When the going gets tough - the tough get....WORSE

When the going gets tough
- the tough get …. worse!
THE PERFORMANCE MYTH
Recently we’ve been working with a number of organisations that regularly operate under
pressure. These have included emergency services organisations, market traders and
even businesses that need to respond to rapidly changing and uncertain market
conditions.
In management and leadership roles, one of the key elements of performance is the
quality of the decision making that leads to action. So, how does pressure affect decision
making? Given that business conditions are becoming more difﬁcult and leaders are under
increasing pressure to operate effectively in these conditions, what does this mean for the
way we have to develop our thinking and decision making capabilities (1)?
We’ve all been told that “when the going gets tough, the tough get going”, implying that
high performers perform best when placed under pressure. But worryingly, evidence from
research is clear - whether in sport, business or relationships - performance deteriorates
under increasing pressure (2, 3).
We know that pressure will affect the way we think, reduce our physical skills and make us
more emotional in our decision making.
© Norman Chorn 2016 • norman.chorn@brainlinkgroup.com • (612) 9999 5412 • Page 1
Dr Norman Chorn

Dr Terri Hunter

WHY DOES PERFORMANCE DETERIORATE?
Although pressure and stress can be defined differently, increased pressure often results
in stress (4). And stress has a significant impact on the way the brain functions and the
quality of our decision making and performance. It happens in three ways:
THE IMPACT OF STRESS
Stress affects our sense making by narrowing our focus and limiting our ability to find
creative solutions. Decision making becomes more emotional and defensive in style. And
behavioural skills are downgraded as our psychomotor abilities are impaired.
The table below outlines these effects in further detail.
How we make
sense of information or
events
How we make
decisions about possible
actions
Our ability to take
action
❶ ❷ ❸

Knowing that the brain is affected in these ways, what can we do to improve our
performance under pressure?
Sense-making
We narrow our focus
and become obsessed
with the problem,
rather than possible
solutions
This is the way we experience the world. In extreme physiological
stress, we are inclined to interpret information with a reduction in our
peripheral vision. Our perspective is narrower and we become
focused on the “problem” rather than identifying solutions. We default
to our Narrative Network, a filter that interprets information and events
through our intentions, concerns and memories.
In order to prepare the body for “danger” - a natural response to stress
- there is a change in the mix of neurotransmitters and hormones that
regulate the brain and body. This results in a lowering of mood and
motivation, and generally heightens the sense of fear in the way we
experience events and information.
These factors combine to produce a more risk averse view that
magnifies the perceived threat in information, events, and the world in
general.
Decision making
We default to reflexive
decision making - an
emotionally driven and
often defensive style
Stress causes a reduction in overall cognitive ability, impairing
decision making, mental flexibility, memory and attention spans. The
pre-frontal cortex (PFC), the so-called executive function of the brain,
literally slows down or shuts down completely.
When the PFC is depleted, the limbic system takes over and we resort
to reflexive decision making - a largely non-conscious form of
decision making that is fast, instinctive and emotional.
Reflexive decisions are primed by pattern recognition and can be
misled by making superficial comparisons with previous experiences.
In addition, the connectivity of the amygdala (the fight or flight centre)
is heightened. This increases the fear response and levels of
emotional reaction.
These factors combine to produce higher levels of defensiveness and
fear-driven decisions.
Action
Our psychomotor
performance skills are
impaired - even for
tasks in which we are
normally skilled
Stress also produces a downgrading of behavioural skills. High levels
of stress will impair the connectivity between the brain and the
muscular-skeletal system of the body, thereby reducing our
psychomotor performance skills. We simply become less adept at
those activities we are normally able to perform in a skilled manner.
These reactions to stress have been observed in high performance
athletes, skilled surgeons and accomplished business executives.

HOW TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE UNDER
PRESSURE?
There are three types of initiatives that can assist in limiting the impact of pressure and
stress on performance:
A. Calm the brain
B. Attend to the present
C. Be sensitive to your body. 
A. CALM THE BRAIN
A central principle in our modern understanding of neuroscience is that the brain has an
overarching goal - to minimise danger and maximise reward (4). Given this, a key strategy
is to “calm” the brain by reframing the situation faced by an individual.
Focus on downplaying the sense of impending danger in the situation - and in some
cases, increasing the perception of a possible reward.
This reframing improves our sense-making capability and increases our chances of finding
a creative solution rather than simply focusing on the problem. It prevents cortisol flooding,
a natural response to danger, which in turn prevents an overly negative and pessimistic
outlook. Finally, it maintains a more active pre-frontal cortex, thereby preventing the limbic
system (with its heightened fear and emotional reactivity response) taking over.
Examples of this strategy include:
• think of high pressure moments as a (fun) challenge, not a life-or-death threat
• focus on the immediate task rather than the outcome
• concentrate on those factors you can control, rather than those you can’t
• chunk the challenge or problem into smaller ‘bites’ - reducing the level of overwhelm
• categorise and define the problem you face - naming it will “normalise” it and
minimise its impact
• flash back to your past successes - and try to keep positive.
B. ATTEND TO THE PRESENT
This sounds straightforward - just pay attention to what’s happening now! But it’s not that
easily achieved. The goal here is to stay focused on the facts and events in a non-
judgemental and calm way, without forming early opinions or jumping to conclusions.
The ability to experience things as they are happening in this way is generally termed
mindfulness, and has attracted enormous attention in management and personal
development (5). The evidence is pretty conclusive. We know that mindfulness improves

