An article in the Harvard Business Review stated the following: Surveys have shown that 80% of Americans don’t trust corporate executives and–worse–that roughly half of all managers don’t trust their own leaders. Mergers, downsizing, and globalization have accelerated the pace of change in organizations, creating a crisis of trust that didn’t exist a generation ago.

Given all this uncertainty, trust has been at an all-time low.

When it comes to analyzing and facilitating trust, Brain Science is fascinating. In order to make Brain science interesting and easy to understand, we have to make the following statements:

1) The brain controls our actions,
2) We all have a brain,
3) As a leader you are not only managing people but you are also managing their brain. I know it’s an unorthodox way of looking at this but it’s extremely relevant and logical.

So far, so good. Problems start when you factor in how trust has broken down in your organization. Trust is broken down by fear (ex. losing one’s job, making mistakes, damaging or losing assets). Fear is that always-on emotion that is controlled by your amygdala. Your amygdala (a pair of small organs in the brain) is the fear and emotion center in your brain. It’s the area that prepares you eventually for ‘fight or flight’.

In its most simple terms if the amygdala is activated or overheating because of fear, this will also affect other parts of your brain such as the reward system, your gut feeling and another area called the ‘Accountant’ which essentially tells the ‘action brain’ either Go or No Go or in other words, to carry on a particular task.

According to a Brain Science leading authority Dr. Srini Pillay:
“Trust and fear are inversely related and affect the brain in opposite ways. Fear increases amygdala activation while trust decreases it. Developing a trusting work environment is important in similar ways to creating a non-fear based motivational space. It frees up the thinking brain to focus on relevant issues rather than using up thinking resources to resolve trust conflicts. Trust is also rewarding since it affects several components of the reward system. These components feed back to the action centers in the brain, preparing the brain to act. Without trust, action is inhibited or infused with fear; this compromises actions.”

So now we know that Trust frees up thinking resources in the brain by decreasing amygdala activation.

Armed with this scientific yet logical insight through your leadership style, you can address trust. By instilling trust in your organization you will notice a difference in staff performance and morale. It won’t happen overnight but it can become contagious if you follow some basic steps:

1) Be honest and sincere. Why? It only makes sense. People will feel that you are hiding things and will respect you as leader if you communicate without hesitation. By being direct, employees will stop the rumor mill and concentrate on the task at hand. Remember that for any news – good or bad, You need to communicate it! One of my CEO clients delegated the delivery of bad news to the HR Director. It bombed and created more fear! Staff needs to hear it from you.

2) Be appreciative. If you have fallen in the trap of not thanking people then you better change your approach. I don’t care what cultural background you are from. In the ten countries I have worked in, saying Thank You goes a long way. I challenge you: If you speak to one of your line staff and remember to say thank you, that person will go home that evening and tell his spouse or loved one that the boss thanked him/her…Imagine that!

3) Be open to feedback. Encourage feedback. Listen but remembering the most fundamental rule of encouraging feedback: You have 2 ears and one mouth…use them accordingly. Listen, acknowledge and don’t defend the idea/feedback since this is counterproductive.

4) Remain focused on the task at hand. You still need to sell, serve or create something. Employees need to be reminded of the obvious – the job has to get done. Remind them that their individual contributions matter to the organization.

5) Trial and error. It’s OK for employees to fail while trying. Implement an attitude of ‘trying without asking’. Then tell your staff member ‘if you mess up, that’s OK as long as you learn in the process’.

If you cannot empower your team members to make decisions without you, how will they ever succeed? Sometimes you need to let them try, fall flat on their faces and learn in the process. In my experience this is by far the strongest message of trust instilment you can deliver.

Trust is intangible. It can be a dark cloud or a motivator. By tapping into the brain of your team members you may discover that removing fear by instilling trust will give you an exponential effect on team morale and performance.

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I heard the benefits a long time ago and decided last year to test it again and to see what works and what did not work. I tried different nap times, durations. In my case the best time was at 1930 or so for about 20 minutes max! Anything longer made me feel groggy for almost 45 minutes to an hour after the nap and I had difficulty to wake up or worse, decided to turn my power nap into deep slumber for the whole night – there goes the productivity I was looking to gain!

