Tailgating. Ringing the bell at the cash register. Scolding. Pushing. We face antisocial behavior every day. But where does that behavior actually come from and how can you influence it? It is a subject we pay attention to more often. Today our guest is Olav de Maat.
He wrote the book "Bastards and Heroes" back in 2016. Using insights from biology, psychology and history, he described the fascinating development of social and antisocial behavior. I love his table of contents from chapter 1: why hoodlums fascinate, to chapter 2 why we almost never are hoodlums, to chapter 3 why we almost never are heroes, chapter 4 how we became hasty and greedy, chapter 5 how we became selfish and conceited and then lastly how we can become heroes. And if we with the work professor can contribute a little bit to more heroes, I think that would be great. This was 7 years ago now so we'll see how things stand now.
Olav de Maat is a consultant, trainer and author. After studying communication sciences, he worked at large and small organizational consulting firms. In 2014, he founded Fellow Man, through which he advises service companies within government, education, technology and finance. A sought-after speaker, he uses business administration, psychology and biology to make organizations more human.
Loutish behavior
Where does this loutish behavior come from? According to Olav, it is because humans are group animals, and group animals like their own little group. When we do not belong to a group, we generally have less trouble being unkind to each other.
"A group is a pretty broad term. One moment you belong to your family and the next you belong to your colleagues, then you watch TV and you belong to the group that watches the same series. Within the family, for example, it can still change from hour to hour which group you belong to. If my daughter and friend suddenly conspire, they no longer belong to me. Then my animal brain makes it easy for me to be less friendly to them," Olav said.
Moving
When Olav wrote this book 7 years ago, rudeness was one of the most frequently mentioned words that year. Meanwhile, 7 years later, the standard of what is loutish seems to be changing. "What was loutish behavior so many years ago is not so bad now."
Wondering how to suppress your inner lout? Then listen to the latest episode of the Work Professor podcast.
Links
More about Olav de Maat
Buy the book here
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Do you have questions or input? Please contact Wendy van Ierschot at wendy@viepeople.com.
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