The neuroscience of flourishing and leadership: connection is the key
The Global Flourishing Study, a comprehensive longitudinal research initiative, surveyed over 200,000 individuals across 22 diverse countries to unravel the components of a flourishing life. The study identified six core domains: happiness and life satisfaction, mental and physical health, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, close social relationships, and financial and material stability. Notably, the first five domains are pursued for their intrinsic value, while financial stability serves as a foundational support.
A perhaps not so striking revelation from the study is that flourishing transcends economic wealth. Countries like Indonesia and the Philippines, despite lower GDPs, ranked high in flourishing due to robust social connections and community engagement. Conversely, wealthier nations like the UK and Japan lagged, reinforcing the message of a lot of wealthy and powerful unhappy people demonstrate that material abundance does not equate to well-being.
The power of connection
One of the major links that I made early in developing our neuroscience driven leadership and culture programs is that because of our evolution and our hard wiring for safety through connection, one of the key ruptures and traumas for human mammals is relational trauma. Social disconnection is painful and pervasive, we avoid it at all costs our whole lives, including in our adult work and leadership roles. The paradox is that to lead is often to make decisions that have a perception of rupture or disconnection, so we are often pushing against our biology to deliver on our roles.
Neuroscientific across decades research corroborates the GFS findings. Our brains are designed to seek and thrive on social interactions. When we experience positive social connections, our brains release oxytocin, fostering trust and bonding. Conversely, social isolation or negative interactions can trigger stress responses, activating the amygdala and leading to heightened anxiety and reduced cognitive function.
In organisational contexts, this means that environments fostering genuine connections can enhance employee well-being, creativity, and productivity. Leaders who prioritise relational health can thus unlock the full potential of their teams by creating the causes and conditions for whole nervous system regulation to occur, uniting our expansive thinking and feeling capabilities to bring us into peak productivity and immersive focus.
Conversely, when cultures lean towards survival style behavior of the sympathetic nervous system, we perpetuate the feelings of isolation while simultaneously having reduced capacity for flourishing as our limbic system mobilises into action and to various degrees based on our whole system experience of safety sidelines our executive function. We might look busy and feel frantic, but often at the expense of actual quality and putting our energy into the right things at the right time. Sometimes we have to slow down and connect to speed up.
High performing people and cultures are safe cultures
Psychological safety, defined as a shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking, is crucial for fostering innovation and learning. When employees feel safe to express ideas, ask questions, or admit mistakes without fear of ridicule or punishment (aka social trauma), organisations benefit from increased engagement and adaptability. Big thinking and expanded perspectives allow greater innovation and the collision of ideas to happen organically, enhancing productivity and collegiality along the way.
The GFS underscores that close social relationships are integral to flourishing. This aligns with the concept of psychological safety, as strong interpersonal bonds within teams can buffer against stress and promote resilience. Leaders play a pivotal role in cultivating such environments by modeling vulnerability, encouraging open dialogue, and demonstrating empathy while also rewarding the culture they want to build.
Neuroleadership is the future of leadership
Traditional leadership models used to emphasise hierarchy and control. However, emerging paradigms advocate for person-centered neuroleadership, which recognises the central role of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and our evolutionary imperatives as key drivers of behavior individually and collectively. Using this approach where human system safety dominates response to environment, leaders prioritise the value of the individual needs, accommodations, aspirations, and well-being of team members. This approach isn’t ‘soft skills’ but is grounded in scientific evidence and evolution – one size fits one and creates space for all.
Neuroscience reveals that when individuals feel seen, heard, and valued, their brains function optimally. Such environments reduce cortisol levels (associated with stress) and increase dopamine and serotonin levels, enhancing motivation and satisfaction. Leaders who adopt a person-centered approach can foster a culture of trust, engagement, and sustained performance while simultaneously making their people more effective, more autonomous and also feeling connected and purposeful themselves while doing it – win win!
Ready, set - connect
To reap the benefits of relational neuroscience and the insights from the GFS, leaders can start with some simple actions:
1. Communicate open and often: encourage transparency and regular feedback loops to build trust and stretch thinking.
2. Prioritise compassion: seek to understand team members' perspectives and challenges – here’s the tip, you need to be well regulated to be able to have that enlarged perspective.
3. Promote inclusivity: It isn’t a woke mind virus to want people to feel safe, seen heard and known. It’s human and it’s also kind. Neuroleaders know to ensure that all voices are heard and valued, creating a sense of belonging and boosting productivity to boot.
4. Stay curious and self-aware: humans leading humans mean that we are in an often messy soup of reactivity, below the line behavior, unsurfaced hurts and traumas all played out in our workplaces. As leaders we need to stay curious about what is driving behavior (ours and theirs), rather than judging or fixing.
5. Model vulnerability: Leadership isn’t a solo sport as the GFS validates. Make mistakes, demonstrate openness about challenges, feel emotion, show emotional regulation, celebrate everyone’s wins and lead from your own authenticity taking your peeps with you.
Ready to flourish?
The convergence of findings from the Global Flourishing Study and the neuroscience of leadership underscore a compelling truth: human connection is not a peripheral aspect of organisational life, rather it is central to it. By embracing person-centered neuroleadership and cultivating environments rich in psychological safety, organisations can unlock unparalleled levels of flourishing, innovation, and resilience. In doing so, they not only enhance performance but also contribute to the flourishing of their people in all their connections.
At DISCO we are committed to the science of flourishing and helping organisations to align, embed and transform their cultures. Check out our programs and people and get in touch if you are ready to transform - and flourish.
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.