Griggs: Emotional contagion – How pressure impacts passion
The mirror neurons sparked, fired and synapsed across those tiny gaps in my brain. My 12-year-old student had just nailed a “round off-back handspring-back flip” — the standard “cool” move in boys’ gymnastics. Sure, I felt the kid’s accomplishment. Our first reaction to his feat was expected — the pump of emotion and ecstasy only spiked when we looked at each other.
Emotional contagion is where the emotions of one person are passed to another who then, instantly, feels the same emotion. For instance, researchers explain how “mirror neurons” recognize and replicate the emotions a mother and baby transfer from one to another. Moms and babies are sweet but there’s a mysterious pressure, even danger, that comes from an automatic response to outside emotions.
Various lists of emotions include anger, fear, surprise, joy, sadness, disgust, trust, anticipation — each recognized by mirror neurons in our brains. In a business context, there are three areas of pressure that can misdirect the planning and passion of the best entrepreneurs and established business leaders. We are influenced in ways we cannot always see or process. Smart organizations will learn about emotional contagion and respect the process while others will suffer in ignorance and pay the consequences.
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Peer pressure — People in your industry can influence your behavior like a magnet dragging iron through sand on a beach. Without desiring to mimic, we still want to be normal, within the boundaries. We want customers to fit us in to the way they see the world and spend their money. You may desire to innovate and disrupt but the mirror neurons in your brain have a hypnotizing effect. Unguarded, a part of you or your team will feel what others feel and, like a zombies, stumble sideways or backward with the rest of the crowd.
Jeer pressure — Criticism is brutal to creativity. I’ve witnessed untimely criticism devolve into ridicule and squash great corporate solutions. We humans will move heaven and earth to avoid being ridiculed or shamed in public. This “jeer” pressure aids in community socialization but stinks when it comes to passion, innovation and creativity. I believe it is hardwired into the reptilian or ancient portions of our brain. A critical comment or puzzled facial expression from an investor, a mentor or a reporter can slam our brain shut in a millisecond. We mimic to avoid the jeers.
Near pressure — “Near” pressure is my way of describing how the things that surround us influence us. It’s the aggregation of select and biased stimuli an over-focused life presents. This includes social friends, the books we read, the news we watch, the conferences we attend. We mirror what is near. Large human resources conferences will book popular celebrities to speak. Back home, the department simply mirrors and copycats — no breakthroughs or lasting change.
So, why does talk of mirror neurons and peer, jeer and near pressure matter? In Las Vegas, the 50-year-old CES (Consumer Electronics Show) clings to new gadget introduction as the public now questions how many new gadgets are needed. Publishers beg Barnes & Noble for shelf space for yet another book with “millionaire” or “leadership” or “mindfulness” in the title. It seems that everyone mirrors each other — it really is contagious.
Emotional contagion can move your business forward with an army of inspired co-conspirators. It can also ignite the wrong fire. The mirroring effect doesn’t care if you or your product will do good or cause harm — it simply multiplies what’s expressed around you. Flames of emotion lead to action. Wonderful business leaders match these flames to the founding purpose of the enterprise. That’s powerful stuff in the right hands.
If a 12-year-old, fist-pumping gymnast can light a fire in his coach’s mind, imagine what you will do as you clarify your purpose and only mimic useful emotions that keep you on track.
Rick Griggs is a former Intel Corp. training manager and inventor of the rolestorming creativity tool. He speaks on balance, teams and the confidence of Napoleon. Reach him at 970-690-7327.