our cognitive and decision making abilities, enhances self regulation and has benefits for
our behaviour and psychomotor skills (6).
Being mindful means that we activate a very different neural pathway in our brain. The
direct experience network (7) allows us to focus and concentrate on what is happening
in the present in a calm, non-judgemental manner. It’s not the usual way we experience
the world - normally we interpret events and information through our values, preferences,
memories and goals. Because of this, we really need to practice mindfulness in order to
activate the direct experience network in our brain and be able to address the situation in
the ‘present’.
Some of the ways of achieving this include:
• try to “stay with” what is happening at any point in time - concentrate and focus only
on the information and the event as it is revealed to you
• recognise and “accept” the feelings and emotions that arise as you experience the
information or event - but don’t react to these feelings or emotions
• observe what is happening - but remain disengaged from the event by viewing it as
“outside” of you
• create purposeful pauses during your day - take a short break (even 1 minute)
between meetings and go for a short walk without engaging anyone
• use the transitions between tasks wisely - don’t just pick up the next task when
finished the first - use the short time between tasks to revisit your priorities and
purposefully decide on what to do next.
There are many references in the popular press to simple mindfulness practices. Find
some that are easy to perform in your schedule. There is strong evidence that this can
improve your ability to perform under pressure.
C. BE SENSITIVE TO YOUR BODY
The brain is an integral part of our body - and vice versa. Because of this, we think with
our whole body (8). The brain will detect a range of stimuli that are registered non-
consciously - and these manifest as physical sensations through the body. By developing
increased sensitivity to these bodily sensations, we can improve our ability to perform
effectively under pressure and stress.
A key to this is to understand that the brain will experience a sense of “cognitive unease”
in response to certain stimuli from the environment. And this is manifested in a range
sensations - some of which are felt in the body.
Cognitive ease is the mental state that suggests we can continue to think and act
reflexively - ie in the habitual way we have done in the past. In a way, cognitive ease

gives us “permission” to operate in those tried and trusted ways that have generally
brought us success in the past.
Cognitive unease, on the other hand, suggests that we need to stop and think differently
(reflectively) - and then act accordingly. In other words, cognitive unease is the switching
process that allows us to recognise more accurately the real demand of the situation.
When operating under stress, there is a general tendency to act reflexively - ie to respond
automatically with established habits. Recognising cognitive unease is a way of improving
the decisions and actions by recognising that a reflective style may be more appropriate.
Several factors impact on our state of cognitive ease or unease:
1. Intuition: A non-conscious recognition of a pattern in current events that matches a
past event in which you took successful action. This is “permission” to act
reflexively. Intuition can be trusted under two conditions:
• where the situation you encounter is subject to a systematic pattern of events - ie
where events are generally NOT random and follow a well recognised pattern. We
also call this expert intuition - eg: the behaviour of an experienced paramedic at
the scene of an accident
• where you have experience operating in these situations and have received
positive feedback on your performance.
2. Bio-feedback: The physical sensation you experience that tells you something is
wrong or extra-ordinary here. It may be experienced as a “gut feeling”, increased
heart rate or faster, shallower breathing. In this instance, your brain (through bodily
feedback) is telling you it has picked up some non-conscious stimulus that suggests
you may need to avoid reflexive action - and think more carefully about the
situation and what to do next (ie think and act reflectively). 
 
