INSTINCTIVE BRAIN SYSTEM

UNDERSTANDING
BRAIN SYSTEMS

Despite using all of the brain systems on any given day, we all have a dominant one. We often find our teams collectively lean towards one brain system too.

Let’s take a look at the Instinctive brain system...

INSTINCTIVE BEHAVIOURS AT WORK

One of the main sources of motivation is likely to be delivering results. We would expect people with a dominant Instinctive brain system to have some or all of these traits:

Direct
Results driven
Challenging
Competitive
Driven
Self-starter
Firm

PREFERRED ENVIRONMENT

People who predominantly use their instinctive brain system are likely to perform better in environments where:

They have freedom
Results are prioritised
Their work is non-routine
They work with challenges and opportunities

QUALITIES OF AN INSTINCTIVE TEAM

Teams who collectively exhibit high levels of the Instinctive system are likely to bring the following qualities:

Organisation
Challenges others
Gets things done
Makes decisions
Demands results
Uncompromising
Compelling
Confident

CONSIDERATIONS FOR AN INSTINCTIVE TEAM

Try:

Being direct
Being conclusive
Presenting solutions... not problems
Letting them make the call
Allowing independence

Avoid:

Going into lots of detail
Overly focusing on people, feelings or future challenges
Confronting them or telling them what to do

Clive Hyland

Head of Neuroscience

The Happiness Index

Our instincts are the fastest performing part of the brain and are there to protect us and help us to grab opportunities for personal growth. But they will also be biased and carry misconceptions, therefore we also need to pay attention to higher intelligence.