What were they thinking? How the brain is wired for Limbic RiskTM
Robert Wentzel A and Nada Wentzel A BA Unit 2/61 Centennial Circuit Byron Bay, NSW 2481, Australia.
B Corresponding author. Email: nada.wentzel@jonahgroup.com.au
The APPEA Journal 59(2) 749-752 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ18058
Accepted: 24 March 2019 Published: 17 June 2019
Abstract
A common response following an incident is, ‘What were they thinking?’. This rhetorical question implies blame. While all incidents can be linked to human error, a more insightful and expansive question would be ‘Were they thinking?’. This question leads to identifying broader organisational factors that contributed to the error in decision making. Understanding thinking is critical in taking the next step to prevent harm. Neuroscience provides us with insight into how we think; how the brain makes decisions and introduces additional risk we refer to as Limbic RiskTM. The majority of our thinking is in fact unconscious, automatic and reactive and stems from the oldest part of our brain called the limbic system. The minority of decisions are conscious, logical and responsive and use a newer part of our brain called the pre-frontal cortex (PFC). The ability to use our PFC is significantly impacted by stress. There are five significant stressors; pressure, fatigue, irritation, distraction and complacency which impact our ability to use our PFC and add Limbic RiskTM to the environment. Traditional safety management focuses on managing external, observable including physical and behavioural risk. Preventing harm requires an expanded perspective to understand, interrupt and prevent Limbic RiskTM, and importantly equip leaders with the capability to create a LimbicSafe® environment given their influence on others is a significant 70%.
Keywords: behavior, behaviour, behavioral change, behavioural change, HSE culture, human performance, human error, Limbic RiskTM, mindset, neuroscience, psychological safety, safety, safety culture, safety leadership, safety leadership training.
Robert Wentzel is the Managing Director of The Jonah Group. He holds a Masters in Mechanical Engineering and a degree in Neuro Linguistic Programming. He spent the first 10 years of his career in construction in high hazard industries, including mining and oil and gas, working in Holland and Australia. In 1999, he was involved in a serious fire incident with his wife Nada Wentzel, in which he sustained 12% burns to his body. Although he had minimal physical harm, the psychological harm associated with triggering the incident was great and impacted him, his relationships and was the catalyst for a change in career. After his recovery, he moved into organisational change and leadership working globally for organisations in the oil, gas and mining industry including Esso, Halliburton, Schlumberger, BP, Continental Resources and Statoil. In 2003, following the birth of his son, Jonah, he and his wife decided to start their own company and focus on human performance and psychological safety. The aim was to establish a company in line with their values for family and creating a life they loved, inspiring and shaping people’s decisions to consciously choose safety and operate from a value for being authentic and making a difference to others. Robert has a unique ability to relate to operations in the field, and design and deliver programs that create a sustainable shift in behaviour, which translates to performance improvement. |
Nada Wentzel is Global Solutions Director and Executive Coach of The Jonah Group. She holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering (Hons.), a Masters in Social Ecology (Org. Change), Diploma in Analytical Psychology and a degree in Neuro Linguistic Programming. She started her career as an Offshore Engineer with Esso Australia. Following the Longford Incident in 1998, she took on a key role in the Crisis Management Team and then moved into a senior safety role. Within weeks of moving to safety, she was involved in a serious fire accident which resulted in her having 35% burns to her body. After six skin craft operations, it took her more than 6 months to walk again. This incident led to a deep inquiry and research into human performance and behaviour and the completion of further studies. Nada then spent the next 20 years working with leading organisations in safety culture and leadership and peak human performance including DuluxGroup, Halliburton, Baker Hughes, Airbus Group, CitiPower, Powercor, Dyno Nobel, Incitec Pivot, Orica and Energex. This included developing safety culture transformation blueprints, safety leadership programs, major accident event prevention and executive coaching for peak performance. She is passionate about causing people to create lives they love. Although safety has been a large focus in her career to date, she considers safety a trojan horse for personal transformation and living authentically. |
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