Written by: Sara Hegy, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Dear overworked ambitious leader who is hungry for development, In this enthralling journey through the corridors of your own mind, we continue our exploration of the astounding science behind decision-making. Our aim? To empower you, the driven and ambitious leader, with the knowledge that unveils the immense potential residing within your brain.
The temporal aspects of Judgment, Assumption, and Decision. The brain’s way of thinking is set in an environment that represents their connection to the past, present, and future, respectively.
What makes this series unique is how we examine leadership. As we've been uncovering in this series, leadership isn't just about job titles and managerial roles. It's about how you navigate your life daily, how you mold each thought, action, and emotion into a strategic masterpiece that shapes your world.
You see, leadership isn't as we have been taught, confined to the boardroom or the forefront of a team; it's the continuous process that unfolds in every decision you take, from the moment you rise to greet the day until you lay down to rest, including all the moments that you interact with others around you and with your environment.
In our previous chapters, we delved into the brain's basic process: the art of sensing information, processing it, and producing an output. We explored the brain's innate sensors and met the primary players responsible for weaving the intricate tapestry of decision-making. We also unraveled the brain's secret strategy of prioritization, unveiling how values, goals, emotions, long-term vision, resources, adaptability, and impact assessment shape your choices.
The question now becomes: if the brain’s function through its many players is to make decisions to ensure our success then why do we make the wrong decisions that slow us down, and put us off the track? This article is about to change your whole life as you know it, prepare your powerful eyes, flawless brain processor, and creative imagination, and let’s embark on a new chapter in their series!
Consider this revelation as the turning point in your quest for self-mastery and leadership excellence. Fasten your seatbelt, for we're about to dive headfirst into the fascinating realms of your own cognition.
So far in the simplest form, we got that our brain is a processor that gets its output according to the sensory information it receives. The question is, if our brain is not creating the output we desire then why?
First, you must get an insight that your brain is not inherently flawed in its decision-making capabilities. It's a masterful processor, a flawless machine designed to mirror the input it receives. So let’s test the hypothesis that the source of your challenge lies not in your brain's processing but in the sensory perceptions that shape its input.
To aid you with the necessary tools here, let me tell you what insight means and the dual theory of decision-making.
An insight by definition is an instance of apprehending the true nature of a thing, especially through intuitive understanding, penetrating mental vision or discernment; faculty of seeing into inner character or underlying truth.
So, I can’t give you advice on that! You must read the article, dwell on the examples below, and go out there in your life to reveal that truth for yourself. Which truth am I talking about?
Change what you see and what you see changes, that truth!
2 Modes of decision-making
Consider that your brain is receiving images through your eyes and it decides what to do. To our current knowledge, there are 2 modes of decision-making as proposed by Kahneman and Colleagues.
Intuitive thinking: Think of it as the swift respondent, this mode of thinking is fast, automatic, and operates with minimal conscious effort. It relies on heuristics, mental shortcuts, and pattern recognition. Intuitive thinking is highly efficient for processing vast amounts of information quickly. It is associated with intuition, gut feelings, and immediate reactions.
However, it can also lead to biases and errors when we think about a problem with a prefixed angle.
Deliberative thinking: Think of it as the analytical evaluator, this mode of thinking is slow, analytical, and requires conscious cognitive effort. It involves rational evaluation, logical reasoning, and deliberate decision-making. Deliberative Thinking is responsible for considering complex information, weighing pros and cons, and making well-informed choices. It is often
associated with critical thinking and problem-solving. While Deliberative Thinking is more accurate, it can be mentally taxing and time-consuming when we become too hesitant.
The orchestra of mental processing
3 frames of mental processing are done by your brain:
Judgment (The evaluator persona): This refers to the process of forming an opinion, belief, or evaluation about a particular situation, person, object, or event based on available information or evidence. Judgment is a subjective assessment and it can be positive or negative.
Say you got invited to play tennis and you haven’t played tennis before, so you start playing and based on your experience, your mood, and your personal preferences, you formed a judgment about playing tennis and let’s say you sucked at tennis because, in your experience, you aren’t very masterful in handling a racket.
