Struggling to unite your newly integrated team? The brain might be the reason—let’s tackle it together!
Why the Brain Resists Change
Our brains are built for survival, naturally focusing on threats over opportunities. This negativity bias shapes team dynamics:
- Amygdala’s Alert: This “threat detector” (or “Screaming Mimi” as I call it) flags uncertainty or change, making collaboration feel risky.
- Lingering Negativity: The hippocampus holds onto past challenges, encouraging caution during new integrations.
- Stress Response: Change activates the HPA axis (a brain-adrenal system releasing cortisol), sharpening focus on issues like new workflows.
- In-Group Bias: We tend to favor our own group, widening “us vs. them” divides.
Understanding these instincts turns fear into a chance for thoughtful leadership.
Strategies to Build Unity
Neuroscience offers practical ways to move past resistance:
- Share a Vision: A clear, positive goal calms the amygdala.
- Facilitate a team session to brainstorm a group name and shared objectives, then display the mission in a shared space or digital platform.
- Create Safety: Transparency reduces cortisol via the vagus nerve.
- Host an open meeting to discuss changes, encourage sub-team culture sharing, and set up a confidential feedback form or one-on-one check-ins.
- Celebrate Progress: Small wins trigger dopamine, shifting focus to growth.
- Define a simple joint task as a milestone, then recognize contributions with a team shout-out or brief acknowledgment in meetings.
- Provide Clarity: Defined timelines and roles ease uncertainty.
- Create a shared timeline with key dates and roles, use collaborative tools for updates, and hold regular Q&A sessions to clarify expectations.
- Build Connections: Empathy from mirror neurons turns strangers into partners. Consider periodic mixed-group mentoring sessions to break down divides and foster trust.
- Assign cross-team pairs for a short project or host monthly mentoring sessions where members share goals, paired with a quick personal insight to spark bonds.
Monitoring Success
Track progress with these steps:
- Survey Team Sentiment: Use brief polls like “I feel good about our direction.”
- Distribute a short online survey weekly, focusing on trust and alignment, and review results to adjust approaches.
- Observe Collaboration: Look for more cross-team interactions and fewer conflicts.
- Monitor meeting attendance, shared document edits, and conflict logs, noting trends over time.
- Measure Performance: Assess improvements in deliverable quality and efficiency.
- Compare pre- and post-integration metrics, such as project completion times or error rates, using a simple tracking tool.
Final Reflection & Call to Action
The brain’s negativity bias is a signal, not a barrier. Combine a shared vision, safety, celebration, clarity, and connection to transform resistance into collaboration.
How have you united your team during change? Share your insights below or try these ideas and let us know how it goes!
Interested in learning more about Neuroscience and how it applies to leadership? I highly recommend MIT Lecturer Dr Tara Swart, MD, Ph.D.’s book Neuroscience for Leadership.