Less than 20 minutes for me was not enough since I was not completely sure that I dozed off. I also realized that if I had dreamt about something, it was sure way to know that I had in fact slept for a 20 minute period. Research tells us the ideal time is between 10-25 minutes but varies person to person.

Napoleon used to do it and so did many leaders through history including many of today’s athletes so why is that we don’t find the time if they are supposed to make us more productive?

First of all, maybe you need proof? I would encourage you to discover it on your own. First, set a time when you come home after work despite all the personal and family demands you may have – dedicate just 20 minutes. Set your alarm, shut the door and after 20 minutes you will see a difference, if of course you slept…just lying in bed for 20 minutes won’t do it.

Secondly, sleeping on the job is not exactly a great way to promote one’s career. Only a few employers encourage it which is a pity. Many studies have found that naps render employees more productive than conventional coffee breaks and that power naps are best taken in the afternoon. Even if your employer can’t help, you should test a power nap and enjoy the benefits in early evening.

If for the first time you did not feel or see the results, try taking a power nap 3 times that week. At first you may feel guilty or in denial to actually take a nap. Don’t get hung up on this since the time you gain by having a power nap will more than compensate at the other end in terms of added productivity that evening.

When you wake up, you will notice about 30 minutes later if you go back to fine tune some outstanding issues from your day, you will feel reenergized, you’ll wonder where this new found energy came from.

Rest is repair.

According to Brain Science leading authority, Dr. Srini Pillay, ‘Power naps are brief periods of sleep (15-30 minutes) that give the brain a chance to rest. It has been found that these brief naps may be rejuvenating and therefore help register and consolidate memories’

It’s also been proven that adequate sleep and daytime power naps are critical to faster, more efficient new learning.

A power-nap captures the benefits of the first two of the five stages in the sleep cycle. These first two stages take place in the first twenty minutes. In addition to making you feel more rested and alert, the electrical signals in your nervous system strengthen the connection between neurons involved in muscle memory, making your brain work faster and more accurately.

So there you have it. Historical leaders, today’s athletes and a leading Brain Science authority telling us that power naps make you more productive which has positive effects on your brain, learning and memory.

Want to get more work done in your day or get that extra little edge? You may find that giving your brain anywhere between 10-25 minutes of rest and by shutting down your system for a nap this may be the best investment in You.

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As you gather your ideas for your presentation, 3 more problems occur and at this point you want to either, 1) kill the next person that shows up at your door or, 2) you wish you could disappear to a remote island in the Caribbean with a Mojito in your hand as you swing back and forth in your hammock – both choices not possible. Worse, for some reason you can’t focus on the presentation. What’s the problem?

Brain Science tells us that your amygdala (a pair of small organs in the brain) is overheating. This is called ‘Amygdala activation’. The Amygdala is the fear center in your brain. It’s the area that prepares you eventually for ‘fight or flight’. The amygdala stores and perpetuates the anxiety response and anxiety disorders.

In fact the amygdala orders your brain to go into a state of alert with its first instructions going to your unconscious mind indicating that danger is imminent.

Hopefully your amygdala is not overheating the entire time like it’s the case in this moment.

According to a Brain Science leading authority Dr. Srini Pillay ‘An overloaded amygdala can also explain your fatigue. You may think that you have no reason to be tired but Brain Science tell us that your unconscious brain may be absorbing the stress and fears of your daily life’.

Suggestion: Take a time out!

Of course this is what your spouse or partner means when they say: “Why don’t you take a break’ when you are really stressed but I really mean it here. Take a time out for about 3-5 minutes.

Get up from your office and get away where you can concentrate, meditate and forget what is currently stressing you.

Ok nothing new here – you have done this before without thinking too much about it in the past or perhaps the suggestion came from someone to go for a break. Some smokers claim that they think better after a cigarette break – I can’t comment here. Once you come back from a break however you seem to have found your inspiration or ability to think, but what really happened in this process?

Here is how it works:

Find yourself a quiet spot where you can be alone, without interruptions like cell phones, internet and sms free your mind of the work issue. This place should facilitate a quiet moment for 3-5 minutes where you need to concentrate on your breathing.

