1. Neuroscience and
Organisational Change
Join the conversation 7-9pm 6th July 2022
Presented by Alex Boulting
The aim of these monthly talks is to
crowd-source a body of knowledge from
people who have experience in
Organisational Change.
2. Building Capability for
Organisational Change
Join the conversation 7-9pm 3rd August 2022
Presented by Alex Boulting
The aim of these monthly talks is to
crowd-source a body of knowledge from
people who have experience in
Organisational Change.
3.
4. 4
Enhancing organisational change capability
UNIQUENESS
Drive to flourish
DOING –
External Perspective
BELONGING–
Drive to belong
BEING –
Internal Perspective
10. 10
What is stress?
‘the non-specific response of
the body to any demand for
change’
Hans Selye 1936.
‘individual state of
uncertainty about what
needs to be done to
safeguard physical, mental
or social well-being.’
Karl Friston 2017
Uncertainty
=
Surprise
=
‘Free Energy’
11. 11
Why stress in Organisational Change?
Clearly defined ?
Supports Deficit based model in psychology
& organisational change
Easy to measure? All we understand
Stress = change – ‘Brains hate change etc’
Change requires pain – urgency – breaking
open the shell of complacency (Lewin)
Negative impact on our mental health =
duty of care
12. Challenging
Status Quo
Creating Pain
Urgency Continuum
Not Accepting BAU
“Strong and widespread
felt need for change
although the direction of
change is not clear yet
Phillips” (1983)
Sense of
Concern
“To break open the shell of
complacency and
self‐righteousness it is
sometimes necessary to
bring about an emotional
stir up”. Lewin (1943)
Organisations are
“canyons of complacency”
Kotter (2012)
Emotional
Stir-up
“support for attitudes have
to be undermined and
destroyed if change is to
take place.” Schein (1962)
Destroy
Attitudes
“Orchestrating pain
messages throughout an
institution is the first step in
developing organisational
commitment to change”
Conner
‘create a crisis’ Kotter
(2012)
Create a Crisis
Do we know what we are talking about?
“Hiatt (2006) warns against overselling change by putting too much stress on the urgency of every change—reducing
credibility. Similarly, Kanter et al. (1992: 383) caution that messages of urgency might appear to “cry wolf” and “fail to induce a
felt need for change.“
“it is difficult to make much
progress…of a major
change effort unless most
managers honestly believe
that the status quo is
unacceptable” (p51) (2012)
13. 13
How do we measure stress?
Cortisol Pupil Dilation Questionnaire
Objective Subjective
14. Posterior Parietal Cortex
Parietal Lobe
Occipital lobe
Hypothalamus
Hippocampus
Primary Visual Cortex
Cerebellum
Spinal Cord
Primary Motor Cortex
Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC)
Ventral Striatum
Ventro Medial PreFrontal Cortex
Amygdala
Brainstem
Pre- SMA
Isolating Brain Regions – is this helpful?
15. NUMEROSITY
DIVERSITY
FEEDBACK
NON-EQULIBIUM
Emergence – what else is there?
OF
COMPLEX
SYSTEMS
CHEMISTRY BIOLOGY NEUROSCIENCE PSYCHOLOGY
ORGANISATIONAL
CHANGE
Non-Linear Robustness Modularity Memory Adaptivity
PHYSICS
Self-Organised
=Emergence “At each stage, entirely new laws, concepts and
generalisations are necessary… Psychology is not applied
biology, nor is biology applied chemistry.” Philip W. Anderson
= building block or base feature
18. 18
Is Change Pain?
Rock & Schwartz (2006) seem to be the creators of this
claim. They state, ‘change is pain’ – asking people to do
things differently creates error signals which induces
stress & ‘amygdala hijacks’.
Change or ambiguity
Threat response in
our brains (‘fight or
flight’)
Distraction, anxiety &
fear
Can’t think well,
poorer decision-
making, reduced
memory, increased
anger
Poor performance/
more aggressive
relationships
19.
20.
21. 21
The evidence suggests…
Stress is highly nuanced
‘Stress’ needed to change is the same level as waking up
Stimulatory levels of ‘stress’ last around 2 hours
Our brains seek stimulation
Consistently high levels of ‘stress’ affects wellbeing
Negative relationship between ‘stress’ performance
Performance v habit formation
25. Triune Brain – A misleading metaphor?
LIZARD BRAIN
(Brainstem & Cerebellum)
‘Fight or Flight’ & Autopilot
MAMMAL BRAIN
(Limbic System)
Emotions, Memories, Habit &
Attachments
HUMAN BRAIN
(Prefontal-cortex)
Language, Abstract Thought,
Consciousness, Imagination,
Reasoning
MacLean, P. D. (1990). The triune brain in evolution: Role in paleocerebral functions. Springer Science & Business Media.
