Handbook of Personal and Organizational Transformation

338 Pages·2016·2.53 MB·English

by  Judi Neal (eds.)

Leadership Convergence: The Dawn
of Practical Wisdom
Marcos Cajina Heinzkill
Abstract
Technological savvy people know that to get the most out of the latest software
program, it is necessary to have the appropriate hardware architecture with which
to maximize its use. Simply put, the effectiveness of the most robust software
without the adequate hardware is disappointing.
Equally, leaders who solely focus on developing leadership competencies
without upgrading their thinking will fail to adapt to the rapidly changing
business environment. Upgrading thinking means that leaders can no longer
rely on logic alone to resolve the current complex systemic problems organiza-
tions face. Logic alone will not help humanity survive the current planetary
voracious exploitation.
The chapter suggests there is a scientific approach that enhances the interplay
of three human primary neural biological centers (i.e., cerebral, cardiac, and
enteric), resulting in an improved neural congruence and a state of coherence. It
is from this state of coherence that the highest practical expressions of creativity,
compassion, and courage in leadership emerge and give access to a source of
wisdom that logic alone cannot apprehend (Soosalu and Oka 2012).
Leaders who simultaneously practice multibrain leadership and improve lead-
ership competency converge the inner and outer dimensions of leadership into a
single powerful beam of light. I theorize such convergent leaders can create in
organizations a global coherent positive environment where teams – with the aid
of greater than human intelligent machines – provide solutions to what today
seems unsolvable problems.
M.C. Heinzkill (*)
Renewal Company, Madrid, Spain
e-mail:
2 M.C. Heinzkill
Keywords
Amygdala • Altruism • Cardiac • Coherence • Convergence • Creativity • Com-
passion • Courage • Empathy • Enteric • Prosocial • Wisdom
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Are We Doomed? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Convergent Leaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Developing a Higher Consciousness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Developing Inner Coherence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Breathing Still to Facilitate Inner Coherence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Leading also with the Intelligence of the Heart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Leading with Gut Intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Leading with Practical Wisdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Cross-References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Introduction
The size and complexity of the current climate global challenge, the acceleration of
scientific paradigm shifts, and the creation of greater-than-human intelligence
machines (Kurzweil 2005) will irredeemably change the way we understand
leadership.
Executives who resist investing time and energy in growing as leaders will
inexorably career derail. Understandably, many managers so immersed in the diffi-
culties of delivering in a volatile market environment and caught in the intricate web
of details of corporate policies, lose sight of the long-term implications of their jobs
and fall into a state of business pessimism (Kurzweil 2005). Furthermore, many
employees working under alarming pressure opt to disengage or actively disengage
trying to appease their intense experience of distress, survival, and victimhood
(Crabtree 2013). These might be signs of profound business change, individual
transition, and societal transformation.
The challenges leaders face seem to be more similar than different (Gentry et al.
2013). It is deceitful, however, to see such challenges, even if they are directly in
front of us to the point that many experts consider leadership is going through a crisis
(World Economic Forum 2015). The difficulty is that people “view the new through
old lens” (Oshry 2007, p. 106), or expect change to be “much like the present”
(Kurzweil 2005, p. 10). As a result, executives remain blind to the new possibilities
(Black and Gregersen 2008). Employees see their part of the system but not the
whole (Oshry 2007), they feel what happens to them but do not understand how their
behavior impacts others. Many cynically do not accept how they are part of the
problem (Diamandis and Kotler 2015) but blame others for the problems they suffer.
In the light of the above, some experts might misdiagnose the current situation
hoping that playing with the organizational chart or trying to fix, replace, repress, or
Leadership Convergence: The Dawn of Practical Wisdom 3
dismiss talented people will release organizations from the urge to transform.
Similarly, many individuals entrench and hide in the sense of collectivity that defines
and imposes a dominant line of thought that makes them feel secure and safe. As a
consequence, senior executives feel “over their heads” (Kegan 1994; Anderson and
Adams 2016), the workforce feels oppressed, and the middle managers are torn apart
by the opposing forces of directors and employees (Oshry 2007). Employee engage-
ment declines (Crabtree 2013) and extraordinary business results no longer impress
dissatisfied customers.
