Leading with the brain in mind

#leadership #leadership development #neuroscience #brain #brainscience

© 2024 Zoryna O’Donnell

This article was first published in the Edge journal of the Institute of Leadership (Winter 2024 edition).

Everyone has a brain and is using it all the time, even when not consciously aware of it. The problem is that our brains don’t come with a user manual, so we may be missing opportunities to use them to the maximum benefit in our personal and professional lives. While our brains are well equipped with many evolutionary features essential to our survival as a species, the same features can result in unintended consequences such as compromised mental health, weakened executive function and the ability to engage and collaborate with others.

Over the past few decades, our views on leadership have changed dramatically. Ethical and compassionate leadership models are gradually replacing autocratic and transactional models and styles. This paradigm shift demands that leaders be brain-aware to get the best out of themselves and from the people they lead.

Recent discoveries in neuroscience give us useful insights and opportunities to increase our personal and professional effectiveness and to bring leadership to the next level.

Leaders adopting brain-informed practices are able to:

-       develop a deeper understand of their impact on the people and organisations they lead;

-       fine-tune emotional regulation and also how they respond to stressors and pressures;

-       enhance their decision-making and problem solving while mitigating the impact of unconscious biases and unhelpful mental shortcuts;

-       improve engagement and collaboration with others and their ability to influence others;

-       facilitate change in themselves and others to achieve and sustain the desired outcomes.  

There are several brain-informed strategies and models which can be used by leaders in the workplace. My personal favourite is the CONNECT™ model by Dr Catherine Hambley. It addresses basic human needs which, if they are met, will create a reward state (positive, focussed, creative and collaborative) but, if they are left unmet, will trigger a threat response leading to increased anxiety and conflict, reduced cognitive abilities and performance. The seven elements of this model are:

-       C – Consistency: providing people with adequate and clear information so that they know where they (and you) stand.

-       O – Ownership: giving people autonomy and a sense of control which motivate them.

-       N – Novelty: stimulating people’s curiosity and creativity.

-       N – Need to know: connecting people with meaning and purpose.

-       E – Equity: promoting a sense of fairness and equity in your people.

-       C – Confidence: enhancing people’s sense of competency, capability and self-esteem.

-       T – Trust: building mutual respect, connections, cooperation and collaboration.  

Some may argue that we don’t need all this brain science. After all, we don’t know what is happening inside our laptops but are still able to use them. Imagine that you have a laptop but have no idea how to use it properly. How good is that?

To conclude, I urge all leaders to be curious, to gain knowledge about the brain and to apply it to their work and lives to become even better at what they do.

Image credit: Mohamed Hassan via Pixabay.

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