Researchers are constantly discovering new things about the way our bodies and minds work. Some of them can even help us build better teams or invest our money wiser. Check out these 5 research findings and let us know which ones are the ones you plan on investigating on your own.
#1 The shape of your face affects the way they perceive you at work
People that have a baby face (big eyes, small chin, round face) are perceived to be more innocent and trustworthy but also less experienced than mature-faced people. The latter are also perceived to be cold and threatening. You cannot change the appearance of your face, but you can alter the way you are perceived.
A business woman told the story of how she learned to challenge perceptions. She was in a meeting with a grumpy and powerful entrepreneur that was twice her age. The first thing he said to her was: “I am at least 20 years older than you are, how could you possibly know more than I do?”. She understood that her age and looks projected her as inexperienced, so she said the following “Give me 20 minutes of your time. If I am not telling you something you don’t know, I’ll leave your office and never come back.” He listened what she had to say, and they started working together because she did present some business insights that surprised him.
It is important to know how you are perceived so you could do something about it.
#2 You need to be aware of your loss-aversion
Do you know when to quit? You might think you do, but there are many reasons why we can see when others should walk away, but we cannot see it when it comes to ourselves. We are all victims of what economists call “sunk cost fallacy.” Most of us are loss-averse. When we put much effort into something, we cannot walk away even after it becomes obvious that there is no way to succeed in our endeavor. That is why people stay in broken relationships or jobs they hate. They do not want their efforts to go to waste, but they are losing even more by staying into something that will never work out.
As soon as you realise that something will not work as planned or make you happy, you should quit and move to something new. You’ll save years of your life, money and energy that otherwise will also go to waste like your previous efforts.
#3 We cannot be both empathetic and analytical at the same time
The physiology of our brains is strange. We just can’t use the network of neurons fired for analytical thought at the same time we use the one for empathy. One shuts down the other. That is why the smartest person you know can still be fooled by a swindler’s story. If they’d shut down their empathetic network of neurons, they would see clearly all the inconsistencies in the story, they would detect in seconds that something is not right. Empathy represses analytic thought.
If you’re aware of how your brain works, you’ll be able to take more time to think things through and even listen to what others have to say.
#4 There’s a right-ear advantage
Scientists think that language is preferentially processed by the left side of our brains. That is the side that receives the right ear’s inputs. That might be why a few studies found a right ear preference for processing verbal stimuli. In plain English, what you hear through your right ear is more easily understood and acknowledged by your mind.
When you whisper into or talk towards someone’s right ear, you are increasing your chances to receive a positive answer.
#5 A rotten raisin can ruin your whole pie
No matter how amazing 95% of your employees are, the other 5% can ruin it for everyone. Various studies have shown that even a few lazy or incompetent employees can drag down the performance of an entire organisation.
“Leaders who let a few bad apples in the door—perhaps in exchange for political favors—or look the other way when employees are rude or incompetent are setting the stage for even their most skilled people to fail.” Robert Sutton
Negative interactions have 5 times a bigger impact on an employee’s mood than the positive ones. That means that an aggressive and inconsiderate employee has an immense power over the mood of an entire group of workers.
Test for a personality match as well when hiring, so you could make sure you are not letting some really bad apples in through the door.