Some executives try to release their agony by putting other people under constant
pressure. Too much pressure only makes things worse as shown in Fig. 1.
Unperceptibly, leaders might be deteriorating performance instead of building the
necessary capacity to survive the white waters of turbulent times.
Are We Doomed?
Dr. Albert Einstein is believed to have said: “Two things are infinite: the universe and
human stupidity; and I am not sure about the universe.” (Good Reads 2016).
Some scholars have contended that intelligent people can act stupidly when
interacting with other people (Cippola 1991, 1988; Oshry 2007). Moreover, humans
show at times severe lack of empathy (Rifkin 2009) and display a lack of emotional
intelligence when most in need (Goleman et al. 2002). Many people focus on tribal
expansionism instead of developing human system literacy (Logan et al. 2009),
creating highly toxic environments (Frost 2003). In such toxic environments, it is
Building Capacity
• Strength
• Endurance
• Flexibility
• Resilience
Downslope
• loss of perception
• loss of self-esteem
• impaired relationships
• non-specific ill-health
Pressure
Fig. 1 Pressure and Performance. Source: Watkins, A. (2016). 4D Leadership: Competitive
Advantage Through Vertical Leadership Development, Fig. 3.4, UK: Hogan Page Limited, p. 88.
Reproduced with permission of Complete Coherence Limited. http://www.koganpage.com/product/
4d-leadership-9780749474645
Performance
4 M.C. Heinzkill
tough to show conversational literacy (Glaser 2014) to align efforts and experience
high-quality interpersonal connections (Dutton 2003).
Many analysts would argue that there is something fundamentally wrong in the
way executives operate. Also, many consultants would contend that it is the manager
who creates the uplifting or toxic business environments within which they operate.
Interestingly, few accept the fact that ultimately – if they are not mindful – it is the
environment they have created that controls their behavior. Put differently, it is
common to underestimate the influence environment has on our behavior: “our
environment is a nonstop triggering mechanism whose impact on our behavior is
too significant to be ignored” (Goldsmith 2016, p. 27). If we accept that the
environment is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous, it is reasonable to
agree with Professor Manfred Ket de Vries (2005) from INSEAD business school
who posited, “there is relentless pressure on executives to transform their way of
thinking to accommodate present-day realities while achieving stellar bottom-line
results” (p. 4).
Is then transformation a matter of competency or consciousness?
Consider for a moment letting go of the dependency on just cognitive-based
rational logic to solve problems and the impact including the heart-based and
intuitive gut-based ways of knowing – that constitute the inner systemic neural
network that all humans possess – to your decision-making process. You might
experience that what seemed impossible to resolve at a certain level of intelligence
suddenly becomes evident at a higher level of knowledge. As Eliezer Yudrowsky
published in 1996 in his work Staring into the Singularity: “Move a substantial
degree upwards, and all of them will become obvious” (as cited in Kurzweil 2005,
p. 35). Leaders who activate and integrate the three largest neural networks (i.e., the
cognitive, cardiac, and enteric) are accessing a higher level of consciousness from
which to solve pressing problems.
Convergent Leaders
Historians seem to agree that a turning point in western human evolution happened
with the famous dictum: cogito ergo sum - – “I think. Therefore, I am” of René
Descartes, who “promulgated and defended the idea that the human body functions
like all other bodies in nature according to mechanical principles” (Lynch 1938,
1985, p. 6). The separation of the body from the soul gave birth to modern science.
