Do you have a powerful analytical mind capable of deep mental concentration, leading to great insight?
Are you anxious about preserving your time, energy and resources against distractions?
Do you sometimes feel disconnected, alone and aloof with people around you due to mental concentration?
Do you have a drive towards great expertise in an area of knowledge?
Do you have a tendency to analyse abstract concepts rather than wanting to experience real-life situations?
Do you tend to consider feelings and emotions as distractions from an objective approach to problem solving?
In a conflict, do you tend to be focused on proving your point right from a data analysis perspective?
People who answer yes to most of these questions may have a hyper-rational saboteur. As Shirzad Chamine has highlighted in his seminal bestseller Positive Intelligence (2012), saboteurs are sources of negative energy, they overuse and abuse a great strength that you have, in this case a rational mind, by taking rationality to an extreme, until it becomes hyper-rationality. Individuals with a hyper-rational saboteur are (often unconsciously) worried about their irrational side taking over at any time, so they tend to repress it, since it may go out of control once it is allowed to express itself; so they take refuge in reason.
In western society, there is a cultural and gender bias towards hyper-rationality, especially among males who are encouraged to consider feelings and emotions as distracting and causing them to be weak and to have less of an objective approach to things.
There is neurological evidence that reason cannot and does not function on its own. Emotions are integrated into our most rational decisions and thoughts. Hyper-rationalists are escaping from their emotions, often because they fear them, or maybe because they may be unable to handle them, or possibly because emotions bring uncertainty and doubt.
The impact of the hyper-rational saboteur is that all decisions are made with the rational process of the mind. However, human beings are emotional and not rational and logical machines. If you are a people leader, it’s all about emotions, connection, inspiration, loyalty, trust, caring, empathy, it’s how you respond to people’s feelings. As a result, by not paying attention to people’s emotions, the hyper-rational makes worse decisions, not better decisions. Your direct reports feel judged and disconnected and ultimately leave because they cannot bear you for the long term.
How strong is the hyper-rational in you?
What’s the biggest impact of the hyper-rational saboteur on your business or career?
Luca Dondi is a certified professional coach, helping people enhance and realise their unexpressed potential, by leveraging business experience and accredited training.