The idea is to focus your thinking on only one thing. When you focus on your breathing, inhaling oxygen, holding it only for 1-2 seconds (actively recognize that little moment between inhaling and exhaling) then completely exhaling the air out of your lungs, continuously focusing on your breath. While focusing on your breathing process, it is impossible to be able to think about anything else.

Try it now for a few moments. As you concentrate on your breathing – you will not be able to think about anything else…pretty cool eh!

This is not so much a relaxation technique bur rather a method to reduce this amygdala activation. By not thinking about anything except your breathing for 3-5 minutes you are essentially setting your amygdala in a more relaxed state. You of course can’t see this happening but trust me, this is what is happening which explains why after 3-5 minutes you regain focus, composure and inspiration.

What I want to emphasize here is that if you are stressed, from reading this article you will know in the future that consciously taking that Time out will help you.

Next time you are in a Board meeting and you are really stressed, try taking a washroom break (no one can blame you when nature calls) and instead of using the washroom for its real purpose, use the toilet stall to hide, close your eyes and focus on your breathing for 3-5 minutes.

Apply this to any issue that stresses you: Personal, business or social.

I have used this practice often including one particular event I was organizing. Everything was falling apart and the guests were arriving in one hour and my thoughts were frozen, I felt paralyzed. I could not decide on easy, basic matters yet having done this time and time again before.

I took a time out and after 5 minutes I regained my ability ‘to put out the next fires’.

The brain is an amazing tool but at times it can go into meltdown and easing off on the amygdala can put you back in shape. The best way to fix this is to ‘Take a time out’.

For a cool video presentation on amygdala activation, check out this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GdALwuYtG8

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Rule of thumb (again): Don’t ask yourself how this works. It just does. Most people will act in disbelief till they spend an inordinate amount of time questioning or wondering how Peak Performance tools really work.

Ask/Believe/ Receive is different than plain ‘wishful thinking’ or ‘positive thinking’. I know these other methods since I have tried them and the Ask/ Believe/ Receive method has worked for me.

I initially thought that this method was metaphysical liking it to the practice of some of my peers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) . I had once joked with some staff about the existence of metaphysical phenomena only to get a cold reminder that the Congolese and a lot of Africans do in fact believe in it. And by the way, who am I to convince them otherwise that metaphysical phenomena do not exist? Who am I to know better?

However after taking a Brain Science coaching certification with a leading authority in Neurosciences , Dr. Srini Pillay I have come to the conclusion that the reason we receive what we ask and believe is probably due to some really creative programming in our brain.

I am firm believer that we shape our destiny and by doing so, we are one step closer to greatness. One sure way to do this is to focus one’s thinking. Of the many authors I have read on positive thinking and optimism, there are traits that leaders have developed in which they repeat over and over again which explains why these leaders always seem to do better than their peers and have more success than most of us.

A lot has to do with Ask. Believe. Receive.

Here is how it works:

Find yourself a quiet spot where you can concentrate and think without interruptions like cell phones, internet and sms.

Think about the task you wish to accomplish. It can be delivering an important presentation, overcoming a tough negotiation, convincing a new client to agree with your proposal, ending a dispute with a loved one. You need to have in mind the objective first, before you can ask for its attainment.

Then quite simply ask for what you want. Ex. ‘ I want this presentation to go well and people to say Wow great presentation’.

Now focus on what you want by saying to yourself (in your mind) ‘I want the following’ or basically, Asking for something (hence Ask. Believe. Receive )…this should last about 5-7 seconds.

At this point you will notice or feel a little jolt or shock in your body. It may be subtle or strong or almost nothing.

Once you asked for what you wanted try to imagine agreement, or someone agreeing or nodding to your request. It can be a person’s face or a person’s head nodding in agreement. It does not have to be a person you know and it does not have to be you, or you imagining that your head is nodding in agreement.

As you picture someone agreeing with your request, this is forming the Believing (hence Ask. Believe. Receive) part of the method.

Then, exhale because you would have kept your breath throughout this 10-15 second exercise. This is the Receive part.