Assumption (The psychic persona): It’s a belief or statement that is accepted as true or taken for granted without requiring proof or evidence. They are often made when there is a lack of complete information or when making simplifications for practical purposes. Assumptions may or may not be consciously acknowledged by individuals. If the assumption is personified, it’d be a psychic.
Say after tennis, you got invited to play squash and you assumed that because you suck at tennis, you’ll suck at squash. You may have not consciously realized this assumption but, it was there already.
Decision (The action taker persona): It’s a selection made after consideration of available options or alternatives. It involves the mental process that we have been dissecting since the last chapter. A decision also determines the course of action or choice to pursue. Decisions are typically grounded in information, preferences, goals, and priorities.
So if you don’t accept your friend’s invitation to play squash, that’s an active decision you took based on your assumption that you’re not good with handling rackets. Alternatively, you can decide to park your assumption to the side and go try squash anyway, that’s another active decision that you took despite your assumption and judgment about your racket skills.
Each of these decisions has a certain outcome and a consequence that will shape your future. Here it’s your future in sports, so, you may be so attentive but what about the future of your career or projects to develop in your team? Do you now understand that your human development is instrumental to every decision you make within the different areas of your life?
Next on our list, is to examine how we make bad decisions that are not aligned with our vision. To demonstrate the depth of the conversation, I’m going to harness the power of a human belief called: I’m not safe or we are not safe.
A belief is a confidence in the truth or existence of something not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof, conviction, faith, or trust.
An abstract representation of the dynamic alignment and harmony of our beliefs and our actions. When we are thinking and saying disempowering beliefs, the actions that we take become equally disempowering but, we harness the power of our brains to cultivate strong empowering beliefs, harmony, and alignment of powerful actions show up.
The dance between beliefs and actions
If you’ve received the information that touching coral reefs in water harms you (that’s a fact), then you went snorkeling in the sea with islands of coral reef and you forgot your eye goggles (an event that happened), how will you feel? What will your body tell you? What’s your mental state going to be? (how will your brain process this event in light of this fact).
I’ve been there and it hasn’t been fun, I was heavily worried I'd harm myself, what if I cut my skin and there’s a shark around? Especially since the coral reefs have been so shallow underwater and suddenly my brain was a circus of fear with all the images of the shark movies I watched since I was a kid.
We now know from the last article that the brain’s amygdala was taking control of my decision in that instance. My amygdala instructed a. my prefrontal cortex to stop thinking of everything else because I’m not safe and b. my nervous system to react with anxiety and panic to get me out of that place.
If you want to know more about the most common ways in which your nervous system reacts, visit the article here to understand more of the underlying biology of stress and anxiety that is driven by your nervous system’s reactions.
So the question becomes: is it my brain’s fault that I didn’t have fun that day? No, absolutely not! My brain did its job perfectly, it protected me from danger. If I was an experienced diver, would I have dealt with the situation differently? Absolutely!
Why? You can argue that an experienced diver has more knowledge, and more strategies but definitely an experienced diver has a trained mindset, specifically an amygdala that doesn’t say coral reef without goggles = danger.
Do you notice that the brain statement of I’m not safe led me to the decision to withdraw from water? This may not be so critical in the context of my life but what if I’m afraid to speak up to my boss because I don’t feel safe, can you see that the same mechanism will go into play to shape the future of my career?
Understanding the Impact of beliefs and assumptions on societal dynamics and integration challenges
Zooming out to a societal level, beliefs, and assumptions can shape the course of nations.
If you received the information that certain races of people are friendly and other races are evil and bad. Now, picture an immigrant crisis where a country decides to welcome newcomers.
What do you think will happen? How will the original citizens of the country feel? What will they be experiencing when getting in touch with this new blood that they’ve always been informed about in a particular way?
What we fail to grasp most often is that we are in a dynamic dance even when it stops being smooth. There’s always a conversation, a judgment in the background of an assumption that shapes our decisions. And when this is about race, it’s always a two-sided conversation, so the citizens have a conversation from their history about a certain race and the immigrants have another conversation from their history about the other race..
