Achieving synergy amongst team members can be a challenge in the best of times. Leadership and managers would love nothing more than cohesion with very little effort, but unfortunately that’s not often the case. Conflicts in the workplace are natural, so what can leadership do to make team building and decision making run more smoothly? In a fascinating twist, it turns out the key may be harmonizing our minds and bodies.
In a relatively new area of study, known as physiological synchronization, scientists are seeking answers in how the human body and brain respond to social interactions. After studying “firewalkers” in Spain, researchers began to see commonalities in heart rate variation among close familial relations. In a tradition where men walk across a bed of hot coals, it’s not surprising that the walkers’ heart rates rose and fell at different points. The curious evidence came when they examined the heart rates of spouses and family members who had gathered to watch; which had risen and fallen at the same intervals as their loved one’s (the heart rates of unrelated observers did not synch with the walker’s).
Researchers have since extrapolated this phenomena and applied it to larger groups, such as colleagues in an office environment. A study was conducted, and researchers found that heart rate synchronization helped lead to correct decision making 70% of the time, which accounted for information sharing and free communication amongst team members. Check out the full article here for some amazing insight into the body-mind connection, as well as broader applications of the science behind it.