Lessons for leaders from Covid

Something really troubling happened about 3 months into Covid

My inbox lit up with founders and CxO’s wanting my help.

This wasn’t the troubling bit.

I like that… more please.

The troubling part was the story I was hearing over and over again was of a sense of meloncholy and isolation.

“I spend my day in this room or that room on email and zoom” was obviously a part of this equation…

I helped them to dig deeper and explore this with an understanding around neurochemicals.

Give someone a hug and if they’re open to it after a period of time the body will release Oxytocin - the belonging neurotransmitter.

We all have our set point for Oxytocin.

An amount we NEED to experience and a series of REAL WORLD indicators that produce them.

Side note: Did you know that within 30 seconds of shaking someone’s hand 80% of the time we wipe our hand on our faces.

When we experience these markers we get our oxytocin needs met and feel a sense of belonging.

When they aren’t fulfilled we experience withdrawal symptoms, grief, isolation, dispondency on a NERVOUS SYSTEM level (DEep) much in the same way that we experience cravings when we under eat or anxiety when GABA is blocked in the brain or if we get endorphins withdrawal if we are hooked on endurance or intense exercise.

Every cell in the body is affected.

I say this not to wade further in on the work from home, office, or hybrid debate.

But to say that if you feel like something is missing, that feeling isn’t a random annomally it’s an ALARM produced by chemicals as a result of something in or not in your environment.

It is there because a genuine need is not being met. Which is to say it’s an indicator that everything is working as it should.

There is nothing wrong with you. You’re working perfectly.

Carry on.