The Neuroscience of “Not Knowing”
How leaders are turning on their super growth mindset
Building on the previous article “The New Flex”… this article makes the physiological argument for strengthening org resilience/performance under pressure…specifically the hyperjerk pressure of leading the next decade of AI-powered progress.
The projection is ‘…by 2050 we’ll experience 100 years of progress at today’s pace every five years’ (Amy Webb, SXSW). This represents a 5× faster compression than even Kurzweil’s prediction.
The delta for success is not simply tool access; it’s whether leaders can stay regulated, sense-make, and coordinate with quality when the machine accelerates the environment. This creates a widening leadership complexity gap between those who can navigate uncertainty with presence and those who collapse into reactive patterns under pressure. As the pace of change accelerates, developmental delay compounds this gap faster than traditional development approaches can close it. The world needs a next gen developmental infrastructure approach. (in the next couple articles)
Executive Summary:
Which brings us to the core challenge: “Not knowing” is the arena we are leading in now, yet our nervous system is wired for knowing (avoiding uncertainty). In the century of suddenly, we win by learning. This is why the super growth mindset is in high-demand. At , we’re committed to practicing the pursuit of super growth every day in the work itself: learning with our clients, partners, local and global communities in real time, especially when the path is not obvious (yet).
Not knowing (uncertainty) is not the problem. The problem is our nervous systems’s automatic state shift that makes uncertainty feel dangerous. Under this threat state tension, the brain collapses into identity-defending, default habits/neural ruts that try keep us safe by preserving certainty and to conserving energy. Default neural ruts trick us into turning off access to our learner/growth mindset when we need it most.
The good news is we can interrupt the default shift and shift into something more useful. We can shift from threat-state driven reactivity to a grounded reward state where we can choose to have presence and curiosity come back online. Naming the neuroscience is a practical way to understand that tension and strip away the moral judgment, shame, and self-criticism that otherwise shut learning down before it starts.
When we leaders learn to see reactivity as physiology rather than deficiency, our capacity to hold uncertainty/complexity and tension increases…and with it, the whole system’s ability to learn faster, expands.
The shift is not a hierarchical skill nor a heroic personality trait. It’s a state shift. It’s a learnable, repeatable practice we can all access in seconds. The first reaction is biology. The second move is a leadership choice. The gap is the choice point. Choose unreasonable curiosity in that gap and we expand options, improve discernment, act more responsibly & build deeper trust.
At , we are not just talking about strengthening the super growth mindset capacity, we’re strengthening the human infrastructure necessary for designing, implementing & scaling the technical infrastructure. We’re experimenting with experiential exercises and embedded deliberate practices that help us learn to learn faster, continuously, at all levels.
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Uncertainty as metabolic load and practicing default ruts
We’re meaning-making animals and survival machines, powered by a brain that is a prediction engine. When it encounters VUCA, it has to work harder, more glucose, more oxygen, more executive function. To conserve energy, the brain collapses quickly into familiar patterns/habits. This is the neural rut: the system defaulting to whatever pathway reduces the tension fastest. The trap is not the rut. The trap is mistaking the rut for destiny, truth, identity, or effectiveness. Ruts pursue tension relief, not leadership effectiveness.
Not knowing triggers SCARF threats
The uncertainty of not knowing doesn’t land as neutral. It triggers multiple SCARF dimensions simultaneously:
*Status (Oh no, will I look incompetent if I don’t know?)
*Certainty (I should know this. I’m supposed to know everything. This is bad.)
*Autonomy (Uh-oh, I’m losing control).
*Relatedness (Will I still be part of the inner circle if I don’t have this info?)
*Fairness (Why wasn’t I included in this decision/information? Others seem to know; am I being treated differently?”
When these are activated, leaders naturally move toward defensive habit patterns (i.e., aggressive defensive, passive defensive): certainty, rigid identity, and premature conclusions. With awareness of this mechanism, leaders can normalize the discomfort as data/signal and stay open instead of armoring up. This is the beginning of identity flexibility/range under pressure = the heart of vertical development and next level growth stages. We are learning from Dr. Rock and our friends at the NeuroLeadership Institute, via NILES how to dance with our tricky neural ruts and expand our range in a very advanced, self-directed neural sculpting kind of way.
Relief/comfort is what the brain rewards, NOT effectiveness
When the brain believes it has “solved” something (even when it’s relieved the tension in a counterproductive way), it experiences relief. Prediction error/threat detection signals subside. This feels like clarity and competence, but what the system is actually rewarding is the end of energetic discomfort, not the arrival of insight, accuracy, truth or effectiveness. Tension relief tricks us into habitual comfort zone familiarity but our leadership responsibility lives squarely in the stretch zone.
