Episode 62: Emergenetics

All right, I'm kind of rushing to get this podcast out because today I start my training, or actually recertification, with Emergenetics. And that's a tool that I've used in the past. As a matter of fact, it's probably what really launched my coaching career years and years ago. Now, you don't usually discover how someone is wired when things are calm. You discover when the pressure's up. In our case, the Neptune Warrior— you put someone underwater, limit their communication, change their breathing, suddenly the mask comes off, either figuratively or literally. That's where Emergen-X stopped being theory for me and really became something real. Like I said this morning, Here in about 20 minutes, I start my recertification and start my journey to get recertified in Emergenetics. This was something we used in Neptune for a long time. I used it in corporate coaching, used it in private coaching. You know, Emergenetics didn't start as a corporate personality tool though. Its roots really go back to research in genetics, neuroscience, and specifically the idea of emergence. Emergence is the concept that complex systems produce patterns that can't be explained by a single part alone. And our consciousness, it emerges from neurons. While at the same time, culture emerges from individuals. And while all that's going on, behavior emerges from the interaction between genetics and experience. And that's where the name comes from, Emergenetics. It was the study of how genetic predispositions and life experiences combine together to produce observable thinking and behavior patterns. I had the pleasure of working with the person who created, or one of the creators of Emergenetics, Dr. Gail Browning. I actually worked with her a few years before I started on the journey of getting Certified with Emergenetics. Quite honestly, it's just because I couldn't afford the certification. And then when I was with a company, they adopted that as one of their psychometric tools, and I got to go get certified. And I'm in that same situation right now where I'm going to get recertified again after being in this for, oh my gosh, probably 15 years or so. The research behind Emergenetics— and I'm going to tie this into coaching, I'm going to tie it into our veterans and all other things here— in just a few moments, but just kind of hang with me. At the end, I'm going to talk about how you and I can have a deeper conversation and we can do an EmergenX profile for you as well. The research behind EmergenX draws from multiple science, you know, different scientific domains. Behavior genetics, they helped establish that certain cognitive preferences are, you know, they're just part of our DNA. Neuroscience helped map How different regions of the brain process information differently. Psychometrics ensured the assessment could be reliably measured without boxing people into static types. And Systems Theory, you know, the Systems Theory component of it reinforced, you know, that critical truth that people adapt, but they adapt from a baseline. You know, roughly 1/3 of an EmergenX profile reflects That genetic wiring, how the brain is naturally inclined to process information. But the remaining two-thirds reflects life experience, conditioning, training, culture, maybe even trauma. And that ratio matters. It means that you're not stuck, but you're also not starting from zero. Very quick overview: the four thinking attributes of emergentics are analytical, structural, social. we'll call that even relational and conceptual. They represent preferred cognitive pathways, but they're not skills. They're priorities. The brain conserves energy by favoring certain pathways that feel efficient and familiar. It's going to take the path of least resistance. It's almost like using a shortcut code when you're doing computer programming. But under stress, those pathways become even more dominant. And that's why Emergenetics is especially useful in high-stakes environments. And it's one of the reasons why I've used it a lot for working with people with PTSD. What Emergenetics does exceptionally well is it separates capacity from preference. Someone may be fully capable of detailed planning, but, but they find it draining. Someone may be socially skilled, but they need recovery time afterward. And what I found out is when my clients realize that mismatch, it's not a failure, it's wiring, suddenly there's something that just unlocks for them. And we saw that a lot with the Neptune Warrior. Scuba diving, it's a neurological stress test done in disguise. Breathing slows down, sensory input changes. The nervous system is forced to regulate, and when that happens, thinking and behavior preferences surface really quickly. Analytical thinkers want to understand the physics, the gas laws, the mechanics before they really feel safe. One of the things I found was that my structured thinkers, they calm down when procedures are clear and repeatable. My social thinkers, they regulate through trust and connection with their dive buddy. And I think for a long time, especially in recreational diving, we rely heavily upon just analytical and, and the social component of it, you know, building that trust with the instructor. We take a look into the 4th area, conceptual. Conceptual thinkers, they often adapt fastest once they understand the boundaries of the meaning and the experience. Then we look at this other component of emergentics, which is the behavior part. And behaviorally, the shifts, they were, for us, they were just as visible. Highly assertive vets up on land, sometimes they may have softened underwater a little bit. Quiet, low-expressive veterans often became deeply present and grounded. And flexibility showed up in how people handled unexpected sensations or changes in the plan. And instead of sitting back and labeling these responses as problems, I coached them. I adjusted the way that I would do instruction. I would pace things differently. I did things in the way that I would pair up dive buddies together very intentionally. And through that, Emergenetics gave us a language for what the water was already revealing to us. And it's different brains access safety in different ways. And it's very true of the way that you interact in daily life, whether you're in the water or not. It's taking you from, you know, the training area or like a classroom-type area and putting it out into the cubicle. And so that's one of many reasons why I'm returning to Emergenetics and getting recertified. In my coaching practice, in the past, I used Emergenetics as an orientation tool, not as a solution. But really, it's a great conversation starter. And early on, it helps me understand how a client processes insight, processes feedback, and then challenge it. It helps me on how I ask questions, how I pace sessions, how I design actions that are sustainable instead of just forced. An example would be, you know, with structural thinkers, we build clear frameworks and predictable next steps. When I work with someone who's conceptual, you know, I'll work more with metaphors or vision or multiple pathways. Those folks who base a lot on relationships or social, often they discover insight through that dialogue. Which is where a lot of coaching sits, right? But now I have to adjust and not just work from that one piece. My analytical thinkers, they may need silence and moments to synthesize before that clarity emerges. When I think about the 3 behaviors, it shapes leadership coaching. A couple of examples, like a low assertive, you know, like a low assertive leader doesn't need to become loud. They need strategies that honor the way their brain is wired while increasing impact. A highly assertive leader doesn't need to dim their intensity. They need awareness of how it lands. I love it because Emergenetics integrates cleanly with mindfulness. And integrates with strengths-based coaching and experiential work, because it's not about fixing people, it's about alignment. This recertification means a lot, not a lot to me, not just because I'm getting a chance to use the tool and have access to the surveys again, but it matters because science continues to evolve and ethics matter and the community keeps the work grounded And curiosity instead of certainty. And I'm not returning just to reuse an old tool. I'm returning to use it this time with much more depth, responsibility, and respect for how complex each of us really are. And I think in a way, Emergentetics answers a simple but very powerful question. Is that given how you're wired, what's the most authentic way for you to grow? And man, I got to tell you, that really, really excites me. Hey, if you want to take a deeper dive into this, if you want to learn more about it, got a couple of different options for you. One, go out to my website, www.stanshirtcoaching.com. Either go in, book now, or look at the offers, and let's book a 30-minute discovery call session. The other way is go out to Patreon. You can contact me through Patreon, www.patreon.com/stanshiercoaching. Hey, I'm interested in having a deeper dialogue with you, understanding how your brain works, how your behaviors work, and let's Help you really understand and, and help us have deeper conversations. Because like I said, that question changes everything. Given how you're wired, what's the most authentic way for you to grow? Hey, don't, hey, don't, hey, don't.