Latest / The Talent Brief / Micro Aggression vs Macro Aggression
Transcript
- Jeff Ganter: Welcome back to the Town Brief. I'm your host, Jeff Ganter, career coach, fractional recruiter, and someone who enjoys learning about how the brain works. Today, we're not talking about politeness. We are discussing biology, power, and performance. Micro versus macro aggression is not just a cultural debate. It's a nervous system conversation. Macroaggression is clear, public humiliation, threats, and direct hostility. You recognize it instantly. Microaggressions are subtle and much more common. We've all done it in one way or another. The interruption that happens only to one person, the eye roll, the coded feedback, the ongoing exclusion from conversations, the relax that feels like dismissal. Here's what most leaders overlook. The brain does not see repeated subtle dismissals as insignificant. The amygdala detects threats. Cortisol levels rise. Cognitive capacity diminishes. ⁓ creativity constricts. You are not merely causing discomfort. You are impairing your own neurological performance. Macroaggressions shock the system. Microaggressions train it. It teaches people to shrink, to filter, to hesitate, and to self-censor. Now let's discuss power. Microaggressions flow downstream. The more authority you have, the more your behavior carries weight. Your size carry weight. Your silence conveys signals. Your sarcasm leaves an impression. Leadership amplifies impact. And in today's digital world, microaggressions scale. The slack message remains unanswered. The meeting invite keeps skipping one contributor repeatedly. The performance review criticizes tone instead of output. In the past, a dismissive glance reached five people. Now it has reached 500. This isn't about being too sensitive. This is about recognizing. that performance cannot succeed in a chronologically activated nervous system. So what do you do? If it is macro and harmful, handle it right away. Silence is a form of approval. If it's micro, address it precisely. When you did X, here is the impact. That may not have been your intent, But this is how it turned out. Prioritize clarity over accusations. And if someone says that to you, don't justify your intention. Reflect on your influence. Defensiveness enlarges the small into the large. Curiosity fosters trust. Here's the blunt truth. If people feel smaller after interacting with you, that is data. If your team is guarded around you, that is data. If certain voices consistently shrink in meetings, that is data. You don't need yet another engagement survey, which I believe are overused to avoid crucial conversations too easily. You need to develop self-awareness. Culture isn't about what you preach. Let me say that again. Culture isn't about what you preach. It's what people's nervous system feel when you walk into the room. And if this episode feels uncomfortable, good. Growth usually does. This is the Talent Brief. I'm Jeff Ganter. Thanks for listening and see you soon. Bye.