26. Left v Right Brain
Left Brain
Analytical Thought
Detail Orientated
Ordered Sequencing
Rational Thought
Verbal
Cautious
Planning
Maths & Science
Logic
Right Field Vision
Right Side Motor Skills
Image adapted from Sapolsky, R. M. (2017). Behave: The biology of humans at our best and worst.
Right Brain
Intuitive Thought
Holistic Perception
Random Sequencing
Emotional Thought
Nonverbal
Adventurous
Impulse
Creative writing & art
Imagination
Left-field vision
Left-side motor skills
27. NLP
A mashup of myths
or
an integrator of change
interventions?
Your thinking
processes – the way
you use your senses to
understand what is
happening around you
Neuro
Your behaviour
How you organise
your ideas and
reactions and how
this affects others
Programming
Your words
how you use
language and how it
influences you and
those around you
Linguistic
ROAD
MAPS
NLP
28. Amygdala Hijack
Can one part of the brain
hijack other parts of our
brain?
If it does, could we ever learn
to control it?
30. Posterior Parietal Cortex
Parietal Lobe
Occipital lobe
Hypothalamus
Hippocampus
Primary Visual Cortex
Cerebellum
Spinal Cord
Primary Motor Cortex
Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC)
Ventral Striatum
Ventro Medial PreFrontal Cortex
Amygdala
Brainstem
Pre- SMA
Areas of brain involved in change
31. Behavioural
Outcome
Meta Learning
Mental Models disrupted re-
learning how to learn e.g.
challenge underlying
assumptions
Ambiguous Uncertainty
Outcomes Known
Probabilities Unknown
Outcome Known
Certainty
Outcome Known
Probability Known
Risk
Outcomes Unknown
Probabilities Unknown
Irreducible Uncertainty
Unknown or unheeded
extreme events
“Black Swan”
Stress
increases
as
uncertainly
of
strategy
choice
increases
Habit & S-R Learning – we
know there is a problem but
uncertain of how to approach it
& its outcomes so just repeat
what was rewarded before
Goal-directed learning –
focused and open to new
ideas. ‘Seeking system’
stimulated and cortical
plasticity
Individual response
Brain response
Stimulation optimizes learning as
we can recall previous learning,
use our ‘cognitive’ systems and are
able to be reflective &
outrospective
Negative effect - Boredom,
disengagement, fear & disgust
Positive effect – Mind wandering
& creativity
Organisational
Change
CONTEXT
Personality
trait,
trust
in
leaders,
organisational
justice,
colleagues
reaction,
self-efficacy,
previous
change
experience,
congruence
with
own
beliefs,
relevance
to
self,
optimism,
autonomy,
‘cognitive
overload’
e.g.
over
training/communication
State of Change
No Learning – automatic or
routine behaviors (e.g., habits)
that we are familiar with
Sustained levels of cortisol 10-20
(ug/dl)
Transitory levels of cortisol 10-20
(ug/dl) & dopamine release
No Stress
Low levels of cortisol 0-10 (ug/dl)
Acute Stress impairs our ability to
recall memories and we rely on our
habits which reduces behavioural
flexibility and makes us reflexive &
introspective
Toxic or Chronic Stress Pain
inhibition, fearful defensive
reaction, emotional regulation,
increased heart rate & blood
pressure
High levels of cortisol 30-50 (ug/dl)
32. SUPPORT
Support & expectations from colleagues to
practice the new behaviour and whether
people see others adopting the behaviour.
Integrates emotion &
cognition of change
Current State
Lateral
Pre-Frontal
Cortex
Sensory
Cortex
Sensory
Input
Beliefs about previous
changes & capability
Prior Beliefs
(System 1)
Hippocampus
ADAPTABILITY
Attitude to the change which is based on
whether people think the change outcomes
are likely to happen and how beneficial
they are.
