People go in the direction leadership is walking, not pointing
by John G. Agno
Published on this site: July 20th, 2005 - See
more articles from this month...
A leader's independent judgment shows up as activity in his
or her brain areas involved in emotion which is the cost for
going against the status quo of the group.However, most people
wish to socially conform to what others in the group think
and feel.
People go in the direction leadership is walking, not
pointing.
Have you ever stood in a group of people on the sidewalk
of a busy city corner waiting for the light to change so you
could cross the street? If so, have you noticed what happens
when one person, a leader, decides to cross the street against
the light (when there is little vehicular traffic approaching)?
Once the leader begins to go across the street against the
light, most of the people observing the leader perceive it
is acceptable for them to cross, too.
Using functional MRI scanners that can peer into the working
brain, a new study shows that "seeing is believing"
and your perceptions are deeply colored by the information
you receive from others, usually leaders or followers of leaders.
The brain scanner captured a picture of the judgment process
proving that social conformity stems from changes in perception
that are not conscious decisions. But leaders who make independent
judgments, that wentagainst the group, showed activity in
regions of the brain associated with emotional salience.
It is important to understand that our individual assumptions/beliefs,
values and guiding principles, which make up how we see the
world, are formed by the filters of our perception. And our
perceived truth is unconsciously conditioned by those we associate
with or observe unless we have developed the ability to question
conventional wisdom.
For more information, go to: http://home.att.net/~coachthee/Archives/conventionalwisdom.htm
Source: The online edition of Biological Psychiatry, June
22, 2005
John G. Agno, certified executive & business coach
Signature, Inc., PO Box 2086, Ann Arbor, MI 48106 Telephone:
734.426.2000 (US Eastern Time Zone) Email: [email protected]
The most critical knowledge is self-knowledge. http://www.MentoringandCoaching.com
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