Government Executive - Authors - Peter Ronayne

This Is Your Brain On Hold

Peter Ronayne and PJ Rooney — Fri, 15 Nov 2013 10:07:37 -0500

Now that the crisis du jour is over, it’s time to get back to work. Easier said than done.

Sequestration. Two types of furloughs within a matter of months. A government shutdown. The specter of the U.S. Treasury defaulting on its obligations. Oh, and federal employees might do this song and dance all over again in January—because what’s Washington without a crisis?

The shutdown, having forced hundreds of thousands of public servants into an open-ended period of potentially unpaid leave, equaled hundreds of thousands of brains struggling with uncertainty and its cognitive ripple effect. This backdrop of turbulence and unpredictability in the public sector provides a valuable opportunity to explore the brain science behind how people react to these conditions and to consider leadership strategies to minimize the effects of instability.

Whether it’s not knowing your manager’s expectations, confusion over when you will get paid or wondering about your job status after a reorganization, persistent uncertainty has a profoundly negative impact on the human’s very social and emotional brain. Uncertainty generates feelings of irritation and annoyance. It also creates conditions for long-lasting disengagement, weakened emotional regulation, and diminished creativity. Why?

The brain seeks predictability. “Prediction is not just one of the things your brain does,” says Jeff Hawkins, founder of the Redwood Center for Theoretical Neuroscience. “It is the primary function of the neocortex and the foundation of intelligence.”

From the feel of the chair underneath you when sitting to the flow of traffic while driving to the facial reactions of colleagues in a meeting, the brain is constantly scanning its environment. It compares hundreds of thousands of present-moment data points against what was previously learned and stored to ensure what is happening is consistent with prior experience. This continual scanning and learning allows patterns to emerge informing predictability of outcomes. With patterns comes predictability, with predictability comes the known and with the known comes comfort and the need for less deep concentration and focused attention—both of which the brain minimizes when possible to conserve precious energy and resources.

Mild uncertainty can be intriguing and novel, creating manageable anticipation—a “tell me more” response. But heightened levels of unpredictability and chronic uncertainty—like that generated by a sequester and shutdown—create a powerfully negative swirl of emotions in the brain, which diminishes and weakens rational thinking and problem solving.

Writing in Nature Neuroscience in 2006, Trey Hedden and John Gabrieli put it succinctly: “Even a small amount of uncertainty generates an ‘error’ response in the orbital front cortex. This takes attention away from one’s goals, forcing attention to the error . . . Large uncertainties, like not knowing your boss’ expectations or if your job is secure, can be highly debilitating.”

The debilitating effects of constant uncertainties alert the non-conscious brain that something is wrong and needs our attention. As the brain searches for a way to find certainty within conditions over which it has no control, we are left feeling irritated, annoyed, anxious, reactive and distracted. Until predictability is restored, the non-conscious brain will continue to signal to the conscious brain that something is wrong, diverting resources from work, problem-solving and goal attainment in hopes of getting relief from the anxiety, irritation and annoyance. Relief can take the form of animated and fixated conversations, venting emails and annoyed Facebook posts. Meanwhile important assignments and projects slow down and even stagnate. The longer the brain grapples with the uncertainty, the less work gets completed and the more disengaged employees become.

This is not exactly what the motivated and focused public sector workforce needs during turbulent and challenging times.

So what to do? Here are three actions you can take to keep yourself and your team moving beyond the distraction of the shutdown and to get re-engaged at work:

Build self-awareness. Understand that your brain is wired to create sometimes profound emotional reactions in the face of uncertainty. It is natural to ruminate over and loop back to the conditions creating the uncertainty; and it is natural to feel distracted, anxious, reactive and irritated. Allow yourself a specified amount of time to talk with colleagues or friends about the situation—and then get back to work. By setting limits for discussion, it signals the brain that you are aware of the problem and can monitor it without letting it engulf you. And getting back to work allows you to regain a feeling of satisfaction from contributing to the larger goals and mission, which is typically gratifying for the brain.

Write out your thoughts. Whether they’re stressful or not, record your observations on a piece of paper or in your laptop or journal. Focus on what you can control, and write a plan to take action. Your mind can relax when it knows you are managing those items within your direct control, giving you an opportunity to experience less anxiety throughout your day.

Communicate with colleagues. Whether it’s about the post-shutdown situation and its ripple effect or about your own change initiative, share that information with others. Transparency is the best antidote to uncertainty. Communicate openly with peers and direct reports about the evolving situation, even if the most you can say is, “I don’t know.” Even if you think you’ve communicated too much about it, communicate again. Repetitive, thoughtful and consistent messaging with maximum transparency can profoundly reduce brain reactivity and help maintain performance and engagement.