EFFICACY
Belief in ability to change, perceptions of
potential barriers to change and perceived
power to overcome them
CAPABILITY
“Is an attribute of a person that together
with opportunity makes a behaviour
possible or facilitates it”
OPPORTUNITY
“Is an attribute of an environmental system
that together with capability makes a
behaviour possible or facilitates it”
MOTIVATION
“Aggregate of mental processes that
energise and direct behaviour”
NEUROSCIENCE COM-B Model TPB*
BEHAVIOURAL
CHANGE
* Theory of Planned Behaviour Ajzen 1985
AUTONOMY
BELONGING
External Environment
Hypothalamus
33. Brain response
Outcomes believed to be
achievable as clear mental
model
Un/Certain State
(System 1)
Risky State
(System 2)
Integrates emotion &
cognition of change
Current State
Outcomes predictable as
alternative strategies
available
Lateral
Pre-Frontal
Cortex
Pre-SMA
Cortex
OFC &
vmPFC
Sensory
Cortex
Sensory
Input
Goal State
Create meaning in our
world & help simplify
complexity
Beliefs about previous
changes & capability
Prior Beliefs
(System 1)
Hippocampus
Ambiguous Uncertainty
Outcomes Known
Probabilities Unknown
Outcome Known
Certainty
Outcome Known
Probability Known
Risk
Outcomes Unknown
Probabilities Unknown
Irreducible Uncertainty
Unknown or unheeded
extreme events
“Black Swan”
State of Change
System 1 System 2
zzz
Fast Slow
Unconscious Conscious
Automatic Effortful
Everyday
Decisions
Complex
Decisions
Error Prone Reliable
Hypothalamus
34. Brain response
Outcomes believed to be
achievable as clear mental
model
Uncertain State
(System 1)
Risky State
(System 2)
Integrates emotion &
cognition of change
Current State
New beliefs based on
efficacy of strategy
Posterior Beliefs
(System 1)
Outcomes predictable as
alternative strategies
available
Integration of beliefs &
risks of attainable goals
Integration of
States
Primary
Motor
Cortex
Anterior
cingulate
cortex
Lateral
Pre-Frontal
Cortex
Pre-SMA
Cortex
OFC &
vmPFC
Hippocampus
Behavioural Change
Sensory
Cortex
External
Environment
Sensory
Input
Goal State
Create meaning in our
world & help simplify
complexity
Striatum
Others
Behaviour
Posterior
Parietal
Cortex
Beliefs about previous
changes & capability
Prior Beliefs
(System 1)
Hippocampus
Strategy
/reward
likely
Dopamine
This circuit reinforces familiar
habits as we are in a dopamine loop
– we just keep repeating the same
behaviour because we have a well
known strategy to deal with the
change.
This is no longer change but just
business as usual for the brain
Negative effect - Boredom,
disengagement, fear & disgust
Positive effect – Mind wandering
& creativity
No Stress
Outcome Known
‘Known Knowns’
Certainty
35. Brain response
Outcomes believed to be
achievable as clear mental
model
Uncertain State
(System 1)
Risky State
(System 2)
Integrates emotion &
cognition of change
Current State
Outcomes predictable as
alternative strategies
available
Integration of beliefs &
risks of attainable goals
Integration of
States
Amygdala
Anterior
cingulate
cortex
Lateral
Pre-Frontal
Cortex
Pre-SMA
Cortex
Sensory
Cortex
Brain response
Provides additional
energy for brain
Increases attention
Controls learning
Stimulation
External
Environment
Sensory
Input
Others
Behaviour
Posterior
Parietal
Cortex
No ’perfect’
strategy/
reward
uncertain
Norepinephrine
This is where the learning happens. We
are experiencing ‘simulation’ which
pushes us to challenge our beliefs and
strategies to form new behaviours &
beliefs
New beliefs based on
efficacy of strategy
Posterior Beliefs
(System 1)
OFC &
vmPFC
Hippocampus
Goal State
Create meaning in our
world & help simplify
complexity
Beliefs about previous
changes & capability
Prior Beliefs
(System 1)
Hippocampus
Stimulation optimizes learning as
we can recall previous learning,
use our ‘cognitive’ systems and are
able to be reflective &
outrospective
Transitory levels of cortisol 10-20
(ug/dl) & dopamine release
‘Known Unknowns’
36. Brain response
Outcomes believed to be
achievable as clear mental
model
Uncertain State
(System 1)
Risky State
(System 2)
Integrates emotion &
cognition of change
Current State
New beliefs based on
efficacy of strategy
Posterior Beliefs
(System 1)
Outcomes predictable as
alternative strategies
available
Integration of beliefs &
risks of attainable goals