The real reward system
The invisible, unlimited, renewable energy system that we could be tapping into to solve this counterproductive dilemma is our dopamine system = the brain’s seeking circuitry. It lights up during exploration, pursuit, and curiosity. When a leader says, “I don’t know yet… and I’m curious,” they are activating the reward state of discovery & the pursuit of what matters most, NOT the relief of discomfort/avoidance. This shift from (threat) relief-seeking to (reward) pursuit-seeking is what expands range.
Inner “state” as the real unit of leadership range
A state is the overall inner condition of our nervous system in a given moment…our nervous system activation, identity stance, attention, emotional tone, and cognitive aperture all working together. Leaders tend to oscillate between two predictable states when facing uncertainty: threat state and reward state.
Threat state is tight, fast, narrow, and identity-defended. The system constricts, options shrink, and leaders rely on prediction instead of perception. This is where ruts live.
Reward/Grounded Presence state is open, regulated, alert, and curious. The nervous system feels safe enough to stay engaged. Aperture widens, identity becomes more flexible, and intelligence returns. This is where range lives.
Your first reaction is biology. Your second move is leadership.
The gap between the two is the choice point.
The awareness + choice revelation
If I were to ask you… “hey, did you choose your reaction, or did it happen automatically?”
Most say, “It just happened.” That sentence is the doorway to the work. If it “just happened,” then it was a state, not identity. And if it’s a state, it can shift. Awareness creates space between stimulus and response. In that space, choice/responsibility becomes possible. Your initial reaction is not your fault. Your second move is where your leadership lives. As adults, with practice, we are more than powerful enough to choose our thoughts and actions.
State and skill: how they work together
Skills still matter. They are the visible expressions of leadership. But skills land very differently depending on the state behind them. Curiosity as a skill can feel performative or controlling if the system is in threat state. The same curiosity skill, expressed from presence state, lands as real, grounded, and trustworthy.
This is not a binary. State work does not replace skill work; it enables it. That is worth repeating:
State work does not replace skill work; it enables it.
When leaders learn to self-regulate into a more open, grounded state, the skills they already possess become more accessible, more effective, more relational, and more intelligent. Then they co-regulate more effectively = leading others. It’s the fastest way to access next level performance.
The choice point in action
When the curriculum of life brings a mystery, a challenge, a person, a moment that matters…leaders experience a live-action choice:
“Right now, with the mystery unopened (think of a mystery box full of ‘not knowing’), I can let my mind chase closure/tension relief or I can simply choose to hold the tension of not knowing with presence & curiosity.”
Our leadership response to uncertainty isn’t fixed; it’s a choice we can practice making with awareness.
The moment we choose curiosity intentionally (even just for a few seconds) our breathing changes, the body softens, the mind opens, and new information becomes available. No new technique was required. We just shift states. That shift is the pattern interrupt that enables an expanded leadership range = better results.
Low horse moments and real leadership
Not knowing is a “low-horse” moment…an experience of tension. In real leadership, these moments show up everywhere: client negotiations, people decisions, shifting market conditions, AI transformations, team tension, in me, all around me, etc. The question is not whether this uncertainty tension will appear. The question is which state you will be in when it does and/or how fast will you be able to recover from a low value state to a high-value state?
Threat state collapses range/choice. Presence state expands it. Presence emerges from how the leader is being…and that is a competency (mental fitness) that can be pursued/practiced.
Here’s what it looks like to practice the move in real time:
Micro-practice: The 10-second Second Move
- Notice it/name it… this is threat state. I feel my nervous system chasing relief from this tension/discomfort.
- Take one, slow tactical breath in… with a longer exhale.
- Soften one thing (e.g., jaw, shoulders, hands, eyes) & widen your aperture.
- Choose unreasonable curiosity… What am I missing? What would I ask (or focus on) if I weren’t unconsciously protecting/defending against what I don’t want?
- Take the next best move… one question, one transparent disclosure, one vulnerable request, or one small experiment aligned to help you focus on what you do want.
The leadership differentiator in a hyperjerk world
Not knowing is the chronic, continuous, recurring training ground for all of us. Leaders who can stay present & curious in VUCA/BANI long enough to regulate out of threat state, ride out the SCARF spikes, and shift into the unlimited energy of seeking/pursuit/curiosity and access more intelligence, make better decisions, and build more trust.
Threat state will default us into practicing old patterns.
Presence/reward state produces range and gives us access to next level skills states.
Range produces vantage. Vantage produces advantage.
In a world defined by speed, ambiguity, and disruption…this is the most practical thing to do under pressure. When the demands of life exceed your resources…open the aperture and find more resources. We all put a high-value on intelligence; so, what comes before intelligence? Learning. What comes before learning? Humility/not knowing. This is the work. This is competitive advantage. This is leadership in the century of suddenly.
