Evolutionary mismatch: when the environment that organisms are - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

¨ Evolutionary mismatch: “when the environment

that organisms are adapted to, via a slow process

• f biological evolution, changes so quickly and

intensely that it hinders these organisms.” (Van Vugt, 2018)

¨ Archetypal business environments, especially

those in developed economies, are about as far removed from an evolutionarily adapted state of nature as humans could possibly inhabit.

¨ As one’s seniority (and associated level of

responsibility) increase, so too does one’s likelihood

• f experiencing debilitating stress, depression and

anxiety (Barling & Cloutier, 2017).

¨ The effects of emotional contagion (whereby

emotional states can be transferred across people) are more severely pronounced in leader-follower relationships (Barsade, 2002).

¨ Executive coaching and development practices –

which emphasize developing emotional competencies – are widespread. So why does poor emotional health continue to endure for leaders?

¨ Strong emphasis in leadership development on

• ne’s vision (their ‘Ideal Self’) and values

(Boyatzis, 2006). Bringing out their best as people.

¨ Coaching for intentional development. ¡ Engaging mindfulness, hope and compassion. ¡ Coaching with compassion vs. coaching for compliance. ¨ Teleological approach to leadership development. ¡ Discovering one’s purpose to reach their potential. ¨ These are the things that matter!

¡ When leaders can embrace their sense of purpose and pursue

their vision, their organizations are better positioned to thrive.

¨ The ability to craft and pursue a vision, and lead with

a sense of purpose, is contingent on possessing strong emotional competencies (Boyatzis, 2011).

¨ Emotional competencies are contingent on strong

emotional health (Ciarocci et al., 2003).

¨ Emotional health is contingent on strong

psychophysiological health (Tsirigotis & Łuczak, 2015).

¨ The evolutionary mismatch of modern business life is

wreaking havoc with the psychophysiological health (and thus the emotional health and competencies) of leaders.

¨ 15% of all occupations in the US have been

classified as wholly sedentary, with another 70%

• nly demanding light-medium physical exertion.

¨ Physical inactivity during the day is one of the

strongest predictors of a sedentary lifestyle in general (Ekelund et al., 2016)

¨ 90 seconds of walking every 30 minutes

significantly reduces several inflammatory biomarkers (Peddie et al., 2013)

¨ The workplace tends to be where people consume most

• f their sugar intake (Bleich et al., 2008).

¨ Sugar consumption promotes stress; stress promotes

sugar consumption (Tryon et al., 2015).

¨ Sugar consumption promotes fatigue; fatigue promotes

sugar consumption (Cao et al., 2016).

¨ Sugar consumption promotes low mood; low mood

promotes sugar consumption (Benton, 2002).

¨ Emotional contagion can turn organizations into vectors

for the transmission of stress, fatigue and low mood (Barsade, 2002).

¨ We are stuck in offices all day away from the sun,

before being shrouded in artificial lighting at night.

¨ Both lack of exposure to sunlight and sustained

exposure to artificial lighting are associated with reductions in positive affect and employee mood in the workplace (An et al., 2016).

¨ We are all but completely protected from the

elements and spend our days in an artificial “Goldilocks” climate with central office heating and air conditioning at our beck and call. Similar consequences for positive affect and employee mood in the workplace (Christopolous, 2016)

¨ Stress: “the health epidemic of the 21st century” (World

Health Organization, 2015)

¨ Costs US businesses $300 billion per year in reduced

productivity and increases in absenteeism/turnover.

¨ We evolved under conditions of great stress, and some

amount of stress is beneficial (‘eustress’; Le Fevre, 2003).

¨ BUT the kinds of acute, primarily socially-induced

stressors encountered by most people in organizational life are associated with a range of negative individual and

• rganizational-level outcomes (Boyd et al., 2009)

¨ Compare with ‘struggle’ (Lilius et al., 2002).

¨ Long working hours (> 48 hours per week; Kodz

et al., 2003) result in commensurate decreases in restful sleep.

¨ People are increasingly dragging work home with

them, impacting on both sleep itself and the quality of relaxation in prior hours.

¨ ‘The Sleepless Elite’: upper-level executives (in

particular) are prone to burning the candle at both ends, resulting in downstream deleterious effects on their organizations (Chee, 2013).

¨ Current leadership development frameworks might

be emphasizing the potential of people while failing to recognize the constraints of humans.

¨ Things like diet, physical fitness etc. are widely seen

as a private matter with private consequences.

¨ Stress, fatigue, variable mood and emotional

regulation are viewed as “part of the leadership package.”

¡ An unsustainable and unhealthy emphasis on “career first.” ¡ “Figure out your personal health on your own time.”

¨ The line between ‘life’ and ‘work’ has become

increasingly blurred.

¨ An evolutionary framework allows us to recognize

how much humans – as closed physical systems with constraints – need to be optimized before we can properly develop people (and, in turn, leaders).

¨ We already develop policies and practices based on

this recognition all the time (however unknowingly):

¡ Coaching with compassion vs. coaching for compliance ¡ Employee wellness initiatives ¡ Corporate ‘hacks’

¨ Evolutionary theory helps to explain why and not just

that.

Qu Questions and and com comments ki kindly ap appreciat ated.

Gareth Craze, Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University

gareth.c .craze@case se.e .edu