Episode #189: Adrenaline And Leaders

The brain when triggered by fight or flight impulses, releases adrenalin into the larger muscle groups. It also fires up the brain and the mouth, but not always in the right order. Today we look at how to control the chemical surges that can get leaders into serious trouble.

Our cave dwelling ancestor past is still with us today. Rather than sabre tooth tigers though, we are reacting to anyone who argues with us or seeks to deny us what we want. The chemical cocktail in our bodies ignites passion, anger, mouth-before-brain outbursts, cursing, putdowns, sharp rebukes and killer comebacks. Being fleet of foot, our reactions saved us from being lunch for predators, but today that same nifty speed can get us into big trouble with those around us.

Common sense is not common. Crystal clear communication goes unheard. The obvious is not obvious. There are no shortages of things in our leader world, which can set off a chemical chain reaction, pumping adrenalin into us, that we can come to regret. The six-step devastation cycle plays out like this: Event, Interpretation, Emotional Response, Physical Response, Attitude Response and Effect. Event triggers can be mistakes; stupidity; something said, overheard or reported; irritating interactions with others or a business crisis.

Our speed is astounding. We react in a nanosecond, but we regret at leisure. Once the adrenalin kicks in, we are off. So, to maintain control we need to stop the chain reaction before it ignites. You normally imagine that leaders are there because they are in control and can therefore be trusted. Someone who can’t control their own emotions, isn’t usually someone we want running anything, let alone big corporations worth very large sums.

I was amazed to see one of the captains of industry a hostage to his adrenalin. His curriculum vitae was perfect, a prince of the first water. Yet he would explode with instant, white-hot rage when he didn’t get the results he wanted and would viciously tear strips off the offending patsy. I quickly learnt to sit to his right or left at the end of the long meeting room table, where it was hard to be seen by him. I had observed that the poor saps who sat directly opposite him, got it between the eyes, both barrels, every time. I am sure we all have our war stories of demented leaders who couldn’t control their emotions and maybe sometimes, in extremis, we have joined them ourselves.

How do we keep the adrenalin in check, when we are tormented by people who don’t do what they are supposed to do, when they are supposed to do it or how they are supposed to do it? Here are some steps we can take:

1. Recognise it is anger and that it is chemically fuelled. When we know we have set off a chain reaction and the chemicals in the body have now kicked in, we better understand that we have to take action to seize control back from the adrenaline.

2. Suspend judgment, because we may not have enough facts yet. We may have been told a version of events and there may be certain circumstances that would change our view. Before exploding, seek more data and insight – this will also help us to cool down a bit and hopefully not explode.

3. Don’t attack the other person. None of us are perfect, so keep that in mind before we set forth with a sustained tirade about their shortcomings. Remember every person we meet is carrying a heavy load in their lives, which we don’t know about, so who are we to assume we could do any better in their circumstances.

4. Before we launch forth, inject a pause, followed by a cushion. A cushion is a short sentence that acts as an adrenalin breaker to allow us to regain control. We might say something innocuous such as, “Well this issue is an important one”. We neither agree nor disagree when using this statement, but we buy valuable time to remember to ask more about the problem background, rather than immediately verbally lacerating our interlocutor.

5. Walk away. If you feel uncontrollable molten lava about to start erupting out of your mouth, just say “excuse me” and add some physical and temporal distance to enhance your perspective on the lava flow trigger. As ancient wisdom says, when faced with a killer issue, how we react is the real problem we need to solve.