Why you might need a scarf all year round
How the SCARF model can help you with work relationships
How can you better lead and support those you work with?
How can you more create trust and safety with your colleagues (volunteers, paid staff or freelancers)?
How can you reduce the fight, flight, freeze or fawn response in those you work with (hint: don’t ask for a Monday morning meeting on a Friday afternoon with no context. Just me?)
Our brains our really clever, but also really simple. Often our brains can’t distinguish between an actual and perceived threat. Our brains were designed to keep us alive, and protect us from a saber-toothed tiger - but now that Friday afternoon email can trigger the same response!
Part of our response to a threat, perceived or otherwise, is to shut down the activities that are not essential to survival. Wondered why you can’t think properly when something triggers anxiety or stress? Your brain is getting your body ready to respond, and stops critical thinking.
Put simply: our brains are designed to move us away from - or avoid - threats, and to move towards - or approach - rewards.
If you’re interested in helping those around you reduce their I'd like to introduce you to the SCARF model. (No, not the winter kind of scarf 🧣)
Dr David Rock's SCARF model is a way to remember the five drivers of our response towards rewards and away from threats.
The five drivers are:
S = Status: our sense of worth and valued by those around us
C = Certainty: our sense of what may happen in the future
A = Autonomy: our sense of control over our work or lives
R = Relatedness: our sense of trust and safety with others
F = Fairness: our sense of being treated well and fairly
So when might this come into play in our working relationships?
Feeling threatened in any one or more of these five areas can create a threat response in our brains. And when we’re feeling threatened we’re not at our best, we’re not thinking as clearly as possible, and if it’s a long-term feeling of threat it can lead to stress and lack of motivation for what we’re doing.
How might is show up in our workplaces?
Status: we may not feel we have the job title we deserve, and may feel we’re undervalued for the work we’re actually doing.
Certainty: uncertainty about the future of our jobs, for example probation period or redundancy, can put us in the threat state, making thinking and working difficult.
Autonomy: micromanagement, or too many formal processes, are probably the most demotivating things I’ve experienced in the workplace. By taking away our we can often start to underperform (likewise, the extreme opposite of no oversight or support is equally stressful).
Relatedness: poor relationships, constant disagreements and bullying create a threat response.
Fairness: favouritism, lack of pay parity, uneven workloads are both examples of where lack of fairness can play out in a workplace.
Are you feeling unmotivated at work? Can you see where one or more of these may be happening in your workplace?
If you’re a manager and you feel one of your team isn’t as motivated as you might expect, have a look at the list and see whether there may be something going on that is triggering a threat response. And remember, there’s more than fight, flight or freeze: fawn is also threat response, and can show up as excessive people-pleasing or constant checking.
Watch a short video summary of the SCARF model.
Try this short assessment from NeuroLeadership Institute (it can be used with your team)
I’d love to know what came up for you. Feel free to let me know in the comments, or drop me a message.
What I’ve been consuming
I really love working with people’s strengths, so this article from
is a great read: 'What’s your secret ingredient'Do you like buying books, but have way more than you can read? You might be engaging in tsundoku. Find out more about tsundoko.
And if you’re finding it hard to get rid of books (or other stuff), leave a job or leave those WhatsApp groups, because of the perceived value they hold for you, read ‘The truth about sunk costs’ by Seth Godin.
Struggling with perfectionism? Have a read of ‘The Weekly Dose - The good enough zone’ from
Work with me
If you’d like some help to figure this stuff out, if you’re ready to change something, but need a bit of support to do so, let’s chat.
I’m Jo, founder of Coaching with Jo.
I typically support mid-career individuals who want to shake things up a bit. I help them find their courage to uncover what they really (really) want, let go of anchors holding them back, and confidently chart their own path and a life they want.
If you're holding yourself back from reaching the next step in your career…
If you feel stuck at the edge of the map of your life, and would like a supportive guide…
If you're an aspiring leader questioning how you can get there…
If you feel anchored somewhere you no longer want to be, and rather than feeling lost you're ready to take control of the wheel...
Whether your change is big or small, let's chat about how Coaching with Jo could support you.
The world needs you to be your truly authentic, courageous and confident self!
Book a free, 30-minute no-obligation Explorer Call with Jo to discuss how coaching could help you, and whether I’m the coach for you: https://tidycal.com/jogibney/30-minute-free-coaching-explorer-call
Preview photo by Juliana Mayo on Unsplash
Thank you for the shout out! Brilliant article about SCARF probably an underrated tool! 😊