This paradigm shift seriously questioned the official way of looking at things and
gave birth to a new way of looking at data with which to deal more efficiently with
reality. However, the separation of soul and body might have contributed to
thwarting the desire of scientists to engage in heart-based dialogue instead of
head-based analysis alone delaying the experimentation of the language of the
heart until the findings of James Lynch saw the light in 1985. Suffice to mention
the extraordinary connection between human communication and the cardiovascular
system Lynch (1938, 1985) researched: “as soon as begins to speak, one’s blood
pressure increases significantly, one’s heart beats faster and harder, and microscopic
Leadership Convergence: The Dawn of Practical Wisdom 5
blood vessels in distant parts of the body change as well. Conversely, when one
listens to others speak or truly attends to the external environment in a relaxed
manner, then blood pressure usually falls, and heart rate slows, frequently below its
normal resting levels” (p. 5). Moreover, Lynch posited that humans are interrelated
and the separation of mind and body is the cause of suffering: “a major source of
stress arises from a breakdown in dialogue and a blindness to the links between
human communication and bodily functions: that is, when one is emotionally
isolated” (p. 13). Even today, the ideas of Descartes are omnipresent in our way of
thinking to the point that influential scientist and luminaries continue to treat the
body as a purely mechanical entity, leaving to the spiritual traditions and religions
the responsibility to deal with the mysteries of the soul.
Conversely, in the business environment, the predominance of the head neural
center over the cardiac and enteric neural networks has permeated our understanding
of leadership. It is reasonable to argue that business is run – predominantly – from
the head cognitive neural network. Furthermore, executives with a high intelligent
quotient are more likely to promote to higher ranks than those with high emotional
quotient. It is from this watchtower that high-powered cognitive leaders regard
compassion as a softening competency to avoid. Also, courage is often mistaken
with cruelty and seldom included in recruitment profiles sent to headhunting firms.
Notice that I have written head hunting companies. No trace of the heart here!
As advanced, a convergent leader integrates the cognitive (i.e., head), cardiac
(i.e., heart), and enteric (i.e., gut) neural centers to more effectively lead. Multibrain
leadership results in the practical use of wisdom. A convergent leader understands
the need to meld leadership growth(Watkins 2014, 2016) with leadership compe-
tency development(Lombardo and Eichinger 2009). These methods result in expo-
nential leadership effectiveness improvement and breakthrough business
performance as posited by researchers Robert Anderson and William Adams
(2016) in their pioneering work Mastering Leadership: An Integrated Framework
for Breakthrough Performance and Extraordinary Business Results. In their
research, authors tied leadership competencies to levels of leadership maturity
resulting in a practical roadmap that allows executives grow and increase business
performance. According to Anderson and Adams (2016), a more mature leader will
strive to develop the ability to relate, improve self-awareness, strengthen authentic-
ity, deploy systemic awareness, and reinforce the focus on achieving results. Such
leader embodies the vision and necessary courage to engage in intelligent conver-
sations that promote better team alignment.
I propose that converging leaders are better equipped to deal with the present
challenges humanity faces, as these leaders focus simultaneously on maximizing
profits (head-creativity), improving the well-being of people (heart-compassion),
and ensuring the sustainability of the planet (gut-courage).
In my view, a convergent leader is naturally empathetic (Rifkin 2009; De Waal
2009), compassionate (Lilius et al. 2005), altruistic (Ricard 2015); courageous
(Anderson and Adams 2016), creative, and innovative (Dyer et al. 2011). A conver-
gent leader is at his/her “highest expression” (Soosalu and Oka 2012) when deeply
congruent within. Congruent means that the three neural centers of the head, the
6 M.C. Heinzkill
heart, and the gut are working together. Notwithstanding, Robert Anderson and
William Adams (2016) defended: “it is the inner game that runs the outer game”
(p. 250).
The above is not a new idea. From ancient times, the education of scholars and
sages included the development of consciousness and competency (Yogananda
2004). It is only recently that the need to develop both awareness and skill has
strongly echoed (Anderson and Adams 2016; Watkins 2014, 2016).
Great companies are investing in developing multibrain leaders who can deal
with systemic complex contexts. Such leaders demonstrate not only competency but
a strong character (Dotlich et al. 2006) to the point of leading organizations that
endears customers.