Whether it’s yesterday’s stock market crisis, today’s government shutdown—or possibly the next one—lead with the brain in mind. Knowing what it can do and what it can’t will help head off unnecessary anxiety and promote much needed employee engagement when it’s needed most.

Peter Ronayne is a faculty member at the Center for Creative Leadership and previously was a dean at the Federal Executive Institute. PJ Rooney is a former FEI faculty member with almost 20 years of federal service.

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Post-Shutdown Recovery: 3 Ways to Get Your Brain Back on Track

Peter Ronayne and PJ Rooney — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 17:34:00 -0400

Now that it appears the crisis du jour is just about over, it's time to get back to work....Easier said than done.

Sequestration. Two furloughs within a matter of months. Government shutdown. The specter of the federal government defaulting on its obligations. And oh (because what's Washington without a crisis?), we might do this song and dance all over again come January. The shutdown, having forced hundreds of thousands of public servants into an open-ended period of unpaid leave, equaled hundreds of thousands of brains struggling with uncertainty and its cognitive ripple. This backdrop of turbulence and unpredictability in the public sector provides a valuable opportunity to explore the brain science behind how we react to these conditions and to consider leadership strategies to minimize the effects of instability.

Whether it’s not knowing your manager's expectations, confusion over when you will get paid or wondering about your job status after a re-organization, persistent uncertainty has a profoundly negative impact on our very social and emotional brains. Uncertainty generates feelings of irritation and annoyance. It also creates conditions for long-lasting disengagement, weakened emotional regulation, and diminished creativity. Why?

The brain seeks predictability. As Jeff Hawkins, founder of the Redwood Center for Theoretical Neuroscience notes, “Prediction is not just one of the things your brain does. It is the primary function of the neo-cortex, and the foundation of intelligence.”

From the feel of the chair underneath you when sitting, the flow of traffic while driving or the facial reactions of colleagues in a meeting, the brain is constantly comparing its present environment by scanning and comparing hundreds of thousands of present-moment data points against what was previously learned and stored to ensure what is happening is consistent with prior experience. This continual scanning and learning allows patterns to emerge informing predictability of outcomes. With patterns comes predictability, with predictability comes the known and with the known comes comfort and the need for less deep concentration and focused attention – both of which the brain minimizes when possible to conserve precious energy and attentional resources.

Mild uncertainty can be intriguing and novel, creating manageable anticipation – a “tell me more” response. But heightened levels of unpredictability and chronic uncertainty – like that generated by sequester and shutdown -- create a powerfully negative swirl of emotions in the brain which diminishes and weakens rational thinking and problem solving.

Writing in Nature Neuroscience in 2006, Trey Hedden and John Gabrieli put it succinctly:

“Even a small amount of uncertainty generates an ‘error’ response in the orbital front cortex. This takes attention away from one’s goals, forcing attention to the error…Large uncertainties, like not knowing your boss’ expectations or if your job is secure, can be highly debilitating.”

The debilitating effects of constant uncertainties alert the non-conscious brain that something is wrong and needs our attention. As the brain searches for a way to find certainty within conditions over which it has no control, we are left feeling irritated, annoyed, anxious, reactive, and distracted. Until predictability is restored, the non-conscious will continue to signal the conscious brain that something is wrong, diverting attentional resources from work, problem solving and goal attainment in hopes of attaining relief from the anxiety, irritation, and annoyance. Relief can take the form of animated and fixated conversations, venting emails, and annoyed Facebook posts. Meanwhile important assignments and projects slow down and even stagnate. The longer the brain grapples with the uncertainty, the less work gets completed, and the more disengaged employees become.

Not exactly what the motivated and focused public sector workforce needed during turbulent and challenging times.

So what to do? Here are three actions you can take to keep you and your team moving beyond the distraction of the shutdown and reengaged when resuming work:

1. The first step is self-awareness – understanding that our brains are wired to create sometimes profound emotional reactions in the face of uncertainty. It is natural to ruminate over and loop back to the conditions creating the uncertainty; and it is natural to feel distracted, anxious, reactive and irritated. Allow yourself a specified amount of time to talk with colleagues or friends about the situation – and then get back to work. By setting limits for discussion, it signals the brain that you are aware of the problem and can monitor it without letting it engulf you. And getting back to work allows you to re-gain a feeling of satisfaction from contributing to the larger goals and mission – typically gratifying to the brain.

