When we lead ourselves it is imperative that we create a situation by intentionally defining the path our elephants are allowed to travel down. In my post on, “ Basic Leadership” I talk about four factors. In this moment it becomes easy for our rider to auto-pilot and let the elephant run. When we explore the scenario, in nearly every case we find that the junk food was stored in close proximity to the breakfast food. In those few instances where I’m speaking to a group of superheros, I am the willing fall guy who readily admits to having eaten cookies for breakfast.
#Elephant in the brain full#
With rare exception, I generally find that most audiences are full of people who have at least once. It is largely the part of the rider to set a path for the elephant.Ĭookies for breakfast… I often ask audiences if they’ve ever eaten junk food for breakfast. So, that being said, the most effective teams train together and challenge each other. It is this team of two, each with their own unique strengths and weaknesses that make us whole. They function as a team to move us from meeting basic physiological needs to self-actualization.
The elephant or the rider would be helpless without the other. At this point, if you haven’t answered the second math problem there is probably a struggle occurring between your elephant and rider as to who the problem belongs to. The rider operates off of choice and will perform tasks that serve a purpose and will skip those that do not. That being said, did you actually answer it or just skip the math to get to the point. The rider is the agent we rely upon for matters that require calculation and critical perspective.įor most of us, the elephant answered that but, 347+294 will require the involvement of the rider. Like the Millennial who shows up at the office and asks, “why do we do it this way?” The elephant may respond with, “because we always have” and the rider has the choice to accept or challenge the response. The conscious mind of the rider sits on top of the elephant and is much less mature. If the elephant is the auto pilot who takes us to and from work unconsciously and through other routine functions in our lives than it is the rider who suddenly realize she forgot to get milk as she pulls into the driveway.
It is the elephant who jumps when we are startled, it is our elephant who eats when we are hungry, and it is our elephant who drives us home at the end of a long day on what seems like auto pilot.
#Elephant in the brain how to#
Chip Heath and Dan Heath draw upon the analogy in the book, “ Switch How To Change Things When Change Is Hard” and do a great job explaining the concept in more detail than I will here. The analogy of an elephant and a rider is not one that I came up with. The rider sitting on top of the elephant, high and to the front. Imagine please that your brain is made of two different individual agents of an Elephant and a Rider. Essentially, though the gist remains the same. In that post, I replace the agents of Elephant and Rider for Dog and Handler. For a bit more from my perspective, the reader could also check out my post on Critical Decision Making. I encourage the reader to spend some time researching Emotional Intelligence to develop a much more thorough understanding of the massive topic that I am about to over-simplify with this post. “ Elephants and Riders” is a module in many of my training programs to help people understand How The Brain Works. Throughout this site readers will find a variety of resources that will help them make better decisions quickly in regards to any number of topics. Elephants and Riders – How The Brain Works
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