Fast Brain, Slow Brain | In Memory of Daniel Kahneman
© Martha Wooding-Young, The Resilient Executive, LLC.
In late March, a light went out.
Daniel Kahneman, author of Thinking Fast and Slow, the social psychologist who was awarded the 2002 Nobel Memorial prize in economics, passed away at the age of 90. This humble, funny, brilliant man changed how we think about our world, challenged us to reexamine our preconceived ideas, and hilariously set “humans” in contrast to “econs,” those supposedly rational beings who make economic decisions.
Since reading Thinking Fast and Slow when it came out in 2011, I’ve recommended it to countless colleagues, friends, and clients. It documents the seemingly endless cognitive errors humans make and, in so doing, allows us ever greater insight into the human condition.
Kahneman’s way of explaining the functioning of the brain in its fast and frugal mode in contrast to the slow and costly mode required to break out of habitual reactivity changed how I was teaching mindfulness, changed how I interacted with colleagues, and changed how I approached my work.
Of course, the neuroscientific underpinnings in support of his findings remain approximate and indicative. But the lived experience of the fast survival brain and the slow, creative, wisdom mind is perhaps the most important distinction leaders can learn to make. Acting from the former, leaders can limit themselves to the seemingly “safe,” well-trodden neural pathways, and miss the novel, slightly scary but potentially game-changing options their intuition and wisdom minds are whispering in their ears.
As leaders in a VUCA world (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous), our challenge is to consciously learn to slow down, when our survival physiology is unconsciously pulling us to speed up. We can focus on discerning when our stress trigger has been activated, even subtly, and train our marvelously neuroplastic minds to respond with three deep breaths rather than reacting in the moment, thereby inoculating ourselves against stress (thank you @Dr. Roger Walsh). These deep breaths help us to come into presence with reality-as-it-is and put us on the high road to our wiser more measured selves.
As we return to embodied presence our awareness grows; we notice more. We see things we’ve missed, we intuit better, we cooperate, we create. Ever wonder how your typically unnoticed stress response might be getting in your way? Leadership coaching can point out key distinctions and the simple, everyday techniques of presence provide a roadmap back to our wisdom minds. If you are interested in exploring, reach out.