2. Second, write out your thoughts (whether they're stressful or not) on a piece of paper or your laptop or in a journal. Focus on what you can control and write a plan to take action. Your mind can relax when it knows you are managing those items within your direct control, giving you an opportunity to experience less anxiety throughout your day.

3. Third, strive to communicate consistently and transparently with colleagues – whether about the post-shutdown situation and its ripple effect or about your own change initiative. Transparency is the best antidote to uncertainty. Communicate openly with peers and direct reports about the evolving situation, even if the best you can say is, “I don’t know.” If you think you’ve communicated too much about it, communicate again. Repetitive, thoughtful, and consistent messaging with maximum transparency can profoundly reduce brain reactivity and help maintain performance and engagement.

Whether it’s yesterday’s stock market crisis, today’s government shutdown...or the next one, you need to lead with the brain in mind. Knowing what it can do and what it can’t will help head off unnecessary anxiety and promote much needed employee engagement when it's needed most.

Peter Ronayne is a Senior Faculty member at the Center for Creative Leadership. He previously served for 15 years as a dean and Senior Faculty member at The Federal Executive Institute.

PJ Rooney is a former Senior Faculty member at The Federal Executive Institute and has almost 20 years of service in the Federal sector.

Image via Ktsdesign/Shutterstock.com

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A World View

Peter Ronayne — Sat, 15 Oct 2005 00:00:00 -0400

It's time for the federal government to invest in training global leaders.

The United States, and thus the federal government, finds itself in an unprecedented maelstrom of globalization. Most issues have a global component: Trade policy. Drug interdiction. AIDS. Labor practices and protections. Biological diversity. Clean air standards. Food and drug safety. Transportation security. Nation building and disaster relief. At least eight of 12 critical issues identified by the Government Accountability Office in a report on 21st century challenges have significant global content.

The forces of economic integration, networking across national borders, an exponential communications revolution, proliferation of nongovernmental and international organizations, and the rise of transnational issues are reshaping the contours of world politics and the pressing issues facing governments everywhere.

The work and responsibilities of the government are clearly a microcosm of these trends, even in traditionally domestic arenas. The Social Security Administration, after all, manages more than 20 bilateral agreements. With each day, our traditional division between domestic and foreign becomes more of a fiction, a concept that helps us mentally order our world, but describes it less and less accurately. Further, the presumption that global leadership and related issues are limited to foreign affairs and defense agencies alone is invalid and dangerous.

Yet despite increasing international responsibilities, most civil servants, particularly in domestic agencies, have received little preparation. In research by the Office of Personnel Management's Federal Executive Institute, more than two-thirds of federal leaders surveyed rated their own proficiency for international work below midpoint on a five-point scale. According to a 2003 RAND Corp. report, "The nation is producing too few future leaders who combine substantive depth with international experience and outlook."

Within the federal sector, outposts of global perspective have slowly emerged. For example, at NASA, leadership and management development features an international competency. But isolated islands are not enough. The agenda for today's federal employees at all levels must include the development of international, intercultural and strategic perspectives essential for the nation to succeed in our globalized world.

Leadership development programs must expand to incorporate broad, global outlooks and understanding. Qualifications should reflect the 21st century by including an international competency, which would then be built into professional development programs. An enhanced Intergovernmental Personnel Act Mobility Program could facilitate these assignments with rich international content.

The newly formed Global Leadership Consortium at the National Academy of Public Administration has potential as a center of excellence. Being developed in partnership with the Federal Executive Institute, the Graduate School at the Agriculture Department and the State Department's Foreign Service Institute, the consortium will serve as a research and learning network that supports agencies in cultivating leaders who excel in the global environment.

It's time for the federal sector to move into global leadership development. The stakes could not be higher in the realm of security and beyond. Richard N. Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, perhaps best sums it up in The Opportunity: America's Moment to Alter History's Course (PublicAffairs, 2005) saying, "This continues to be a moment of rare opportunity for the United States and the world. The United States, working with the governments of the other major powers, can still shape the course of the 21st century and bring about a world that is to a striking degree characterized by peace, prosperity and freedom for most of the globe's countries and peoples. Opportunity, though, is just that. It represents possibility, not inevitability."

For the nation to seize this opportunity requires a globally savvy federal corps-whether one of 73,000 overseas or one of the legions stateside working on issues with international implications. Whether an empire, hyperpower, hegemony or unrivaled great power, America faces unique leadership demands, which require that we invest time and resources to ensure that our public servants are the best and brightest global leaders possible.

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A World View

Peter Ronayne — Wed, 05 Oct 2005 00:00:00 -0400

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