Most leaders invest considerable energy in creating the right conditions for their teams, from recognition programmes, team rituals, one-on-ones and well-being initiatives. The intention is right; however, what often gets overlooked is the most immediate and powerful influence on team performance available to any leader, which is their own neurological state.
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The science of brain chemistry has moved well beyond the self-help conversation it once occupied.
Neuroscience research now gives us a useful framework for understanding why some teams consistently outperform others, why recognition lands differently depending on who delivers it, and why the most elaborate engagement strategies can fail to move the needle when the leader delivering them is operating under sustained stress.
The four chemicals most linked to how people feel and perform at work, dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin and endorphins, are profoundly influenced by leadership behaviour.
The cortisol problem
Cortisol is the body's primary stress hormone, and it is the chemical most likely to undermine every effort a leader makes to create a positive team environment.
In the short term, stress biology helps mobilise resources so that we can respond to challenges. Problems emerge when a perceived threat is intense, uncontrollable or prolonged.
A stressful environment doesn't always look like obvious toxicity. When people feel uncertain, unheard, micromanaged or afraid of making mistakes, stress can become the defining experience of working on the team. With stress comes cortisol.
In my coaching work with executive teams, I sat with a senior leader who had implemented every initiative the books recommend.
It included regular check-ins, team rituals like retrospectives at the end of an important project and also pulse surveys. His team's engagement scores had barely changed for months.
When we looked closely at what was happening in the room, the picture became more obvious. He was arriving at meetings visibly anxious, second-guessing decisions out loud, and inadvertently signalling to his team that uncertainty was something to fear.
The initiatives he introduced were real, but so was the stress (and cortisol release) and it spoke louder.
It is here where the human part, the nervous system, comes into play. The leader, their stress levels, their thinking, the quality of their own clarity and calm, sets the neurological tone before a single tactic is deployed.
This is where whole leadership begins: “calming the fish” before important meetings or interactions. They don’t focus on the meeting or project, but in the person running it.
Dopamine: the chemistry of meaningful progress
Dopamine is closely associated with reward, motivation and goal-directed behaviour, and it responds powerfully to progress, especially the experience of moving toward something that matters.
As Andrew Huberman puts it: “Dopamine is more about wanting something rather than actually enjoying it.” For leaders, this reframes motivation entirely; they need to feel like they’re moving toward something that matters.
For leaders, this means two things:
- First, the clarity of their communication directly shapes how clearly the team understands where they are going and why it matters. Ambiguous direction makes it harder for a team to recognise progress and experience the sense of achievement that sustains motivation.
- Secondly, leaders who make small wins visible give their teams more frequent access to the neurological experience of achievement. A project milestone acknowledged or a week where the team moved something meaningful forward are deliberate activations of the brain's motivational circuitry.
Serotonin and oxytocin: the chemistry of belonging
Serotonin helps regulate mood and social behaviour, and it responds particularly well to feeling respected, recognised and valued within a group. Oxytocin, often called the bonding hormone, deepens through genuine human connection and trust. They form the neurochemical foundation of what most people describe simply as feeling part of something or a sense of belonging.
Leaders who lead with their heart, who stay genuinely curious about the people they lead, who notice contributions before they notice gaps, and who create environments where people feel safe enough to say what they really think, are not being ‘soft’. They are creating the biological conditions in which people can give their best.
The quality of a leader's attention is the most underestimated leadership tool available. A sincere acknowledgement from a leader who is genuinely present lands in the nervous system differently from one delivered out of obligation. Teams can tell the difference, even when they cannot articulate it, because their bodies can.
Ramona Grewan 23 Oct 2026 Endorphins: the chemistry of shared humanity
Endorphins are the body’s natural painkillers, helping to regulate pain and contributing to feelings of wellbeing. They can also contribute to positive feelings associated with exercise, laughter and some rewarding social experiences.
For leaders, the practical implication is to consider how everyday team experiences can create opportunities for connection, enjoyment and recovery.
Consider a common theme in businesses today: AI adoption.
Imagine three hours of PowerPoint training covering governance, policies and functionality. Also, imagine a 40-minute practical session where colleagues experiment together, laugh when AI produces something ridiculous, solve a real problem and celebrate a useful outcome.
Governance still matters, but the learning experience can make room for curiosity, participation and accomplishment.
The second approach brings together social connection, humour and opportunities for mastery. These experiences involve several interacting systems; their benefits cannot be attributed to endorphins alone.
Positive social experiences, humour and accomplishment can engage the body’s reward and pain-regulation systems, helping change feel less threatening.
A walking conversation, space for shared laughter or a small ritual after a demanding project can offer opportunities to reconnect and recover. Leaders also need to address the workload and pressures that make recovery necessary.
For South African organisations steering economic pressure, change fatigue and uncertainty, this dimension of leadership deserves attention. How people experience change together can influence their willingness to keep learning, experimenting and participating.
Johané du Toit 13 Oct 2026 The integration that changes everything
Neuroscience shows that these chemical systems interact. In coaching, I regularly observe how a leader’s state influences the team environment through their tone, decisions and responses, particularly in the “under-pressure-moments”.
A leader who thinks clearly, is emotionally present and acts consistently helps create an environment in which people can connect, learn and perform. Those conditions take shape in everyday interactions, through how the leader listens, responds and follows through.
I often remind leaders that teams pick up on a leader’s emotional state through their tone, body language and responses, even before the strategy is discussed.
The conversation about leadership performance has focused for too long on what leaders do. The more useful question is what state they are in when they do it.
A leader who brings clarity of thought to their communication, genuine presence to their relationships, and consistency to their behaviour under pressure does not need an elaborate engagement programme to create the conditions for a high-performing team.
Head, heart and hands working together - they are already creating those conditions in every interaction, every meeting, every moment their team is watching and deciding whether it is safe to give their best.
It is where leadership lives. In the nervous system of the person standing at the front of the room.
