Multi-panel interviews have become a standard hiring tool, yet neuroscience shows they are one of the most psychologically unsafe environments organisations routinely create. This article explores how panel interviews trigger the brain’s threat response, shutting down the very capabilities leaders claim to be assessing—clarity, emotional intelligence, authenticity and critical thinking. Drawing on research from Amy Arnsten, Naomi Eisenberger, Matthew Lieberman and Amy Edmondson, it exposes how traditional hiring practices distort performance and undermine genuine inclusion. It also challenges the limitations of conventional “diversity culture,” which often celebrates visible diversity while excluding neurodivergence, trauma backgrounds, reflective thinkers and culturally diverse communicators. Most importantly, the article calls leaders to redesign hiring systems through the lens of neuro-safety, psychological safety and real human behaviour. When leaders understand the nervous system, they stop hiring performers under pressure and start recognising true potential, integrity and leadership capacity.
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