Integration of
States
Amygdala
Anterior
cingulate
cortex
Lateral
Pre-Frontal
Cortex
Pre-SMA
Cortex
OFC &
vmPFC
Hippocampus
Sensory
Cortex
Cognitive Exhaustion
Learned Helplessness
Anxiety & Depression
Chronic Stress
Response
External
Environment
Sensory
Input
Irreducible
Uncertainty
Goal State
Create meaning in our
world & help simplify
complexity
Problem seems
unsolvable
We cannot change our
world
Crisis of confidence
Hypothalamus
‘Fight or Flight’
Others
Behaviour
Posterior
Parietal
Cortex
Beliefs about previous
changes & capability
Prior Beliefs
(System 1)
Hippocampus
No
strategy/
reward
unlikely
Cortisol
The change is too
much and we go into
‘fight or flight’ mode
Outcomes Unknown
Probabilities Unknown
‘Unknown Unknowns’
Irreducible Uncertainty
Toxic or Chronic Stress Pain
inhibition, fearful defensive
reaction, emotional regulation,
increased heart rate & blood
pressure
High levels of cortisol 30-50 (ug/dl)
37. Brain response
Outcomes believed to be
achievable as clear mental
model
Uncertain State
(System 1)
Risky State
(System 2)
Integrates emotion &
cognition of change
Current State
New beliefs based on
efficacy of strategy
Posterior Beliefs
(System 1)
Outcomes predictable as
alternative strategies
available
Integration of beliefs &
risks of attainable goals
Integration of
States
Anterior
cingulate
cortex
Lateral
Pre-Frontal
Cortex
Pre-SMA
Cortex
OFC &
vmPFC
Hippocampus
Sensory
Cortex
Cognitive Exhaustion
Learned Helplessness
Anxiety & Depression
Chronic Stress
Response
External
Environment
Sensory
Input
Irreducible
Uncertainty
Goal State
Create meaning in our
world & help simplify
complexity
Problem seems
unsolvable
We cannot change our
world
Crisis of confidence
Hypothalamus
‘Fight or Flight’
Others
Behaviour
Posterior
Parietal
Cortex
Beliefs about previous
changes & capability
Prior Beliefs
(System 1)
Hippocampus
Cortisol
Primary
Motor
Cortex
Behavioural Change
Striatum
Strategy
/reward
likely
Amygdala
Brain response
Provides additional
energy for brain
Increases attention
Controls learning
Stimulation
No ’perfect’
strategy/
reward
uncertain
Norepinephrine
Dopamine
Bayesian Model or Cognitive Updating
38. 38
Distributed Decision Making
COMPLY
Known Knowns
High Impact
High Risk – one way
Certainty
No alternatives
Clear causation
Data Rich
Simple system
“Tell”
Message Framing
Central decision
e.g. Safe Guarding
CONSULT
Known Unknowns
Medium Impact
Medium Risk
Uncertainty
Few alternatives
Resources
Scenario based
Complicated System
“Sell & Tell”
Discuss implications
Delegated Decision
e.g. Restructuring
CO-CREATE
Unknown Unknowns
Uncertain Impact
Low risk – two way
Ambiguity
Unknown alternatives
Unclear outcomes
Data Poor
Complex system
Participation
Understand Context
Distributed Decision
e.g. Values Statement
39. CONTEXT
Contextual queues
automatically activate the
habit
MENTAL
MODEL
Habit represented in the
memory is activated
HABIT
Reliance on habit
depends on context e.g.,
distraction, stress ability,
willpower etc.
GOAL SYSTEM
Encodes relationship
between action and
value of outcome
EXPOSURE
goals influence habit formation
by initially motivating people to
repeat actions
OUTCOME
Did we achieve the
desired outcome?
INFERENCE
– WHAT caused the
behaviour?
PREDICTION – ‘MODEL FREE’ – ‘TRIAL & ERROR’
Habitual v Goal Directed Behaviour
Wood, W., & Rünger, D. (2016).
Psychology of habit. Annual
review of psychology, 67(1),
289-314.
43. ENTROPY – at what level are you?
Relationally
Disorganised
Fully Disorganised Dynamically
Organised
Fully Organised
High Entropy
High Randomness
Low Structure
High Autonomy
High Free Energy
Low Entropy
Low Randomness
High Structure
Low Autonomy
Low Free Energy
44. Free Energy
FREE ENERGY
=
Divergence –Evidence
Discrepancy between our model & the world = prediction error
PERCEPTION – change beliefs to
minimise divergence
ACTION – change observations to
maximise evidence
CHANGE YOUR MIND CHANGE YOUR WORLD
PREDICTION OBSERVATION
BEING – Sensory States DOING – Active States
45. Markov (Comfort) Blanket
External
Environment
Each level seeks evidence
for its own existence
hence becomes a model
of its environment through
sensing & acting. Errors
in predictions between the
model & sensory
information cause
surprise. Surprise uses
free-energy for correction.
