Subtitle: How isolation drains battery power, and the simple leadership shift that restores it.
In recent years, I’ve noticed a shift in the leaders I coach. It isn’t just stress; it is a distinct, atmospheric heaviness. It is the weight of leading through what economists call the Polycrisis: the simultaneous occurrence of catastrophic events (geopolitical, environmental, economic).
When the world feels heavy, the natural human instinct is to retreat. We pull back. We doom-scroll in private. We stop going to lunch. We turn cameras off.
As a leader, you might look at your polarized or exhausted team and think the kindest thing you can do is leave them alone. “Let them have their time,” you think.
But neuroscience suggests that isolation is the most expensive operational strategy you have.
The Science of the “Heavy” Load
According to Social Baseline Theory developed by neuroscientist James Coan, the human brain expects to have access to social relationships to help regulate the body’s metabolic resources.
When we are with others we trust, our brains actually consume less glucose to manage stress. We “outsource” some of our vigilance to the group.
- Alone: A hill looks steeper. A problem looks unsolvable. The brain prepares for a high-energy fight.
- Together: The same hill looks flatter. The brain conserves energy for problem-solving.
When your team is isolated (even if they are technically connected on Slack) they are running on emergency battery power. The heaviness they feel is the metabolic cost of processing a chaotic world alone.
The Solution: Collective Effervescence
The antidote to this depletion isn’t just “wellness days” or meditation apps. It is what sociologist Émile Durkheim called Collective Effervescence.
Durkheim observed that when a group comes together to participate in the same action or witness the same event simultaneously, they generate a specific type of energy that lifts the individual out of their own despair. This creates a “social electricity” that binds the group together.
Brené Brown explores this in Braving the Wilderness, noting that true belonging requires us to show up for collective moments of joy and pain.
But in a divided workplace, how do you create this without starting a fight?
The Strategy: The “Third Object”
You don’t need to force your team to “hold hands with strangers” or discuss politics. But you do need a Third Object.
In conflict resolution, the “Third Object” is something outside the two people that they can both look at together. It triangulates the tension.
- Face-to-Face (“Tell me how you feel about the news”) => High Threat. This invites polarization.
- Shoulder-to-Shoulder (“Let’s watch this presentation/play/game together”) => Co-Regulation.
Here is how to engineer Collective Effervescence in a corporate environment:
1. Ritualize the “Witnessing” Don’t just send a memo about a company win or a market loss. Gather the team (live or synchronous virtual) to witness it together. Watch the client testimonial video at the same time. Look at the prototype at the same time. The act of simultaneous attention synchronizes nervous systems.
2. Parallel Play Create spaces for low-stakes shared activity. One client of mine introduced a “Giant Coloring Wall” (a Third Object) at an onsite. High-powered executives stood shoulder-to-shoulder filling in shapes. The conversation flowed not because they were forced to “network,” but because they were regulated by the shared, rhythmic motor task.
3. Acknowledge the “Weather” You don’t need to take a political stance to acknowledge the atmosphere. Simply stating, “I know the news cycle is heavy this week, and it requires more energy to focus. I see that, and I appreciate you being here,” validates the metabolic load your team is carrying.
The Leadership Mandate
In a world dominated by division, the leader’s job is to be the architect of connection.
We are bound together by a fundamental biological reality: we need each other to regulate our own biology. Reach out. Create the space. Look at something together.
We are stronger when we share the load.
