Connection as a Catalyst
Leading and optimising human systems in complexity and change.
Let’s start here: take a breath.
Not just one that fills your lungs, but one that reminds you - you’re not a machine in a role. You’re a human being in a system. Constantly influencing and being influenced, moment to moment. Because in a world obsessed with output, productivity, and KPIs, we’ve overlooked something radical in its simplicity:
Connection is a catalyst.
Not a soft skill. Not a nice-to-have. But a biological imperative. A strategic advantage. A systems optimisation tool hiding in plain sight. And the science backs it up. If you want better performance, stronger leadership, more innovation, and real cultural change - you start with the nervous system.
Let’s explore why. The brain is a social organ, literally wired for connection. When we feel safe - seen, respected, attuned to - our prefrontal cortex lights up. That’s the seat of our executive function: decision-making, collaboration, innovation. But when connection is missing, or we feel unsafe? The brain switches to survival mode. Fight. Flight. Freeze. It’s primal. And it’s incompatible with high performance.
No organisation optimises from a reactive nervous system. No team thinks clearly when it’s in threat mode. No culture evolves under chronic stress.
So here’s the punchline: In complexity, what we need most is collective intelligence - but that only becomes available when people feel safe enough to think together, not just react alone.
Complex systems don’t respond to control - they respond to relationship. Human systems are complex and adaptive. They don’t behave like machines. You can’t control them into high performance with policies or pressure. You lead them through feedback loops, shared meaning, and connection.
And yet, when things get chaotic, what do we do? We reach for control. More spreadsheets. More rules. More oversight. More fear, more risk aversion. But in complexity, control isn’t the answer—coherence is. And coherence doesn’t come from alignment. It comes from attunement.
That means people feel safe enough to stay in the conversation—even when it’s hard, even when they disagree, even when change is messy. That’s the magic of connection: it makes systems resilient.
If you want to make a business case, for investing in a strategy of connection, here’s some hard science for soft skills.
1. Increased productivity
Stress costs businesses up to $300 billion a year in absenteeism, turnover, and lost productivity. Regulated individuals focus better, think clearer, and complete more.
ROI: More consistent output. Fewer mistakes. Higher quality work.
2. Improved decision-making and innovation
A calm nervous system means more access to the prefrontal cortex. People can problem-solve, innovate, and take strategic risks—rather than defaulting to reactivity.
ROI: Smarter decisions. Faster adaptation. More creativity in complexity.
3. Reduced burnout and absenteeism
Regulated nervous systems recover faster from stress. Dysregulation, on the other hand, fuels chronic fatigue, burnout, and sick leave.
ROI: Lower health costs. Higher retention. Healthier culture.
4. Better psychological safety
Google’s Project Aristotle found that the highest-performing teams weren’t the ones with the smartest people—they were the ones with the safest culture. And safety comes from nervous system regulation. People who are grounded co-regulate others. It spreads.
ROI: Up to 27% reduction in turnover and 76% more engagement.
5. More effective leadership
Leaders who can stay calm under pressure foster trust. They model resilience. They don’t escalate—they regulate. And that matters.
ROI: Clearer direction. More buy-in. Less drama.
6. Stronger client and customer outcomes
People in relational roles—teachers, clinicians, customer service, coaches—perform best when they’re regulated. They attune better, resolve conflict faster, and build loyalty.
ROI: Higher satisfaction. Better brand perception. Deeper trust.
7. Tangible economic value
Mindfulness and nervous system regulation programs report an ROI of $3–$8 for every $1 invested. In healthcare, regulation training reduced burnout by 26%.
ROI: Proven cost-effectiveness across industries.
8. Long-term cultural advantage
Dysregulated systems get stuck in reactivity. Regulated ones become adaptive. They metabolise stress. They build belonging. They cohere around purpose.
ROI: A self-healing, high-performing, human-centred system.
So what’s next?
What do we do with this from your leadership vantage point, wherever that is in your organisation? You don’t need to overhaul everything. You just need to make connection designable.
Start with the small things:
· Open meetings with a human connection. Get people present.
· Ask, “Who’s not in the room? Who’s not speaking?”
· Centre story, not just strategy. Humans move through narrative.
· Normalize rupture + repair. Make emotional safety part of culture.
And most importantly—start with yourself. Internal connection drives external clarityYou can’t regulate others from a dysregulated self. You can’t lead complexity with a nervous system in shutdown. Your state is your strategy.
So check in:
· What part of you is leading today - visionary? People-pleaser? Protector? Wounded child?
· Are you present enough to co-regulate a room?
· Are you creating coherence by how you show up?
Systems take their cues from the nervous system of their leaders. Connection is contagious - and strategic. Connection spreads through tone, pace, body language, presence. Mirror neurons sync us to one another. Which means:
A calm leader regulates a room. A regulated room transforms a culture. A connected culture becomes resilient in the face of change.
As Gabor Maté says: “A calm nervous system is more influential than a stressed one.” And in human systems, influence is everything. The currency of change is connection. In times of complexity and uncertainty, people don’t need more control. They need coherence. They need leaders who can stay present in the messy middle.
That’s you.
As you lead human systems through ambiguity, ask yourself:
· Am I connected—to myself, to others, to purpose?
· What’s the state I’m broadcasting?
· Am I engineering environments for reactivity, or connection?
Because here’s the truth of culture change and productivity:
Connection isn’t the warm-up. It is the work. It is the strategy. It is the catalyst.
And the ROI? It’s measurable. It’s cultural. It’s human.
Dr Polly McGee is a Neuroleadership Designer, Facilitator, Author, Podcaster and Co-CEO of DISCO. Polly spends their time in organisations building trauma-responsive leadership capacity and psychologically safe, productive cultures; designing and leading workshops; and working with high performance clients in their private therapy practice. From leading fast growth start-ups and excelling in innovation to guiding digital strategies Polly brings a unique perspective to the table with an intersectional lens that collides neurobiology with scaling technology and person-centred leadership capacity across organisations.