The role of the autonomic nervous system in leadership

Leadership can be a lonely place. You do not have the safety net of support; you are the safety net and support for others. Many leaders experience adversity growing up and often use the adrenaline and hyperfocus created by that adversity to keep improving, learning and succeeding. The motivation, hard work and success at each stage become a distraction and a coping strategy in itself.

Working with stress and boundaries for others is completely different when it comes to working with leaders, who often start careers working extremely long hours, not taking the necessary breaks until they reach a certain level where their focus also begins to include self-care because they know they are now a resource for an organisation. 

There are lots of different approaches to leadership that you will have learnt over the years. To begin, let's talk about the power in your own body, your nervous system and why it is so important. There are three main reasons for this:

1. If you carry your own adversity and trauma, and you are triggered, you may drop into a survival state. This temporarily impacts your thinking and can feel confusing, impacting your confidence.
2. If you can connect to your body, you will know when you are in ventral vagal. All parts of your brain are online, and this is the best time to make decisions.
3. The organisation is a community of nervous systems that work like Wi-Fi off each other. To get the best out of your workforce, you need to bring the ventral energy.

We will come back to these three points in a moment. First, let's consider the basics of your nervous system.

The polyvagal theory and leadership

Polyvagal Theory, developed by Dr Stephen Porges, provides a framework for understanding how the autonomic nervous system influences behaviour. Neuroception, coined by Porges, is how our bodies monitor the environment, other people and within our own body for signals of safety or danger.

There are three primary states:

• Ventral vagal (safe and socially engaged). In this state, you feel relaxed, calm, and all three parts of your brain are online; social communication feels easy.
• Sympathetic (fight or flight). In this state, the body is flooded with adrenaline and cortisol and wants to run away or fight. Your frontal cortex is shut down, so although you may have many racing thoughts, they will not necessarily be rational; you may feel tension, irritable, fidgety and not want to be around others.
• Dorsal vagal (shutdown or withdrawal). In this state, your body floods with opiates, your logical thinking brain is still shut down, you may feel foggy and find it difficult to grasp a thought or speak, your muscles may feel heavy, and you will not want social interaction.

Understanding the ventral vagal state

The ventral vagal complex is a branch of the vagus nerve, which runs from the brainstem through the neck and into the chest and abdomen. This system is responsible for regulating heart rate, breathing, and facial expressions, and is closely linked with feelings of safety, connection, and social engagement. When a person is in a ventral vagal state, they tend to feel calm, present, and open to connection, making them more effective in social and leadership contexts.

Why this matters in an organisation

We pick up on each other’s states. This is an important evolutionary reason because if one of the group is in fight/flight, it may mean they have noticed danger, so the rest of the group moves into fight/flight to prepare for the danger.

However, in an organisation, what this can mean is that if one person is stressed, it can spread through an office or department. Likewise, if one person is anchored in the ventral vagal, that safe and socially engaged part of their nervous system, this can impact the nervous systems of others, bringing messages of safety and pulling the rest of the group into a ventral vagal state.

This can create a more productive, happier and collaborative department. This is called bringing the ventral energy. As a leader, you would want to be a leader in ventral energy. 

Now back to the initial points:

1. The very adversity that motivated you to succeed can be a trigger waiting to happen; it may be a particular project or the behaviour of a peer. As a leader, you may feel alone with this. Connecting to your body and nervous system will give you an awareness of where you are in your nervous system, so you know when to take a pause on decisions and interactions and attend to your body to give yourself the messages of safety to bring you back into ventral vagal. Therapy can help you to process past pain and be present in the moment.
2. Our bodies are meant to move in and out of all states of the nervous system, but there are things you can do to stimulate your ventral vagal nerve. These include thirty seconds of cold water at the end of your shower, singing, walking, vagal nerve reset, and yoga. 
3. If you can anchor in ventral vagal when interacting with your colleagues, peers and stakeholders, you can bring the ventral energy. This may increase connection, reduce sickness due to stress, and increase morale and efficiency. 

Characteristics of ventral vagal leadership

• Calm presence: Leaders in a ventral vagal state exhibit calmness and composure, even in challenging situations.
• Empathy and connection: They are attuned to others’ emotions, listen actively, and foster a sense of psychological safety within their teams.
• Adaptive decision-making: Access to higher-order thinking allows for creative problem solving and balanced decision-making.
• Resilience: These leaders recover from setbacks more quickly and model healthy coping strategies.

Practical strategies for cultivating ventral vagal leadership

• Mindful breathing: Slow, deep breathing activates the ventral vagal complex, promoting calm and presence.
• Body awareness: Regular check-ins with bodily sensations can help notice and shift physiological states.
• Social engagement: Maintaining eye contact, using open facial expressions, and engaging in supportive dialogue strengthen ventral vagal activation.
• Safe environments: Creating spaces where team members feel safe encourages everyone to access their own ventral vagal states.

Leadership is deeply influenced by physiological states. The ventral vagal system underpins our ability to connect, communicate, and lead effectively. By understanding and cultivating this state, leaders can enhance their impact, foster resilient teams, and navigate complexity with greater ease and authenticity. This is something anybody can learn and train their nervous system to do. Therapy can help.