The challenge is to be sensitive to these bodily sensations and not simply dismiss

them as irrational sensations or fear. Practicing mindfulness increases our
sensitivity to bio-feedback and allows us to regulate our thinking and behaviour
when experiencing these physical sensations.
3. Critical brain capacities: We have a range of brain capacities that influence our
ability to think and act effectively. These capacities can be categorised into four key
processes:
• emotions: the brain’s detection of non-conscious cues from the environment
• feelings: the conscious experience of these emotions by way of bodily sensations
• thinking: cognitive abilities such as memory, attention and planning
• self regulation: the regulation of these emotions, feelings and thoughts for
purposes of “appropriate” behaviour and adaptation.
Our work has identified a number of specific brain capacities that enable more
effective decision making and action in stressful and pressure situations:
These key capacities can be trained and developed by way of a targeted brain
training program (9).
4. Stress and mood: As outlined in the earlier part of this paper, stress impacts upon
the brain and performance by affecting sense-making, decision making and actions.
Because of this, these are several factors we should be aware of when we find
ourselves in a pressurised or stressful situation. Our work has identified the
following factors to be aware of:
Emotions Emotional bias: An awareness of your non-conscious biases that impact
your decision-making and actions
Thinking Controlled attention: The capacity to stay focused on the situation, and to
resist automatic thoughts that distract you
Inhibition: The capacity to suppress inappropriate responses to a given
situation
Flexibility: The capacity to effectively switch attention between tasks
Emotions Emotional bias: The awareness of your non-conscious biases that impact
on your decision-making and actions
Feelings Personal stress levels: The current level of stress you are under - ranging
from constant worry or panic to the complete absence of worry
Personal anxiety levels: The current level of anxiety you feel about your
ability to cope in pressurised situations - ranging from feeling anxious to
feeling calm
Depressed mood levels: The extent to which you feel motivated and
engaged with your work - ranging from feeling demotivated to feeling
engaged and motivated.

As in the case of the brain capacities above, individuals often remain unaware of
their levels of bias, personal stress and mood. In many cases, they put on a brave
front and engage in some form of self-denial to convince others (and themselves)
that they are coping well. However, the research evidence shows clearly that
performance is compromised, and is likely to deteriorate alarmingly under additional
pressure and stress.
If people are aware of these factors, they can remain vigilant and seek second
opinions or support when confronted with high pressure and stressful situations.
Remember that these factors can be assessed and strategies put in place to
improve levels of stress mastery.
IMPROVING PERFORMANCE UNDER PRESSURE
Pressure in work or personal situations will often result in stress for the brain - a factor that
compromises performance through an impact on sense-making, decision making and
psychomotor skills.
Three broad strategies are available for enhancing performance under these conditions:
• Reframing the situation to induce a sense of calm to the brain - thereby permitting better
access to the executive and rational functions of the PFC
• Practicing mindfulness to allow you to more accurately assess the needs of the situation
and respond accordingly
• Developing greater sensitivity to cognitive unease to provide important indicators as to
whether you can operate in the usual way or if the situation has to be re-thought.
Recognising the effect of pressure, and taking purposeful steps to mitigate its impact, will
make a signiﬁcant contribution to improving your performance
_______________________________________________________________________
Dr Norman Chorn is a strategist and organisation development practitioner with
the BrainLink Group. He uses principles of neuroscience to address the challenges
of developing strategy in a complex and uncertain environment. His particular
areas of focus are strategy in conditions of uncertainty; organisational and cultural
alignment; and strategic leadership.
Dr Terri Hunter is a brain-based organisational psychologist with the BrainLink
Group. She is an expert in team development and executive leadership coaching,
which she approaches from a neuroscience perspective. Her areas of focus
include team effectiveness, leadership development and brain training.
Subscribe to our regular articles No spam guaranteed

References
1) Decision making under pressure general involves dealing with both hard and soft data. “Soft” data generally refers
to information that is indistinct, difficult to measure and hard to verify accurately. Examples include people’s opinions
or feelings, uncertainties and speculation. 
2) Performing under pressure: The science of doing your best when it matters most, H Weisinger and J Pawliw-Fry,
2015, Crown Publishing, New York 
3) Judgement and decision making under stress: An overview for emergency managers; K Kowalski and C Vaught,
2014, University of Pittsburgh 
4) Your failure to differentiate stress from pressure could be your downfall, A Morin, 18/3/2015, Forbes 
5) An “Integrative Neuroscience” Platform: Application to Profiles of Negativity and Positivity Bias, E Gordon et al,
2008, Journal of Integrative Neuroscience, Vol 7, no 3 
6) Benefits of mindfulness at work: The role of mindfulness in emotion regulation, emotional exhaustion and job
satisfaction, U Hulsheger, H Alberts, A Feinholdt, and J Lang, 2012, Journal of Applied Psychology 
7) What are the benefits of mindfulness? A practice review of psychotherapy-related research, D Davis and J Hayes,
20122, Psychotherapy 
8) The hour between dog and wolf, J Coates, 2013, Fourth Estate 
9) Our work includes the use of a program that assesses and develops specific brain capacities.

When the going gets tough - the tough get....WORSE

Empfohlen

Empfohlen

Weitere ähnliche Inhalte

Mehr von The BrainLink Group

Mehr von The BrainLink Group (20)

Kürzlich hochgeladen

Kürzlich hochgeladen (20)

When the going gets tough - the tough get....WORSE