How would you describe the culture of your workplace? I doubt that you would have responded to this question with “brain friendly”. And yet if you want a workplace that creates smart, collaborative, innovative and resilient employees, then a brain friendly culture is the way to do it.
When considering what is meant by a “brain friendly” culture, consider other places that are “friendly”; consider “child-friendly”. The definition of a child-friendly environment is one in which “behaviour, conduct, practice, process, attitude, environment and treatment…. that is in the best interest of the child”. (child friendly Definition | Law Insider).
Similarly, a brain-friendly environment is one that functions in the best interest of the brain. It enables the brain to operate at its best. When an environment does not meet the interests of the brain, the brain become resistant, negative, unwilling to learn, staying with the known, the tried and tested and unwilling to embrace the new.
To create a brain-friendly culture, start by knowing what is in the best interest of the brain.
The purpose of the brain is to ensure the survival of our species. Which it is doing very well, despite the efforts of various viruses. Part of the success has been down the brains’ ability to quickly spot danger and threat, and then prepare us to either address the threat (fight) or to remove ourselves from impending harm (flee). This preparation to deal with threat is so finely honed and so efficient that once triggered, the threat response deprioritises any bodily processes that are not directly needed to fight or flee. This is the reason that when stressed or anxious you may feel nausea. Digestion is not a priority function when fighting or running away.
Another function that is deprioritised when experiencing long-term threats is the brains’ executive function: the best bit of the brain. The smart bit. After all, you don’t need to be smart to run or fight. The executive function is the part of the brain that you pay people for: the part that solves problems, that’s innovative, creative, constantly learning, collaborating with others, and being agile to new demands.
So a brain-friendly environment is one in which the brain feels safe because the fight or flee response is quietened and the smart executive function can be prioritized. A culture that the brain perceives as physically and psychologically safe is one that is brain-friendly. So how do you create such a culture? Well, let’s start with the basics.
Like every living organism, the brain needs sustenance and rest. This means it needs to be fed well, sufficient hydration (it is 60% water), relaxation, and sleep. These are the “fuels” it needs to function at peak performance. Does your organization encourage “downtime”? Proper lunch breaks? Sensible hours? Time away from work without looking at emails/taking calls? True, the employment contract may state an 8 hour day and an hour for lunch but is that what really happens? Do leaders ensure that this happens? Does the culture support this? If it doesn’t, employees’ brains will be increasingly tired and running on empty.
Having enabled a fit brain, a brain-friendly culture then reduces the incidences within the workplace that could trigger the threat response. Of course, this may not be intentional, however, leaders and organizations often do things that inadvertently create stress for the brain. This is because there are five scenarios in which the brain is “hardwired” to treat as a threat. Know these and you can begin to develop an environment that creates a sense of safety around these five needs.
- Control
Very few people like being told what to do. After all, being controlled by someone else could be a threat to our survival. So leaders and organizations who adopt a “command and control” leadership style in their day-to-day interactions, will trigger a threat response.
A brain-friendly environment is one in which leaders coach, empower, collaborate and delegate. An environment in which individuals feel that they have a sense of control over the work they do, and the way they do it. To achieve this, leaders should lose the ego, adopting more of a coaching/servant-leadership approach.
- Consistency
From a survival perspective, if something is out of the ordinary or doesn’t follow the usual pattern, the brain will err on the side of caution and assume it is a potential threat. The brain has a strong “error detection” capability. Conflicting messages, incongruency between word and deed, constant direction changes all result in the brain recognising the inconsistency which is assumed to be a threat.
The brain friendly culture is one with consistent messaging that is embodied in the organisations values and employee’s behaviours. Ensure fairness, transparency, and inclusiveness for all. True, change is a constant, but be consistent in how your change is implemented and do so with the brains needs in mind.
- Competence
For most of us, there is some negative feeling that comes with feedback: it’s normal because our brain will respond to any perceived threat to our competence. Competence was (and still is!) key to our survival. People will go to great lengths to disguise a perceived threat to their competence, especially in organisations in which failure is penalised.
In a brain-safe environment, learning and growth is encouraged recognising that failure and errors may be part of this process. An environment in which people fear failure or making mistakes is an environment in which employees will not risk learning, trying new things or stretching their comfort zones. Consider how your organisation deals with “failures”. With penalty or positively?
Give employees the tools and skills they need to succeed. Train them. Coach them. Set people up for success.
- Connectedness
We are herd animals. From a survival perspective there is safety in numbers. This plays out in organisations in the form of cliques, “in groups” and “out groups” and even between functions or departments. We have a hardwired drive to be connected to a group or person. Without connection, we feel isolated and threatened. Leadership should strive to create connections and build trust with their employees and even between employees and the organisation. Know your people, what drives and motivates them. Hold events that bring people together, get to know your team as people, not employees.
- Cause
We have finite physical, emotional, and cognitive resources. If you want your employees to invest them in something, then there needs to be a good reason. Otherwise, valuable resources needed to survive may be wasted.
Provide meaning and purpose in the work that people do. This also helps with connectedness to the organization. Of course, this needs to be meaning and purpose for the employee. Leaders need to be able to translate organizational purpose into something emotionally meaningful for each employee. Storytelling is a skill that leaders can use to help engage employees’ brains, helping them feel safe and part of something worthwhile.
Of course, “creating a culture” is no mean feat. It requires the organization to take a systemic approach to all interactions and touchpoints with its employees. But when you do, reassess how you do what you do and its impact on the brain.
Dr Sam Mather is a Neuro-practitioner, Leadership Consultant, and author of Rise Together: A leaders guide to the science behind creating innovative, engaged and resilient employees.
