52338983 - happy man and thought bubble with checkmark flat illustration

“Where’s the time?” – For an average professional, that’s the biggest question as well as quandary. Addicted to speed and rushed to the hilt, today’s professional is trying to run at full throttle – multitasking and multithreading all the time, in the name of efficiency and response-time. There is hardly any time to verify, confirm, crosscheck, analyze, brood, introspect, or take a second to sit back and notice one’s behavior, choices and actions objectively.

Add to that all the information flowing all over the place and you have a scenario where people will either ‘outsource thinking to analytics’ or simply refuse to go through the ‘due diligence required for deliberation’. And that, let me tell you, is not a good news for decision making. Well, before we discuss it in some details, watch this video to get the gist of what we are discussing, why it is important, and how it has relevance in professional as well as personal context…

Yes, you heard it right – in the matters of mind, “At times, shortcuts can cut us short”. As video discussed, the rationale behind this point is rooted in neuroscience. If we will look at our brain then we will find that our brain is merely 2% of our body-mass yet it consumes close to 20% energy. That’s why, it always tries to maximize efficiency by conserving energy. For this reason, it also prefers to take decisions quickly, without getting into complexities.

For this purpose, our brain uses heuristics – i.e. mental shortcuts. In other words, in a world full of information, where we have to make numerous decisions all the time, our brain assumes any one apparent factor of something to be its true representative, and makes notions about that thing. For instance, if email is long then it must be sensible; if office is arranged then the person must be organized; or if a person is bespectacled then he must be studious.

Yes! At times, our brain’s inbuilt tendency to be hasty makes a lasting impact on our decisions, and what’s strange is that, we get trapped in our own web gladly, without even realizing. And when we miss this self-inspection, we run a risk of making a decision just on the basis of appearance…one reply…or a document. Well, to acknowledge this fact, track one’s state and do the needful, social & emotional intelligence is required.

This ‘emotional & social intelligence’ is a function of one’s cognizance of the ‘design and function of human brain’ blended with key concepts of psychology. This coming together of applied neuroscience and behavioral science sets the foundation for developing emotional & social intelligence – the skill of managing self and connecting with others. Yes, it is a skill that can be learnt, practiced and mastered. However, it all begins with some important realizations like…‘In the matters of mind, at times, shortcuts can cut us short’.

 

Dr. Sandeep Atre

‘Emotional & Social Intelligence’ Expert

Founder – Socialigence

Note: Socialigence (www.socialigence.net) offers self-paced video-based online course on ‘Social & Emotional Intelligence’ with content that has relevance across the globe, and delivery specifically customized according to the work-scenarios in India.