Managing uncertainty when your brain doesn’t like it
During the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic the MUVA team were scared. As an adaptive innovation programme MUVA, the team is normally brimming with energy and ideas.
But the media coverage of the pandemic filled them with fear. People came in to the office with a vacant, faraway look in their eyes. They were worried about an out of control virus, the restrictions it was imposing on their lives and about their families, who they thought were going to die.
The team were paralysed, caught in a limbic ‘freeze’ (from ‘fight, flight, freeze’ fame).
To move into action, the team called on the ‘questioning muscles’ that they flex often.
They came together and asked (and answered) questions like ‘what is Covid?’, and ‘what is a virus?’. A session leader asked everyone to put chalk on their hands at the start of a session, and later the chalky noses and mouths demonstrated why hands should be washed more often.
Facts and clarity were used to give some degree of certainty about Covid.
The team shared their insights with others. They reached over 1,500 people in two weeks with a nuanced set of messages, specific to the context, giving clarity on why certain measures help protect against the virus.
This outreach increased the relatedness of the team, helping them feel connected to people in their communities. It increased their status as the team were celebrated for bringing clear information, and were awarded by the Ministry of Health.
The MUVA team’s intentional approach shifted them from paralysis into meaningful action, adapting their programme and uniting around a powerful purpose.
This story, shared by Kerry Selvester and Emmeline Skinner from the DFID MUVA team in Mozambique, is a brilliant example of how uncertainty and stress can hijak our ability to be rational and adaptive just when we need it. And how, if we know why it happens, we can move back into our creative, adaptive, problem-solving mindset.
The deep unknown — the perfect moment to be adaptive….
Rationally, we can see that in the midst of a crisis (and all the other uncertainties in front of us at the moment), when we have no idea what’s going to happen, we need to be at our most adaptive. We need to try things, reflect, learn and adapt.
And yet, while rationally that makes sense, in reality it’s hard to have an adaptive mindset in times of stress.
When we’ve got an adaptive mindset we are expansive and open. We can see the big picture and hold possibility. When we have an adaptive mindset we are both brave and humble, able to admit failure, to stop and start things.
An adaptive mindset is an adaptive way of ‘being’, if you like, that underpins our ability to adapt what we’re doing.
Then why’s it so hard when we need it most?!
When we’re stressed or triggered there’s something physical that happens that makes it hard to be adaptive, but with a little information about our brains we can quickly move through it. And help others do the same.
Ze little grey cells
Of course, there are many different, complex, reasons for our reactions, but here’s one simple place to start.
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is the logical, rational part of our brain. It can hold uncertainty, help us focus, set goals, make decisions, be self-disciplined, control our emotions. You can tell that it’s important this part is working well so we can be adaptive, weighing things up, admitting things are not working, deciding to ramp something up or wind it down.
When triggered by threats, though, the blood is pulled away from our prefrontal cortex because it’s needed somewhere else… our limbic system.
The limbic system is the oldest part of our brain, and it’s there to keep us safe so it reacts fast. When it thinks things are good for us, it gives us a shot of dopamine to encourage us to keep going. When it wants us to warn us about something it gives a shot of adrenalin and cortisol to let us know we should stop.
If it’s activated, our limbic system pulls blood and oxygen towards it so we can be ready to fight, flight or freeze. This is why it can be difficult to make a good decision or bite your tongue when you’re angry!
So what triggers our limbic system? Even just knowing that can be super helpful in anticipating reactions, or understanding them when they show up.
The SCARF model
Something I find really useful is the SCARF model by David Rock of Neuroleadership Institute. (See this overview of the SCARF model or a great longer read on ‘Managing with the brain in mind’).
Status — how we understand our position and role in relation to others. We are motivated by our ability to stand out and feel important
Certainty — knowing what’s going to happen. Our brain needs certainty so it’s not having to work overtime to make sense of what’s happening
Autonomy — independence, a sense of control over what we can do
Relatedness — our sense of belonging, of being connected to others
Fairness — our brains have a strong sense of justice, and feel keenly whether something is equitable
Looking at this model it starts to make sense of the feelings of overwhelm from the Covid-19 crisis.
Our status can be compromised because our negativity bias goes into overdrive. Being remote can mean we get less positive feedback on our work, and we can start interpreting even neutral comments as negative which affects our perception of our status.
Our certainty has been shot. We had (and have!) no idea how long the crisis is going to last. We had no sense of what it meant for our work, our relationships, our health, our futures.
Our autonomy was seriously curtailed by lockdown. Decisions about whether to go out or where to go were taken away from us.
Our relatedness or sense of belonging became more difficult, as we were stuck in our own homes. In theory, back-to-back calls should help us feel connected, and yet they are no substitute for real connection.
For some, there was a real fairness threat as organisations have been forced to decide who to furlough, or even who can be kept on. The gap between people who were frantic and those struggling with boredom seemed to grow.
Great, so now I know another acronym, but what do I do with it??
Take a moment to reflect on which part you are most sensitive to. If you are annoyed when you’re micromanaged, maybe it’s autonomy. If you struggle when you’re not included in a group maybe it’s relatedness.
There’s a phrase I love from Dan Siegel: “name it to tame it”. Articulating what you’re feeling and why can help calm a triggered reaction.
When you’re feeling a strong emotional response take a moment to name how you’re feeling (e.g. “I’m feeling really angry” or “I’m nervous”). This re-engages your PFC and starts to calm the limbic reaction.
Then run through the SCARF model to work out why this situation sparked a reaction.
‘Naming it’ helps with self understanding and (by calling on your PFC) physically dampens a reaction.
Anticipate what might cause a threat reaction in yourself or people around you. Maybe there are big changes coming in the organisation that give a certainty threat. What can you do to offer some kind of certainty? Even knowing what the process will be can give a helpful semblance of certainty.
Compensate between the domains. If certainty is difficult, for example, think what you can do to increase relatedness.. When people might be feeling isolated and under-appreciated, try and increase status by being intentional in offering praise and acknowledging progress.
Which strategy is most useful for you?
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If you’d like to hear about MUVA programme’s experience in their own words, please watch this video from our event (which starts with an overview of how Mercy Corps have intentionally used the SCARF model across the organisation). (And for a video intro to the neuroscience part from me, click here).