The collision of these beliefs and assumptions sets the stage for individual and collective reactions. What will happen at an individual level to people on either side? Panic and overwhelm. And on a systematic level? Systems will oversaturate fast and start to fail.
People ask what’s wrong with humanity on both sides but, the problem isn’t the brain. The brain is doing its job perfectly because it’s protecting them from this belief that is called: other race is dangerous or we will lose what we have because of them, we are not safe.
There you go, I just shared with you the biggest reasons for immigration crises and failures in integration, and we drilled it down to the conversation that happens on an individual level.
Similarly, this conversation is applied to challenges like the gender gap, performance failures in the workplace, and all other global issues that affect us.
Our challenge as humans has always been in the sensory perceptions and the process of sensory adaptation of our input. If our brain is reading signs in its environment that it’s classifying as dangerous or not belonging to the tribe. As long as it continues to read that, we’re always going to be away from the outcome we desire because our brain will continue to instruct our nervous system to protect us from anything it’s perceiving as a red signal that threatens our survival and existence.
It’s the same at work: you’ll continue to avoid your boss and make them wrong because your brain continues to receive red signals through your senses that scream out that your boss is dangerous and they’re best to avoid.
Now having been informed that our brain does that, how can we move on from that situation?
Do we stop swimming around coral reefs? Do we stop immigration? Do we resign after we discover that our boss is who we judge as a misbehaving boss?
What do you think?
I hope that as I continue delivering this series, you'll start opening your eyes to recognize the profound impact of beliefs and assumptions on our decision-making as leaders. It's through this awareness and education that we can navigate the intricate terrain of human psychology and make choices that lead us toward a future aligned with our vision of growth, empowerment, and self-expression.
Conclusions and key takeaways
Repeat after me! ‘’There’s nothing wrong with my processor, There’s nothing wrong with my processor, There’s nothing wrong with my processor’’
The brain's processing: Your brain is a flawless processor, mirroring input. The key lies in understanding the sensory perceptions shaping that input.
Leadership beyond titles: Leadership transcends job descriptions; it's the art of shaping every moment, every choice. Embrace leadership in every facet of life!
Intuitive vs. deliberative thinking: Recognize the swift respondent (intuition) and analytical evaluator (deliberation) within you. Each has its place in your decision-making playbook.
The trio of mental frames: Judgment, assumption, and decision are the architects of your choices. Be aware of their roles in shaping your future.
The power of beliefs: Beliefs majorly influence actions. Challenge limiting beliefs and open new pathways to growth.
Societal impact: Individual decisions ripple through society. Beliefs and assumptions can either unite or divide nations.
Dynamic dance of decisions: Understand the interplay of judgments and assumptions. It's the backdrop to all your choices.
Sensory adaptation: Recognize when your brain flags danger signals. It's not the brain's fault; it's a survival mechanism.
Moving forward: Don't avoid coral reefs, immigration, or workplace challenges. Instead, equip yourself with awareness to navigate the complexities of human psychology.
Next in our series is an intricate discovery of where in time our mind gets stuck. Why does it do that? How can we help it get unstuck? So stay tuned for our next breathtaking exploration into the depths of the human mind as we continue our journey of self-discovery and leadership development (i.e.. life development).
Should you wish to delve deeper into our leadership services and accelerate your journey to success, book your coaching call with us here.
Sara Hegy, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Sara Hegy is an award-winning scientist and a leadership coach who is dedicated to helping other leaders achieve their full potential while being fulfilled. She grew up in an environment where producing results is a measure of self-worth. Hence, she always struggled to apply self-development teachings until coaching helped her gain clarity on her struggles and gave her tools to overcome them. Through harnessing the power of her mind and taking effective action, she graduated with honors, won a scientific prize, and her findings raised a$2.7 million research grant. She's the founder of her coaching business that globally serves. Her mission: Passionate leaders who create massively and live a life that they love.
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