Careful! Sometimes Instincts Stink

by Scott AiritamPresident, Scott Airitam's Leadership Systems, LLC

I wonder how many of you ever got hurt trying to learn to catch a baseball or softball. Really think back. I can remember taking more than one baseball to the face and head learning to catch a fly ball.  Now, watching little kids learn, I watch coaches get exasperated with those kids whose instincts tell them to turn their back on the ball.  Or, sometimes, run and get the heck out of there!

How many times have we heard that a wild animal (be it dog, bear, or otherwise wild) can smell our fear and the worst thing we can do when confronted by them is run.  But, isn't that exactly what our instincts tell us to do? I mean, crazed dog or giant bear--my brain is saying, "don't walk, RUN!"

Some people can overcome their instincts when the situation calls for it. Others cannot. The problem is that our instincts are not always correct. Yet, our brain is sending signals to our body, in exactly the same way it does when our instincts are correct. And, our body is conditioned to get a message from the brain and go with it.  The difficult part, then, is to keep the logical, rational part of our brain going during these times of perceived "danger."  People old and young, have kept their brain from making them run from softballs and baseballs.  Instead, they raise their hand and catch the ball. There have been many people who, when confronted with animals, don't run, in spite of the fear.  Instead, they calmly execute techniques that save their lives.

So, I'll give you some insight into how this works and how to apply it to your world of work.

Now, it's amazing to me how we can see, in the above examples, that instinct clearly isn't always right.  Nevertheless, we defer to instinct in our Leadership roles at work all the time.  One clear example is in my line of work.  My company is used to seeing organizations that are going through tough times cut back or eliminate training.  

This is instinctual, and bad instincts to be precise.  Think about it.  This represents the type of insticts that will make an organization extinct.

If we just consider clear need, and answer a few questions, we can see the logic behind what I'm saying here.  First of all, when is it that organizations have the higher need to increase productivity...when they are doing well or when they are having troubles?  When is it that organizations have a greater need to improve communication...when they are doing well or when they are in trouble?  When is it that organizations have more of a need to elevate their Leadership abilities...when they are doing well or when they are in trouble?  Arguably, you could answer that the need is there in both cases, but, the questions posed are clearly looking for an answer that talks about a higher need.  With that being said, here's one final question. When is an organization more likely to cut back on training its people...when they are doing well or when they are in trouble?

Instincts will tell us that we need to stop training people and just increase results when things are in trouble. Unfortunately, these instincts are wrong.  If it were that easy to turn the faucet on, why wasn't it done sooner?  Specifically, raising the level of ability, increasing knowledge, and providing additional tools for people can only help a struggling workplace.

When circumstances pin you into the corner, don't turn your back on the ball and don't try to run and hide from your problems, instead, take them head on and make the situation into what you want it to be.  This means anticipating this problem and preparing for how you want to react to it. 

From my perspective, it's frustrating to watch organizations that I've developed a relationship with decide that their investment in their people is not a priority when things become challenging for the organization.  It is difficult to argue against the "we'll just push 'em harder and faster" mentality that organization leaders sometimes move toward during the tough times. The fact is, that approach doesn't work.  Building up the people-side of business does work.

To be clear, I'm not saying that an organization shouldn't weigh its decisions carefully.  Investing in people when times are good is very smart.  When times turn, though, what I'm saying here is that many organizations pull the people-side development down to nothing.  I am saying that although that is what instinct tells us to do, it is not the smartest thing to do.

So, in our example, the counter-instinctual response would be to increase the level of training and development in an effort to counter some of the negative effects of the troubles the organization is dealing with.  During difficult times you have the opportunity to increase the efficiency, productivity, morale, and commitment of your people.  By strengthening your position instead of weakening your position during these tough times, it stands to reason you can improve your chances of coming out of those times in a better position.