Build Resilience to Avoid Burnout from the Find Your Leadership Podcast

Key Insights

• Understanding how the brain works can benefit not only business but also every aspect of our lives.
• "Wisdom is when you've tested something like a hypothesis, you've learned from it, and then you've made a decision." - Hanegan defines wisdom as the result of testing, learning, and decision-making based on data.
• Turning data into wisdom is crucial for making better decisions in both business and life.
• Resilience is a skill that can be improved upon with a growth mindset, treating it as a skill rather than a fixed trait.
• It is scary how powerful bias can be, as it influences our decisions and perceptions without us even realizing it.
• Conflict can be beneficial in the workplace and in personal relationships, as it can bring about growth and prevent biases.
• Conflict should be seen as productive, as it allows for the exchange of different perspectives and promotes better discussions.
• Conflict is often seen as negative, but the speaker highlights how asking "why" and seeking understanding is a natural behavior in children and can lead to growth and better relationships.

Summary

• 00:00 Prioritize timely delivery of valuable data to build resilience and avoid burnout, according to Kevin Hanegan, a senior leader who uses data and analytics to transform organizations.
• Kevin Hannigan is a senior leader who uses data and analytics to transform organizations and believes in constantly evolving and improving ourselves in business and personal lives.
• Build resilience to avoid burnout by prioritizing the timely delivery of valuable data.
• Medway, a town in Massachusetts, is located midway between Boston, Providence, Rhode Island, and Worcester, Massachusetts.
• 03:52 Our brains process millions of sensory inputs like a supercomputer, but filtering relevant information is crucial to avoid flawed decisions and burnout.
• Our brains make decisions based on the science of how the brain works, which involves processing millions of sensory inputs, similar to a powerful supercomputer that can potentially burn out.
• Filtering relevant information is crucial for decision-making, as relying on outdated data and unconscious intuition can lead to flawed decisions.
• Negativity is prioritized over positivity in the brain, leading to negative thoughts and influencing decision-making based on beliefs and values.
• 06:36 Overcoming implicit bias requires questioning and reframing thoughts, considering alternate scenarios, and recognizing the influence of subconscious filters and shortcuts.
• In the modern age, we are faced with the challenge of improving ourselves in work, life, and society, unlike in the past where the focus was solely on survival.
• Overcoming implicit bias involves questioning and reframing thoughts, considering alternate scenarios, and recognizing that irrational decisions and behaviors are influenced by subconscious filters and shortcuts.
• The speaker shares a childhood story about a troublemaking neighbor and how his perception of redheads changed when his own child was born with flaming orange hair.
• 09:39 Confirmation bias and implicit bias can impact our decision-making more than we realize, and turning data into wisdom involves understanding its meaning and making informed decisions.
• Implicit biases can lead to stereotypes and the brain filters information based on relevance, as demonstrated by the speaker's example of wearing a neon shirt.
• Confirmation bias and implicit bias, particularly in marketing, can lead us to make irrational conclusions and impact us more than we realize.
• Data is not just numbers, but everything that goes into your brain, and turning it into wisdom involves making sense of it, understanding its meaning, testing hypotheses, and making informed decisions.
• 13:22 Building resilience is crucial to avoid burnout and can be achieved by understanding the reasons behind changes, avoiding bias, and practicing self-care.
• Turning data into wisdom allows us to make better decisions in both business and life by understanding the reasons behind changes and avoiding misinformation.
• Build resilience to avoid burnout by focusing on relevant information, avoiding bias and assumptions, and making decisions based on understanding the why, as resilience is a skill that can be improved with a growth mindset.
• Building resilience is a skill that requires exercising the brain through mindfulness and finding the positives in negative situations, as well as taking breaks and practicing self-care.
• 16:32 Cognitive bias is the umbrella term for biased decision-making, while implicit bias is when biases are present without awareness; conflict can be beneficial and different perspectives are necessary to find the right answer.
• Cognitive bias and implicit bias are different, with cognitive bias being the overarching umbrella of biased decision-making and implicit bias being when biases are present without awareness, making it difficult to overcome.
• Our subconscious mind developed over millions of years to protect us, and conflict can be beneficial in both the workplace and personal relationships.
• Different perspectives are necessary to find the right answer, as demonstrated by a game show analogy, and our own perspectives can be misleading due to our unique filters.
• 20:12 Diversity and productive conflict can improve decision-making in business meetings, so it's important to actively listen, ask questions, and create a safe space for understanding; building empathy, trust, and data literacy are crucial for avoiding burnout.
• Diversity in perspectives and engaging in productive conflict can lead to better understanding and decision-making in business meetings.
• Understanding others requires active listening and asking questions, even in conflicts, as it can lead to gaining new perspectives and knowledge.
• Suppressing questioning and productive conflict leads to disagreement and fighting, so it's important to create a safe space for understanding by asking open-ended questions and empathetically seeking more information.
• Building empathy and trust in the workplace is crucial for developing emotional intelligence and avoiding burnout.
• Data literacy is important because it involves understanding and evaluating information, similar to reading comprehension.
• 26:10 Data literacy is crucial in avoiding misinterpretation of visualizations, and Kevin Hannigan provides resources on his website for learning more about data literacy and personal growth.
• Data and information are the same thing, and the process of using that information to answer specific questions is important.
• Data literacy is important because visualizations can be easily misinterpreted, so it is crucial to ask questions and consider the context before making judgments based on reviews or data.
• Kevin Hannigan provides website information where listeners can find tools, tips, and strategies for learning more about data literacy and taking training classes, as well as accessing blogs, articles, and templates.
• Visit turningdataintowisdom.com or kevinhannigan.com for articles, blogs, tools, and tips to help you grow as an individual and become the best version of yourself.