Do you know how your brain-heart coherence impacts your leadership? Research in human physiology is revealing that when the heart and brain work together, we enter a coherent state that can lead to more effective leadership and business innovation. At an April 2018 Small Giants Fishbowl, Tyler Mongan, Co-Founder of Heart Lab and HAKU.global, explored human physiology, coherent leadership, and how understanding your physiology can help you become a better leader.

This article was originally published on Thrive Global in July 2017.

As I often say, being a leader is a gift. We have the unique opportunity to lead and make a difference in the lives of others. I take the responsibility that comes with this gift very seriously, as I’m sure you do, too. I try to make the most of this gift, constantly learning how to best utilize it and make a positive impact. But, life often gets in the way.

You have an awesome couple of weeks. Things are humming along. You make a couple (maybe many) big decisions. Buzz buzz, humm humm, you and your team are jamming.

One of the decisions (a really big one), is trickier, you have a strong reaction to it, but it's way easier to go for it, and you want to assume good, and others are a "yes", so you do...

You go against your gut (big time). You override. And in that very moment, you whack yourself out of alignment with your personal integrity. (You likely feel this, though subtle, until your brain and reasoning kicks in, making it A-Okay.)

And then oddly... maybe not even right away... things start to go down the tubes. One thing after another falls apart. Gets "hard". Muddy. Sludge. Ugh.

You make more bad decisions.