Renaissance for Leaders

Reference library exploring leadership & human performance

Tag: Behavior

The Morality of Beasts

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On July 16, 2021

In Emotion & Behavior

Frans de Waal has studied the behavior of primates for five decades. Some of his many important observations center around the evolution of morality and just how much we have in common with the animal kingdom. The idea that animals are always in conflict with one another and competing for resources is “totally wrong,” de Waal says. Other primates, specifically chimpanzees and bonobos, have demonstrated a range of traits and tendencies typically regarded as human, including empathy, friendship, reconciliation, altruism, and even adoption.

FRANS DE WAAL:

Frans de Waal is a Dutch/American biologist and primatologist. He teaches at Emory University and directs the Living Links Center for the Study of Ape and Human Evolution, in Atlanta, Georgia. He is known for his popular books, such as Chimpanzee Politics (1982), Bonobo: The Forgotten Ape (1997) and The Age of Empathy (2009). He has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences.

Courtesy of bigthink.com

The Neuroscience of Lies, Honesty, and Self-Control

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On July 12, 2021

In Emotion & Behavior

Ever hear the expression “it’s all in your mind”? Well, according to Robert Sapolsky all the negativity in the world might all be coming from one part of the brain: the frontal cortex. The science of temptation runs parallel to the science of why people make “bad” decisions.

Sapolsky talks about how active the frontal cortex can be in some people when they have the opportunity to do a bad thing… and how calm it can be in other people when presented with a similar situation.

Understanding the basis of the world’s problems on a scientific level might help make future generations much more adept at stopping humanity’s biggest mistakes.

ROBERT M SAPOLSKY:

Robert M. Sapolsky holds degrees from Harvard and Rockefeller Universities and is currently a Professor of Biology and Neurology at Stanford University and a Research Associate with the Institute of Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya. His most recent book is “Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst.”

Courtesy of bigthink.com

Seven Primary Motivations

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On June 20, 2013

In Leadership & Influence

paradigmsandmotivations

MOTIVATION > There are seven primary motivations that correspond to seven paradigms. As your paradigm changes, so does your motivation, which in turn alters your focus. If a person is living day to day (survival) then their motivation will be survival based and their goals will be focused on getting out of survival.

The key to shifting from one paradigm to another is to set goals based on a higher paradigm…

In order to do that:

  1. Identify the paradigm you are currently operating within
  2. Recognize alternative paradigms (there are seven in total)
  3. Immerse yourself in the new, chosen paradigm and set goals based on the predominate motivations of that paradigm
  4. Have fun! Don’t take it all too seriously…

Everyday Terrorism

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On March 23, 2009

In Leadership & Influence

Roadside bombings, drive-by shootings, tourists held at gunpoint, we are familiar with these headlines describing terrorist activities. Desperate for a method to get what they want, terrorists resort to tactics that invoke fear in the hearts of even the most secure and confident people.

Terrorists feel totally justified in taking other people’s lives and see their victims as guilty of one thing or another. They take it even so far as suicide, and sacrificing the defenseless and clearly innocent (like children) as a means to the end of their cause.

Perhaps, more insidious than the headline terrorists are the everyday terrorists who operate in the corridors of the modern workplace. We don’t have to look to the streets of a distant city for these people.

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