Developing a Higher Consciousness
In the World Forum of Spiritual Culture held in 2010 in Astana, Kazakhstan, it was
said: “In a world whose pace and complexity is ever increasing, where we face more
and more personal and social challenges, there is a call for lifting individual and
global consciousness. People want to make more intelligent choices, so daily life is
more tenable, personal and global relationships are stronger and more meaningful,
and the future of our planet is assured”(Nelson, as cited in McCraty, 2015, p. 45).
There is an ample debate about what constitutes an effective leader. Leaders
around the world with whom I have had the privilege to engage in strategic
conversations seem to agree that an effective leader is a purpose-driven executive
who translates ideas into a compelling vision, and articulates a strategy that allows
managers decide how to ensure flawless execution. Furthermore, effective leaders
seem to be systemic, display conversational intelligence, and are cognizant of how to
build high-quality connections. Finally, moving away from an auto-pilot reactive
behavior, effective leaders walk the talk, and transition to higher level of conscious-
ness from which to overcome the pull of unreflected beliefs that ignite the fear to
change. Clearly, not for the faint of heart!
The fast pace of change organizations and leaders experience requires learning
agility. Again, Anderson and Adams (2016) come to our rescue with what they have
coined The Leadership Imperative and explained: “The development of leadership
effectiveness must, at a minimum, keep pace with the rate of change and the rate of
escalating complexity” (p. 42). The consequences of The Leadership Imperative are
that developing effective individual mind-framesand collective intelligence is a
business imperative, a priority strategy for leaders to help organizations efficiently
adapt to the complex challenges they face. It is important to notice that: “The
organization will not perform at a higher level than the consciousness of its leader-
ship” (p. 43).
Regrettably for some, reaching a higher standard of neural integration requires the
courage to let go of safety: “There is no safe way to be great. Moreover, there is no
great way to be safe. Transformation requires courage” (Anderson and Adams 2016,
p. 164). Notwithstanding, courage seems to be a characteristic of the enteric neural
Leadership Convergence: The Dawn of Practical Wisdom 7
network and has an intelligence of its own that helps us make sound decisions
(Soosalu and Oka 2012).
The Universal Model of Leadership proposed by Anderson and Adams (2016)
emphasized three core types: (a) the Heart or Relational, (b) the Will or Achiever,
and (c) the Head or Awareness and Authenticity evolving sequentially through
different stages of leadership maturity. The focus is not: “asking leaders to change
their type-their core nature-it encourages leaders to evolve that essential nature into
higher-order Structures of Mind” (capitals in original, p. 229). Consequently, the
vertical development proposition highlights the need to include and transcend
liabilities going against the popular approach of just leveraging strengths: “It does
not ask managers to become different, but to develop their strengths to higher levels
of maturity and mastery. It does not ignore weaknesses but works with them to foster
deeper insight” (p. 228), “with each evolution of the Structure of the Mind, leaders
leverage their core strengths and gifts while jettisoning the liabilities of the earlier
Structure of Mind. In so doing, they become more effective even as life gets more
complex” (capitals in original, p. 229).
In adult development literature, some researchers have named the transitioning
from one level of maturity to the next higher level vertical development (Petrie 2014;
Watkins 2014, 2016).
Developing Inner Coherence
Coherence is a state of functioning in which the different human systems (i.e.,
nervous, hormonal, and immune) are working in synchronization and balance.
®
There is extensive scientific research conducted by the HeartMath Institute that
demonstrates how performance varies according to the predominance of sympathetic
or parasympathetic autonomic nervous system compared to when the autonomic
nervous system is in homeostasis or balanced. The term homeostasis was coined by
Dr. Walter Cannon in 1929 in his book Bodily Changes in Pain, Hunger, Fear, and
Rage.
What sages knew intuitively modern science is now validating: “psychophysio-
logical coherence is characterized by heart rhythm coherence, increased heart-brain
synchronization and entrainment of diverse physiological oscillatory systems, is
associated with increased emotional stability, improved cognitive performance,
and a range of positive health-related outcomes” (Childre and McCraty 2002,
p. 13). Individuals can readily learn how to self-regulate to produce more active
self-induced healthy states: “using heart rhythm coherence feedback training,
individuals can readily learn to self-generate the coherent mode and sustain
genuine positive emotional states at will, thus establishing an internal environ-
ment that is conducive to fostering spiritual experience” (Childre and McCraty
2002, p. 13).
