Mike Clark's Business Bites: Emotions tend to win out over logic when change looms

If you are having to manage change, it can be useful to understand pain/pleasure psychology. Photo / Freepix

OPINION:
Are you making decisions and/or taking actions you wish you wouldn't?

Are there some actions you want to take but keep delaying? Do you feel stuck by all the changes happening and not knowing what to do?

For many business owners, there is a despondent yes to the above. Thinking and making decisions can be both mentally taxing and hard work. Oftentimes we can get stuck in our imaginings and suffer paralysis by analysis. Things can seem overwhelming or we can fear the consequences.

Change is often hard - even when we know it is for our benefit. Ever decided to eat healthier, wake up earlier, exercise more? If you are to manage change well, it helps to understand what drives human behaviour.

Your brain's number one job is to keep you alive. This primary purpose drives a lot of instinctual behaviour. Our brains seek to avoid pain and pursue pleasure. Think of any action you have taken and look for the root driver of the decision and it will most often have its roots in wanting to pursue something deemed as pleasurable or avoid potential pain.

As you look into this, you are likely to also discover people will do a lot more to avoid pain than pursue pleasure. Often, on the road to something pleasurable, we can get stuck in the quagmire of comfort - things aren't too bad or overly good but they are good enough that we can plateau. Business strategist Tony Robbins observed that until the pain of the current situation is greater than the pain of change people stay stuck.

If you are having to change and/or manage change, it can be useful to understand this pain/pleasure psychology more. Firstly, it is important to know each person has a different perception of pain and pleasure - and perception is reality! Often it is perceived consequences that create the expectation of pain and pleasure. It is worth questioning your assumptions and checking in on your team to help them unpack their assumptions.

Timeframes matter as well. The sooner the perceived reward or penalty, the stronger the pull it has. The pleasure of eating chocolate now is often stronger than weight concerns in the future and the perceived discomfort of a courageous conversation now can often silence a person more than the risk of bad culture in three months' time. The short-term tends to win over the long-term.

Another important element to understand is that emotions tend to win out over logic. This is amplified by the time aspect mentioned above. If we believe something and attach emotional energy to it then the driver becomes stronger. Thinking about how happy you will be when eating chocolate and/or how much you deserve a treat gives emotions the winning edge over logic almost every time. This is again amplified if we attach survival to our reasoning. Your brain will shut out all other messages and desires if there is any threat - real or imagined.

Understanding these drivers is important when managing change. Ensure your planning and communication takes these factors into account - both for yourself and for your team. With the knowledge of these factors, you can make them work for you and your team rather than become a road block.

• Mike Clark is director and lead trainer and facilitator at Think Right business training company.