Your brain’s amygdala: responsible for processing information and emotions. Its function impacts your beliefs, thoughts and feelings—and can sometimes lead to emotional triggering—known as the amygdala hijack. When you feel yourself responding reactively (and often irrationally) to a situation, you are likely experiencing an amygdala hijack to a stressor. And that’s totally normal—you’re human! But it’s key to learn what triggers you and how to mitigate your fight-or-flight responses as you grow both as a person and leader.

We’ve all seen leaders, either firsthand or in the news, who fail to get their amygdala hijack under control and end up acting in a manner that results in negative and sometimes even tragic consequences. That is why it’s so important to understand the core executive functions of your brain and how they influence you. In this article, we’ll share how you can strengthen your brain’s executive functions and also how you can apply them to the self-leadership of your beliefs, thoughts and emotions.

Strengthen Your Brain’s Core Executive Functions

Your executive functions are talked about a lot in child development and for the most part, they fully develop by the time you’re in your 30s, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be strengthened. Some sources list 12 executive functions, some list eight and some seven, but we’re going to focus on three executive functions.

1. Working Memory. This function is responsible for keeping you on-task, making decisions and remembering things. In our technologically saturated environment, it can be hard to maintain focus. But if you allow distractions or overwhelm to steal your time, your productivity will be hindered and your day derailed. As a leader, you have a responsibility to make smart decisions and use your time both efficiently and effectively—especially if you expect those you lead to do the same. At Building Champions, we have a great tool to help you stay focused on the most important tasks so you can reach your goals. Our free Focus Plan is a simple one-sheet that can help strengthen your working memory and keep you focused throughout your day.

2. Cognitive Flexibility. As a leader, it’s important to manage competing priorities—which often feels like juggling multiple balls in the air. It can be tiring and you might drop a ball once in a while. But if you are working on your emotional intelligence (EQ) and growing in empathy, it’ll be easier to have compassion on yourself and others when a ball is dropped. This can require cognitive flexibility. To lead yourself well, you must control your thoughts. When you’re interrupted by a colleague while deep in a project, what types of thoughts come to mind? Are you frustrated or are you able to pause what you’re doing and help them? Are you able to set a boundary and let them know you’re happy to help in an hour or two if it’s not urgent? Or if a project you lead is significantly delayed and you know you’re going to miss the deadline, how flexible is your thinking? Are you able to shift your thinking to create a new plan? Next time an issue comes up pay attention to the thoughts running through your mind. If you find yourself worrying and responding negatively, pause and ask yourself, “How can I practice cognitive flexibility in this moment?”

3. Self-Control. This function is vital for a leader. Inhibitory control doesn’t mean you won’t ever act quickly or impulsively, but it does mean you’ll likely know when it’s appropriate to do so and when it’s not. One way to practice self-control is to pause before speaking and listen more than you speak. Leaders working toward emotional health learn to practice both curiosity and active listening. These skills can help you see the perspectives of others and take them into account as needed. The next time you sense an amygdala hijack moment coming on, pause, take deep breaths and control your thoughts. Learn what it is for you that might trigger an amygdala hijack and set boundaries accordingly. If you know a specific situation has the capacity to emotionally trigger you, then work on controlling your thoughts and beliefs about the circumstance before you walk into it—this will allow you to then control your behaviors in the moment that matters.

How to Lead Your Believing, Thinking and Feeling

Your executive functions contribute to your emotional intelligence. Daniel Goleman, author of the book Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More than IQ, revealed that nearly 90% of the differences between those considered star performers in senior leadership roles against average ones could be attributed to emotional intelligence rather than abilities. This is why it’s imperative that, as a leader, you grow your EQ and make your self-leadership a top priority—because your influence is widespread.

• Believing. What you believe about others, yourself and your circumstances drive your thoughts which, in turn, drive your emotions. And your emotions lead you to action—affecting your relationships and your overall influence. This piece is huge. You can better understand what it is you believe by establishing your convictions. What are non-negotiables both in business and life for you? What would you want a child in your life (your own, a niece/nephew or neighbor kid) to see you living out? Are those convictions you consider most important in alignment with how you lead yourself at work and home? And what do you believe about yourself, your life and the people you lead and love? A great first step in identifying your core beliefs is to work through your own convictions—to determine if you’re living in accordance with them. And, if you’re not, the great news is that you can make a positive change!

• Thinking. As a leader, you might not think you have the time to take pauses throughout your day, but it’s a healthy boundary to set for yourself. In these breaks, you can incorporate mindfulness, meditation or journaling to help you center yourself and gain control over your thoughts. If you know that certain things cause you to think negatively instead of positively, then set boundaries. The news or social media first thing in the morning can often start your day off with a negative bent, so if that’s true for you, then protect yourself and your thoughts. Your thoughts influence your emotions, and your emotions influence your behaviors.

• Feeling. If you get your believing and thinking in a healthy place, then your feeling will follow—as your mindset affects your behaviors. One way to lead your emotions is to first identify them. You can make note of instances that you find yourself experiencing certain emotions. This will help you recognize patterns and better understand when and what situations cause you to feel specific emotions. And if you work on strengthening your executive function of self-control then in those moments of emotional triggering (and they happen to everyone) you’ll be able to put your high EQ to use and stop yourself from reacting poorly.  

Your beliefs, thoughts and emotions greatly impact your ability to lead yourself and others well. We encourage you to put in the work to strengthen your executive functions and maintain health in the areas of your believing, thinking and feeling—because you have the capacity to inspire others to do the same. Our coaching approach is rooted in both the beliefs and behaviors of great leadership, so learn more today about how we can help you grow both in life and leadership!