While it is true that specific breathing rhythms enhance coherence for short
periods of time, the importance of inner harmony in positively impacting social
coherence can be easily understated: “harmony along the walls of one’s social
8 M.C. Heinzkill
membrane is dependent on one’s internal harmony, and vice-versa” (Lynch 1985,
p. 201).
There is sound research available today that demonstrates the variation of blood
pressure when breathing coherently (Elliot and Edmonson 2008) and how individual
internal coherence speculates social coherence (Childre et al. 2016). It is reasonable
to believe that the need to collaborate in business depends not only on the desire to
debate ideas but on the individual ability to create internal coherent states that
contribute to the creation of an external global coherence environment from which
to hold heart-head-gut-based dialogues.
In the light of the above, it is reasonable to deduct that a discrepant innerhuman
system can only promote the forming of external toxic environments that severely
deteriorate team performance and individual well-being.
Breathing Still to Facilitate Inner Coherence
While executives perform under increasing pressure, not many invest any time
learning to breathe still.
What do I mean by breathing still? Recent research leads to believe that people
can easily learn how to self-regulate the emotional state. People can also create an
efficient positive inner environment via coherent breathing that creates heart rhythms
that directly enhances physical and mental performance (Elliot and Edmonson 2008;
Childre et al. 2016).
Coherent Breathing is as easy as keeping an equal rhythmic breathing pattern
when inhaling and exhaling. There is no need to retain the breath or forcing yourself
into this pattern. With practice you can enhance the experience of coherence by
placing your attention around the heart area and generating a positive feeling.
Alternatively, some people use kinaesthetic and touch their chest on the heart area.
SCPosing is a free phone application designed to experience a more calmed state in
just 2 minutes. Enter i-Tunes or Google store to download the “SCPosing” app
for free.
The importance of taking responsibility for our internal environment derives from
the thought: “Every individual’s energy affects the collective field environment”
(Childre et al. 2016, p. 127). The idea of resonance and resonant leadership
(Boyatzis et al. 2006) builds upon the notion that within a group the emotions and
intentions of each person “feed the field” (Childre et al. 2016, p. 127). This energetic
feeding has either an elevating or detrimental effect on teams and executives
(Vianello et al. 2010). The positive or negative vibratory field created by individuals
within an organization may thwart the best intentions of driving a company toward a
culture of love (Fernández-Aráoz 2014). In other words, each one of us is respon-
sible for allowing our moods, sentiments, feelings, and physiology to determine the
quality of our thoughts and the effectiveness of our behavior. A convergent leader
consciously chooses to increase its vibratory tone and coherence state to positively
impact leadership and lead from a higher order from which to deliver breakthrough
business performance.
Leadership Convergence: The Dawn of Practical Wisdom 9
Achieving a higher vibratory frequency can be attained through the practice
of coherent breathing (Childre et al. 2016; Elliot and Edmonson 2008) and
developing the power of stillness as spiritual lighthouses Thich Nhat Hanh
and Eckhart Tolle suggest.
®
Coherent Breathing was introduced in 2005 as a formal method for cultivat-
ing psychophysiological balance. Since then, there is a much better understanding
of the physiology of breathing and the importance of regulating the nervous
system in reaching high performance. The central nervous system consists of
the autonomic nervous system (ANS) that regulates automatic bodily functions
(e.g., digestion, hormonal, immune systems) and the somatic nervous system
that is attributed to be more consciously controlled. At the same time, the
automatic nervous system (ANS) is subdivided between a sympathetic branch
and a parasympathetic brand, the former being responsible for activating the fight
and flight response to external stimuli and the latter for deactivating body
processes and nervous influences to soothe and recharge. When the nervous
system is in equilibrium “equal sympathetic and parasympathetic emphasis”
(Elliot and Edmonson 2008, p. 15), the body reaches a state of equilibrium or
homeostasis-facilitating performance.