Markov Blankets create
boundaries between levels
which create a coherent
whole (belonging) while
preserving individual
autonomy/uniqueness. Each
level is self sustaining but
‘nested’ in one another
Sensing
Acting
Sensing
Acting
Sensing
Acting
Individual
Group
Organisation
47. Bayesian Updating Getting the complete picture
Sensory Input
(‘New’ Evidence)
Current Beliefs Future Beliefs
Organisational
Academic
Stakeholder
Our Knowledge
Our Experience
Our Current
model of the
world
New mental
model of the
world
Organisation’s most
likely situation 1
2
3
4
48. 04
03
02
01
01
02
03
04
03
02
01
01
02
03 04
S
L
E
I
Deduction
(inference from facts) Experts
Induction
(inference from observation) Education
Consultants
Institutions
Abduction
(inference from what you
‘know’ )
Knowledge
Pattern Matching
Agency
Practitioner Organisational
Stakeholder
Academic
Active Inference we seek
information that makes our
predictions of our reality true. This
‘reality’ is our mental model - a
bias. Our reality is a self fulfilling
perceptual prediction.
Authority – information that
is repeated within a systems
creates a ‘narrative’ where you
assume people know what they
are talking about. A relational &
conceptual beliefs.
Empirical – objective
observation used to test
hypothesis “seeing is believing”
- ‘empirical reality’ used in
evidence-based practice
Automatic –”Automatically
generated solutions without long
logical arguments or evidence”
subject to cognitive bias Experience
INTERNAL EXTERNAL
49. • Confirmation
• Outcome
• Authority
• Halo
• Groupthink
Too much information going through my brain
Too much information driving me insane!
50. SENSING (Being)
We optimise our beliefs
(prior expectations) given
information from our
environment
Sight Sound Smell
Touch
Inferred
Estimate
Future Mental
Model
Prior
expectation
Inferred
Estimate
Prior
expectation
Increasing
conceptual
energy used
through
perception to
create
information &
certainty
Increasing
physical
energy
(glucose)
used to
create order
Our bias determines what we sample
Current
Mental Model
Active Inference
You can change your mind or change your data
ACTING (Doing)
We ‘play back’ our beliefs
(inference) to check our
understanding of the
environment
SURPRISE
Difference between prior
belief and actual
observation
NOVELTY
Not having prior beliefs
about a situation
52. 01
02
03
04
05
How does our brain
store information?
How we learn?
What role do
neurons play in the
process?
Do memories reside
in synapses ?
How long does it
last ?
53. 53
Brain Plasticity – what do we mean?
Functional reorganization – increasing surface area and
division between lobes and hemispheres – prefrontal cortex
increased mass
Structural reorganisation – increasing grey matter necessary
abilities such auditory and language processing, movement,
learning, and memory
54. Concentration, balance archers' episodic
memory and theory of mind-related neural
networks.
Spatial orientation increased posterior
hippocampus
Increased grey matter in visuospatial,
auditory, and motor regions
Execution of movement, but also in learning,
memory language
Cerebellum making postural adjustments but
lower capacity for auditory information
processing
01
02
03
04
05
Athletes
Taxi Drivers
Musicians, Dancers, and Opera
Performers
Simultaneous Interpreters
Seafarers
Changes in Skill & Behaviour
55. 55
Long Term Potentiation
Konorski introduced the term “synaptic
plasticity 1948
“neurons that fire together, wire
together (Hebb, 1949).”
Fits & starts in research
Still a lot to learn
Warning ! Persistent pressure
57. Posterior Cingulate Cortex
Hippocampus
Ventro Medial PreFrontal Cortex
Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC)
Default Network = self-referential and introspective state
Stores memories of
emotional states ‘gut
feelings’ & alarm for
behavioural snags
Mediates emotional
states & visuospatial
awareness ‘big picture’
Extinguish fear
responses & negative
emotions controlling the
amygdala & decision
making
Indexes memories used
to and infer the future
59. 59
Default Network Interventions
Acupuncture
Antidepressants
Deep brain stimulation
Meditation
Physical Activity and Exercise
Psychedelic drugs
Psychotherapy
Sleep deprivation
Sleeping and resting wakefulness
A resting brain can do
more than one doing
demanding tasks
61. 1. Context is everything – what are the levels of certainty,
ambiguity and risk associated with the change, what are
people’s prior experience of change what assumptions are
they likely to make – Understanding Interrelationships
2. Say up to date – the more out of date your are the more
difficult it will be to change - Development
3. Introspective spaces to reflect on change (Default Network) –
Psychological Safety
4. Pressure – it won’t change anything – Wellbeing
61
Lessons from Neuroscience
62. AND ...
Thank you!
from Alex
Boulting
Owner | ebbnflow
+44 7562570000
alex@ebbnflow.co.u
k
www.ebbnflow.co.u
k
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