PERFORMANCE POSTURE – Body language for marginal gains Can you hear your mother’s voice droning at you to “sit up straight” or to “stop slouching”? I think this is a fairly familiar memory for most. One thing about growing up is how when looking back, we often realise that our parents had valid points and they were looking out for our best interests. Yet, sometimes I reckon that even parents don’t realise why they do some things or what affect their little rules, regulations, and guidelines are having. In the corporate world there are such things as “Power Poses”. Essentially, this is nonverbal communication between individuals, which in most cases is subconscious. Dominant individuals tend to assume these poses naturally. Now leadership is quite a subjective term, in that everyone has differing opinions on what characteristics a leader should possess. Is it too arrogant of me to assume that you’ll accept my notion that decision-making, confidence, and willingness to take calculated risks are part of what make good leaders? Of course there are other ingredients to the recipe for good leadership, but this isn’t meant to be an extensive list on the qualities of leadership. Now there are primarily two non-verbal dimensions associated with increased power: expansiveness (taking up more space) and openness (keeping limbs open).1 Basically, if I were to sit in a meeting leaning back with my hands behind my head, while it might appear somewhat arrogant, I would be assuming a position of power. In contrast, while sitting slouched over I am communicating subservience or submission. But this is about more than just the message that I am sending to others, I am in fact influencing my own behaviour by the posture that I hold. It has been shown that “power poses” stimulate an increase in testosterone and a decrease in cortisol, whereas the low-power poses have the opposite effect.1 Testosterone, which is largely associated with masculinity by society, can be considered a “power hormone”. It is a steroid hormone that has a naturally higher concentration in men than women. The concentration in women is reported to be one tenth of that found in men.2 This is not to say that all men have a greater concentration of testosterone than women. Examples can be found in women’s 800m to weightlifting. Anyway… apart from testosterone, we have cortisol, which is an antagonist to testosterone. Simply put, testosterone is anabolic (building up) whereas cortisol is catabolic (breaking down). The aim is to always have a ratio where testosterone (T) is significantly greater than cortisol (C), the degree to which depends on one’s goals. Among other factors, superior sporting performance can be linked to an elevated T/C ratio. Mostly, one associates testosterone with training benefits, but it is also claimed that higher testosterone concentrations improve decision-making and confidence, and increase risk tolerance Since decision-making, confidence, and a penchant for risk-taking are all part of sporting performance, this invokes the paradigm of, “if some is good then more must be better”. So, if we can boost these behaviours then logically, we can improve performance. Then why don’t we coach athletes to use “power poses” to supplement their performance? The best example of “power poses” in sport that comes to mind is the Haka. (youtube/watch?v=XPHeJd2T12M) Most New Zealand teams start a game with a traditional Haka performance, filled with strong stances, war cries, and aggressive gestures. When one watches the Haka, it is clear that it consists of positions that are extremely expansive and open. So the players start their game with a significant boost to their T/C ratio. Carney et al. (2010) stated that, “by simply changing physical posture, an individual prepares his or her mental and physiological systems to endure difficult and stressful situations, and perhaps to actually improve confidence and performance in situations such as interviewing for jobs, speaking in public, disagreeing with a boss, or taking potentially profitable risks”. Although the article is not written specifically for a sporting context the premise still applies. Now, I am not suggesting that every team must develop some kind dance routine to break out before every game. Nor would I ever suggest that a wonderful tradition such as the Haka be abolished. My thoughts go to practical ways of raising one’s own performance through “power poses”. Players should be encouraged to stand with open shoulders, hands-on-hips, and a raised head whenever possible (think classic Superman stance). After a failed attempt or a glaring mistake, a player should consciously assume a “power pose” in order to raise his or her T/C ratio and get back into the game mentally. Additionally, when a player makes a great tackle or some other success, they should psyche themselves up with a strong posture, such as a small fist pump to one’s self. All the while, never forgetting good sportsmanship. At the end of the day, athletes should be looking for any (legal and safe) way of improving their performance. A small change to one’s body language can help in achieving those marginal gains that could be the difference between gold and silver. 1. Carney, D. R., Cuddy, A. J. C., & Yap, A. J. (2010). Power posing: brief nonverbal displays affect neuroendocrine levels and risk tolerance. Psychological Science, 21(10), 1363–8. doi:10.1177/0956797610383437 2. McArdle, W.D., Katch, F.I. &Katch, V.L. 2010. Exercise Physiology: Nutrition, Energy, and Human Performance. China: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 12:07:55 +0000
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