Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes
By Melanie Lockwood Herman
I’m fascinated by research on the human brain, an organ neuroscientist David Eagleman refers to as “three pounds of the most complex material we’ve discovered in the universe.” By luck I happened to catch Tuesday’s edition of the NPR Program “Fresh Air,” which featured an interview with Eagleman. During his interview with host Terry Gross, Eagleman talked about his life-long interest in the brain, as well as his new book—Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain.
The proliferation of new research on the brain makes my brain hurt…but just a bit. In the meantime, I’m diving in to find the applicable lessons in the science and explanatory narrative. During his “Fresh Air” interview Eagleman described how forces within one brain may work to steer its human owner in opposite directions. An instinct to break the rules may be met with a sense of duty to the rules. An impulse to take risk without considering the consequences is countered with the recollection of a mother’s warning to “look before you leap.”
In Chapter 5 of Incognito, Eagleman borrows the title of Doris Kearns Goodwin’s wonderful book on Abraham Lincoln in referring to the human brain as a “team of rivals.” He explains that our brains consist of thousands of expert systems that enable us to plan, predict and prevent (sounds like risk management!), while allowing us to behave in a way that seems altogether human. The ceaseless competition between the “factions” in our brains leads to the common experience of arguing with oneself—the sense of internal conflict that we all experience from time to time (should I? or shouldn’t I?). Sometimes the conflict is over something as simple as whether to eat a second piece of pie. In other instances the conflict is over decisions that could affect the mission and communities we serve. Eagleman observes that a brain in conflict—one with active, rival factions—is not necessarily a bad thing. The presence of rival factions may in fact lead to higher quality decisions that serve the mind and body well.
Yet nonprofit organizations rarely begin organizational life with warring factions ready for battle. The birth of a nonprofit is generally the polar opposite of a human birth: there are few, if any tears and pain-numbing medication is unnecessary. But over time, many, if not most nonprofits witness the emergence of competing factions. At first glance disagreements among volunteers, between members of the staff team, or at the board table seem to bring little but delay, disruption and exhausting discord. But like rivalries in a single human brain, the mere existence of factions is not necessarily detrimental to the mission of a nonprofit. The key is how disagreements are vetted and resolved and the degree to which the nonprofit’s mission and the greater good are protected and advanced in the process.
Examples of how “factions” arise in nonprofit life include:
There is no clear solution to dissolving factions and resolving the discord that may be inevitable in both brain functioning and organizational life. But if the factions are distracting leaders from your nonprofit’s mission, consider the following steps.
While the journey to resolving conflicts between warring factions may be a bit painful, factionalism in organizational life can also bring diverse points of views into the light. Respectful dialogue around issues of mutual concern can lead to better decisions embraced by all. And a nonprofit “team of rivals” can work together to advance the mission of your organization. The extraordinary human brain is hard-wired to create and manage conflict. And putting one’s powerful and innate human brainpower to work is just another form of service to a cause that matters.
Melanie Lockwood Herman is Executive Director of the Nonprofit Risk Management Center. She welcomes your ideas about any risk management topic, feedback on this article and questions about the Center’s resources at Melanie@nonprofitrisk.org or 703.777.3504. The Center provides risk management tools and resources at www.https://nonprofitrisk.org/ and offers consulting assistance to organizations unwilling to leave their missions to chance.
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