Behavior Hormones

When I reviewed `Leaders Eat Last` I highlighted that chemical elements like endorphin, dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin can drive human behavior, so it’s good to know how they work. So let’s go into more details.

Endorphin:
- Biological painkiller that masks real pain to continue moving forward
- Produced during physical activities such as exercising, running, laughing
- Decreases stress level (it’s not possible to feel fear and laughing at the same time)
- Has short-time effect
- Practical Usage: make exercises to switch focus from the problem; use humor to defuse tense situations

Dopamine:
- Satisfaction from achievements
- Generated on getting things done
- Helps to focus on the task and end goal: the closer and clearer the goal, the more dopamine is released, increasing motivation
- Has short-time effect: intermediate doses are constantly needed to keep focus and motivation
- Can have negative effects as it causes different types of addictions: social media, KPIs, shopping, etc. Each event generates dopamine, leading to repetitive behaviors
- Practical Usage: set clear goals (for own tasks or for the team), plan intermediate steps, visualize the progress

Serotonin:
- Feeling of pride, respect, recognition
- Released when personal achievements are recognized by a group
- Improves self-confidence and responsibility towards the group
- Typically a person who supports and assists others is generally accepted as a leader by the group
- Has a long-time effect
- Practical Usage: recognize team members’ achievements, offer help and support when needed

Oxytocin:
- Friendship, trust, love. It’s everything that makes us social
- Produced when an individual is accepted as part of the group
- Being part of a group provides a sense of safety, calm, and happiness, reducing stress levels. Physical contacts (handshake, hugs, etc.) can also support those feelings
- Has a long-time effect
- Practical Usage: build an atmosphere of trust within your group, organize team buildings, invent something that indicates group membership

Endorphin, dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin have significant impact on human behavior. Understanding basic principles of their work can help to improve team cohesion, motivation, collaboration and most importantly establish trust within the team.

#softskills #leadership