After this is done, don’t think about it anymore. Go straight or proceed to what you are planning to do. In this case proceed to the meeting room and get ready to present. Let it go. It will come to you.

Remember to only ask once. You don’t need to repeat over and over what you asked for. Asking repeatedly actually messes up the process; it sends the message too many times ‘out there’. To make it easier to understand, think of a similar case such as when you order a pizza from your favorite pizza shop. You call and order a pizza only once. You don’t call 5 minutes later to say “I want a pizza’ and then 5 minutes later again to say “I want a pizza’. You call once and the pizza shows up in about 30 minutes.

The Ask/Believe/Receive process is the same here – ask only once. In some scientific way you are programming your brain, you are calling on a metaphysical phenomenon, the stars align, magic happens; whatever…It doesn’t matter – it just works.

Apply this to any endeavor you undertake, personal, business or social.

What this exercise does is it focuses your brain on a particular objective or outcome. If you focus, ask and sincerely believe that you can achieve this outcome, then you will receive it – pure and simple.

My track record? Answer: Probably 95%. In fact I was so surprised of its efficiency that I don’t even think of the other 5%.

This method has an effect of building up your confidence. Once you have done the exercise, exhaled and proceded to the task at hand, you forget about your fears, doubts or confusion enabling your mind to be free and to concentrate on the task at hand.

I have used this practice for simple tasks and even for more complex objectives or milestones.

My own belief is that the success rate is due to a combination of focused brain programming, enhanced confidence, added lucidity and to some extent you are influencing the people or audience by sending positive energy ‘out there’. Perhaps this is where the metaphysical comes in.

Again, I apply the rule of thumb: I don’t ask myself how or wonder how this works. It just does!

Besides what’s the worse thing that can happen for having spent 10-15 seconds of focused thinking is well… nothing . Not a big loss for the level of investment.

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Imagery is quite simply creating images in your mind.

Rule of thumb: Don’t ask yourself how this works. It just does. Many people kill the benefit of an idea, tool or concept when it comes to Peak Performance since they spend way too much time on trying to understand how it works. If you wish to gain from this nugget of learning, don’t bother asking how it works – just apply this simple principle.

Athletes do it all the time and win so why would it not be the same in Business. It is in fact!

Philosophers over the ages had different ways of teaching us. Earl Nightingale wrote ‘What the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve’ or ‘ You are, what you think about ‘. Of the many authors I have studied and read including Napoleon Hill’s ’Think and grow rich’, the words are different yet the message is the same.

How many times have you heard the famous Chinese proverb: ‘Be careful what you wish for?’

Most recently, Brain science is a research based method developed by a leading authority in Neurosciences called Dr. Srini Pillay where he explains that there are important areas in the brain that are affected when Imagery is activated.

Dr. Pillay states that Imagery acts as a precursor to action. Imagery warms up the action brain.

‘By imagining what you want, you stimulate the action centers of the brain. Also, if you observe other examples of this being achieved, it will make it feel more real. It is important for this to feel real and when you do imagine it, try to imagine yourself doing (or thinking in the first person) it so that you are in the picture’.

Another effective way of creating imagery is think and concentrate by seeing yourself do something ( or in this case, thinking in the third person). For example if you were running a race you could see yourself running, hitting the ground and looking at your opponents as you strive for the finish line. Alternately, try looking at yourself in the same race but this time in the 3rd person; in other words observing you in the race as if you are filming yourself from above looking at yourself progress to the point of coming from behind and winning the race.

In both cases (you, in the first person or third person) you are effectively creating a mental image of you, achieving something important.

Now apply this to your job or company; Closing that important deal, delivering an important presentation, winning a negotiation, getting the partner you need, getting that important funding approval.

This concept works. Case in point my nephew was a backstroke swimmer in the Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 Olympics. Before any race he would go through his imagery exercise; he would put a towel over his head concentrate and imagine himself in the pool, going over every move and turn, in/out of the water and seeing himself hit the finish wall.

His imagery method worked. It got him to represent Canada in both Olympics!

As a reminder of the rule of thumb: Don’t ask yourself how this works. It just does. Try it and you just might be shocked by the results.

In my next post, I will talk about Ask/Believe/Receive which is line with Imagery.

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