The average breathing frequency in a healthy adult is 17–19 respirations per
minute, whereas the optimal breathing rate is between five to six breaths per minute
(Elliot and Edmonson 2008). According to researchers Stephen Elliot and Dee
Edmonson (2008): “a growing body of evidence suggests that many modern ills
are rooted in autonomic nervous system imbalance, specifically, sympathetic over-
emphasis and parasympathetic under-emphasis. There is high correlation between
excessive sympathetic activity and anxiety, depression, attentional disorder, chronic
muscle tension, sleep dysfunction, and hypertension” (p. 24). To this end, Coherent
®
Breathing is “both simple and complex to practice” (p. 36).
In essence, it involves “conscious breathing at the nominal frequency of 5 breaths
per minute with conscious relaxation” (p. 37); that is, a 6-s inhalation cycle followed
by a 6-s exhalation cycle followed by a strong intention to relax: “we must first
breathe slowly and deeply, then begin relaxing” (p. 40).
Leading also with the Intelligence of the Heart
It was Dr. James Armour who introduced the term, “heart brain,” in 1991 by
showing the complex nervous system the heart has that qualified as a little brain.
Since then, there is growing pioneering scientific research around the intelligence
of the heart – beyond the typical view of the heart being a pumping blood organ –
its impact in heart-head communication, how positive emotions like love,
caring, and compassion activate a state of coherence (McCraty 2015). Ancient
philosopher, Blaise Pascal, asserted in his Penseés: “The heart has its reasons
that reason knows not of. . . Do you love by reason?” (Pascal, as cited in Lynch,
1985, p. 29).
10 M.C. Heinzkill
When the heart, head, emotions, and physiology interact in a balanced manner,
they are in “heart coherence” (Childre et al. 2016, italics in original, p. 67). An
increase in internal coherence facilitates the access to intuitive intelligence (McCraty
et al. 2004a, 2004b), where the breathing rhythm and heart beat seem to resonate at
the same frequency (Childre et al. 2016). Research also suggests that the state of our
internal physiology determine the quality, amplitude, intensity, and stability of the
feeling of our emotions and how these affect our behavior and performance as Fig. 2
suggests (Watkins 2014, 2016).
It seems that our inner state of coherence touches others and affects their internal
state of others making it possible for emotional contagion and resonant interaction or
“social coherence” to occur (Childre et al. 2016, italics in original, p. 71). Therefore,
our inner state contributes to creating a positive environment or a toxic environment
where negative emotions and stress are multiplied by the interaction of incoherent
people working together. As a consequence, executives feel the suffering associated
with working in such toxic environments and want to alleviate its pernicious effects
by building resilience and intelligently managing their energy.
There is a desperate need to offset the devastating consequences of escalating
stress (McCraty et al. 2003) has on current employee high disengagement indexes
(Crabtree 2013).
Healing the negative impact a toxic working environment has on individuals is
not so easily done as Dr. Gantt demonstrated around the 1960s when he discovered
how long it took for the autonomic nervous system for a dog to recover from extinct
conditioned reflexes applied by electrical shocks in the forepaw of a dog. Petting the
dog was the fastest way to abolish both the conditioned and unconditioned cardiac
reflexes to electric shock. Humans are not dogs, and yet, soothing seems to coun-
terbalance the pernicious effects of the threat-affect regulation system (Depue and
Morrone-Strupinsky 2005). By the way, there is nothing more threatening to a leader
Activation
Fight Flight
passion angry
Nor-adrenaline Adrenaline
enthusiasm frustrated
120 bpm
motivated anxious
Positive Emotion
Negative Emotion
DHEA
Cortisol
`Anabolic state´
`Catabolic state´
content apathy
receptive inattentive
60 bpm
interested detached
Relaxation
Fig. 2 Emotions and Performance. Source: Watkins, A. (2014). Coherence: The Secret Science of
Brilliant Leadership. London. UK: Hogan Page Limited, p. 203. Reproduced with permission of
Complete Coherence Limited