaining flow. It allows individuals to assess their performance in real-time, adjust their approach, and move closer to their goals. This continuous feedback loop is vital for staying engaged and improving performance.

💡Challenge and Growth

Challenge and growth refer to the concept of providing tasks that stretch an individual's skills and abilities. The script emphasizes the importance of matching tasks to a person's skill set to avoid disengagement and to promote growth, which is a critical aspect of achieving and maintaining flow.

💡Social Brain

The social brain is a recent discovery in neuroscience that refers to the brain's capacity to interact and empathize with others. The script discusses how the social brain, through mirror neurons, allows for a silent brain-to-brain conversation that influences emotions and interactions. This concept is particularly relevant for leaders, as it suggests that their emotional state can significantly impact the performance and emotions of their team members.

💡Mirror Neurons

Mirror neurons are a specific type of neuron that fires both when an individual performs an action and when they observe someone else performing the same action. The script explains that these neurons create a 'brain-to-brain bridge' that is essential for understanding and empathy. They are a key part of the social brain concept and play a crucial role in emotional contagion and social interaction.

Highlights

A large proportion of people feel disengaged at work, which is linked to a lack of optimal cortisol levels.

Leadership is about helping individuals find and maintain an optimal state for performance, which is neurologically beneficial.

The optimal state for performance is known as 'flow', characterized by high focus, flexibility, and skill challenge.

Flow was discovered through asking people about times when they performed exceptionally well.

Flow state is associated with feelings of rapture, bliss, and joy.

Smart leaders can facilitate flow states in their teams for optimal performance and well-being.

Creating flow involves clear goals, flexibility, immediate feedback, and challenging assignments.

Matching a person's abilities with tasks is crucial to avoid disengagement and to promote flow.

The social brain discovery highlights the importance of brain-to-brain interaction and the influence of mirror neurons.

Mirror neurons allow us to sense and match the emotions and intentions of others, affecting how we interact.

Emotions are contagious due to the mirror neuron system, impacting group dynamics and leadership.

Leaders have a significant impact on the emotional state of their followers, which in turn affects the company's perception.

The emotional state of customer-facing employees is critical to the customer's perception of the company.

Managing the emotional state of employees is essential for positive customer interactions and company image.

Leaders must use their 'secret weapon' of social brain skills to enhance performance and emotional well-being.

Understanding and applying the principles of flow and the social brain can transform leadership and organizational success.

Transcripts

if you ask people honestly about how

they feel about their job a very large

proportion are disengaged it's just a

job I just do enough to keep it that's

that statement is a rough index of a

person having too little cortisol

they're in the wrong brain state at work

as you get such people more motivated

more interested more engaged they rise

up this arc toward the optimal zone

however if you give them too much

pressure too little support too little

time too little staff too much to do

they start to feel overwhelmed and they

keep going to the right and performance

suffers so the art of leadership is to

help people get and stay in the optimal

state for performance that is how you

get your best return on investment from

a salary and from a neurological point

of view this means helping people get

and stay in the best internal state the

best state of their brain this optimal

state is called flow flow was discovered

by researchers who asked one simple

question of a huge variety of people the

question was tell me about a time when

you outdid yourself even you were

surprised too how well you did and they

asked ballerinas and basketball players

and chess champions and Surgeons

business people all kinds of people and

what they discovered was that it didn't

matter what domain of skill they were

involved in everyone who was outstanding

at that moment was in the eye

internal state and that state is

characterized by several things one is

unperturbed well attention their focus

is 200 percent another element is that

you're completely flexible and adaptable

whatever comes up you can handle it

another is that your skills are

challenged to their highest level

sometimes a little beyond another a very

important element is it feels great you

get a kind of a rapture or bliss there's

a joy in being in a flow state so the

state where people are performing at

their best is also a state where they

feel at their best and a smart leader an

effective leader an emotionally

intelligent leader can help people get

and stay in that state here's some tips

how to create flow one is clear goals

clarity about what to do what the goal

is

but flexibility and how to do it the

second is immediate feedback it helps to

know how you're doing helps to know if

you're getting closer to the goal the

third is to challenge and grow that

person's skill set give them an

assignment that stretches them and more

fundamentally to match people's

abilities with the tasks you give them

you don't want someone highly talented

to be doing something that's boring for

them then they're disengaged you don't

want someone to be in the wrong domain

of skill so the leaders task from this

point of view is to help people get and

stay in flow and how are you going to do

that well those were some ways but you

also have kind of a secret weapon

and that has to do with a new discovery

it's called the social brain this

discovery came in last five or ten years

when brain scientists stopped studying

one brain in one body and one person and

started studying two brains in two

bodies and two people while they

interacted and it turned out that there

were entire circuits of the brain that

hadn't been discovered before because

they'd never looked this way and these

circuits are designed to like a neural

radar to sense what's going on in the

other person's brain and to lock in to

that and to have a silent brain to brain

conversation no matter what else is

going on these were discovered in a very

intriguing way the big discovery is

called mirror neurons now that's what

that's the radar mirror neurons were

discovered when some scientists in Italy

were studying the brain of a monkey and

they were looking at the part of the

brain that moves the body and they're

studying just one cell at a time one day

or they were looking at a brain cell but

only fired it was only active when the

monkey raised its arm it's the only time

then one day the cells started firing

and the monkey wasn't moving they're

completely puzzled what's going on then

they realized it was a hot day a lab

assistant had gone out for a gelato he

was standing in front of the monkey and

every time the lab assistant raised the

gelato the monkey's brain cell for the

same activity fired that was the

discovery of something that happens in

us all the time whenever were with

another person it turns out we have

cells in our brain that are matching

precisely what's going on in the other

person this is essential

it gives us an immediate unconscious

sense of what's going on what are we

doing

it keeps the interaction running

smoothly so the mirror neuron creates a

brain to brain bridge that senses

movement emotion intention it's why

emotions are contagious it had been

known for several years in psychology

decades actually that if you take two

strangers have them come into a lab fill

out a little checklist how are you

feeling right now and then sit looking

at each other in silence for two minutes

and then fill out that same checklist

the person in that pair whose most

expressive transfers their emotional

state to the other person in two silent

minutes we never knew how we never knew

why but now we understand the emotions

are contagious we're constantly sending

and receiving them but there's a special

condition a special caveat for leaders

because it's human nature that people

pay most attention to and put most

importance on what the most powerful

person in that group says and does the

leader is the sender for better or for

worse so when I say you have a secret

weapon to help people get into that

better state for performance I'm talking

about using the social brain skillfully

what does that look like the key point

for any company is that whoever in your

company is at the interface of your

customers or clients

makes them feel better or worse and how

they feel at that moment is not how they

feel about that guy or that woman

it's how they feel about your company so

managing the emotional state of people

is extremely important from the highest

level to the outer fringe where your

company contacts your customers