What is default mode network—and how to use it for better focus

Let’s start with an exercise. For 60 seconds, look away from your computer (or any screen) and gaze out the window or at a fixed spot in your office. Take the full 60 seconds, then return. 

How was that minute for you? Where did your mind go? What did you think about or notice? 

Did you observe the trees rustling outside? Perhaps you noticed a bird flying by or heard a truck driving down your street. Perhaps your mind wasn’t as quiet, you were thinking about your next project or meeting, or maybe you started going through the laundry list of items on your to-do list. Worse yet, did you find yourself in a self-critical mode? Suddenly speaking unkindly to your inner self about a recent issue or mistake at home or the office? 

Our brains run in large, interdependent systems called networks. Your default mode network (DMN) is the background voice you heard during that exercise. Your DMN is active during introspective activities such as daydreaming, thinking about the past or future, or considering another person’s perspective. When your DMN is active, you can access self-awareness, enjoy the past, and think about the future.  

As soon as you start to pay attention to something external, your DMN turns off. Tapping into your DMN can have a profound effect on your team. Working from a relaxed DMN can act as a precursor for resonant self-talk. You might find you can embrace tactical empathy more readily and that conflict can turn into connection. 

Working from a stressed or critical DMN, on the other hand, can have detrimental effects on the workplace.   

Understanding the Default Mode Network 

In the exercise above, we described three DMN states: relaxed, stressed, and critical. In a relaxed state, you might find you can better offer resonance, tapping into your needs for respect, establishing boundaries, or creating trust. Your DMN is working to your benefit in this example. You might find you can: 

• More easily recall past events or remember what you’ve forgotten;

• Think clearly about the future or imagine new or different scenarios;

• Observe why people do what they do with generosity and imagination.

In a stressed or critical state, it is more difficult to tap into your personal needs. In either state, you might find: 

• It’s harder to stay focused; 

• Grudges or hurtful memories intrude into your mind; 

• You’re feeling anxious about the future or about others; 

• You are more likely to self-criticize or be suspicious of others.  

The DMN links your individual self, others, memories, and how you plan into a connected framework. The more hardships you have experienced in your past, the more your DMN will try to sew together a sense of self based on challenging memories. That self might then be associated with pain, anger, dissociation, or shame. Effects of the critical DMN can lead to difficulties with cortisol, energy, and anxiety levels. You might also experience depression, panic, dissociation, or confusion. 

How the Default Mode Network can impact work relationships 

A lacerating DMN can create a constant loop of self-deprecation. A leader experiencing a self-critical DMN may find it difficult to put the inner voice aside to support a team member. This can show up in self-evaluations or performance reviews of peers and colleagues. It will be harder to be objective and compassionate about business challenges. You may not be able to see the bigger picture or give someone the benefit of the doubt. Instead, you might blame the person’s performance. 

An individual with a lacerating DMN may focus only on getting their own needs met. They will act from a place of helplessness and lack of control. This can translate externally into a high-conflict team dynamic and high-stress work environment. A critical DMN will impact an individual’s external behavior. A bias might start to form in response to conflict, resulting in negative bias, speaking badly about a colleague, or cultivating a negative reputation of the individual. 

Think back on a time when you felt like giving up or quitting. You may have felt powerless and hopeless. Perhaps you were in a presentation to management and a director-level colleague rolled their eyes and said it was a waste of time. Not only is this unprofessional, but you may have felt a rise in tension or anxiety as the experience of losing control took over. As a result, you might instinctively verbally lash out in an attempt to regain control of the situation.  

From this state, it is extremely difficult to support a psychologically safe environment.  

How to interrupt the self-critical loop and move into a relaxed state 

The first step in interrupting the self-critical DMN mirrors the first step in practicing tactical empathy: notice. A self-critical DMN voice might say to you, “I am too much,” “I am not as smart as everyone else,” or “My voice doesn’t matter.”

Once you’ve tapped into your DMN and identified your inner voice, employ resonant self-talk practices to secrete neurochemicals that reduce feelings of anxiety, depression, exhaustion, or depletion. Remember this formula: “Even though I’m feeling X, I’m grateful for/that/when Y.”

Working on your DMN is a critical tool for increasing engagement and reducing toxic workplace behavior. Introducing resonant self-talk and quieting the inner critic will help you move from a critical to a more relaxed DMN. In doing so—putting your oxygen mask on first before helping others—your DMN starts to work in your favor.