strategies for overcoming distraction, regaining … leader series ... view via the web, ......

FACILITATOR GUIDE

© 2011 Linkage, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The Linkage Thought Leader Series

Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long

Featuring David Rock, Author of Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long

Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long David Rock


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION AND MATERIALS REQUIRED ......................................................................... 2

Introduction................................................................................................................................. 2 Conventions ............................................................................................................................... 3 Materials: Pre-Broadcast Activities ............................................................................................. 4 Materials: Broadcast Presentation.............................................................................................. 4 Materials: Post-Broadcast Activities (Optional) .......................................................................... 4

PRE-BROADCAST ACTIVITIES ................................................................................................... 5

Welcome and Introductions ........................................................................................................ 5 Optional: Pre-Broadcast Reading ............................................................................................... 7 Optional: Pre-Broadcast Activity ................................................................................................. 9 Question Generation ................................................................................................................ 11

BROADCAST .............................................................................................................................. 12

Introduction to Broadcast ......................................................................................................... 12 Broadcast Presentation and Q&A ............................................................................................ 13

POST-BROADCAST ACTIVITIES .............................................................................................. 14

Introduction to Post-Broadcast Program .................................................................................. 14 Activity 1: Self-Reflection and Discussion ................................................................................ 14 Activity 2: Making Prioritizing a Priority ..................................................................................... 16 Activity 3: When Collaboration is Cold, Put on a SCARF ......................................................... 20 Activity 4: Change Your World ................................................................................................. 24 Final Activity: Action Planning .................................................................................................. 26 Program Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 26



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Introduction and Materials Required

Introduction

Welcome to the Linkage broadcast, Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long. This broadcast from Linkage’s Thought Leader Series features David Rock, Founder and CEO of the NeuroLeadership Group, a global consulting and training firm with operations in 24 countries. One of the foremost thought leaders in the global coaching profession and author of Your Brain at Work, Mr. Rock explores the emerging science of the brain and how “knowing about the brain can help you create an organizational structure that inspires your employees to take pride in their work, bring more attention and resourcefulness to their tasks, and work more collaboratively with their peers.” Mr. Rock will give you the tools to be more productive in everything you do through giving you a greater insight into what’s happening in your — and others — brain.

David Rock interviewed 30 leading neuroscientists and accessed over 300 brain and psychological studies for Your Brain at Work, a fascinating and important work that integrates neuroscience findings into the business world. Responsible for coining the term “NeuroLeadership” — a global initiative bringing neuroscientists and leadership experts together to build a new science for leadership development — Mr. Rock translates his findings into strategies that organizations like Accenture, Ericsson, and NASA implement to develop leaders, retain talent, improve performance, and change culture.

Expectations are high in today’s organizations. Every day involves a constant and massive amount of work — at times seemingly overwhelming. Our personal expectations are high as well. We think that we should successfully complete everything on our plates. We demand personal excellence. The work is complex, involving significant decision making and problem solving skills. When we struggle to get it all done — and done correctly — we think it must be the way we are working. Maybe our time management skills need work. Maybe we should attend a class on decision making techniques. As David Rock will teach you, the truth is your brain has biological limits. “No matter how much effort you put in, you can’t sit there and make brilliant decisions all day.”

Through his extensive research Mr. Rock has delved into the most recent and important discoveries about the human brain — discoveries that point to the critical need to understand your brain at work. This new knowledge will open up a new world for business leaders, one that allows you to be more focused and productive, no easy feat in today’s overwhelming work environment. Imagine being able to solve problems quicker, stay cool under pressure, drive change and collaboration among your peers and employees, and influence others more effectively. The possibilities are endless when you know how to maximize the most amazing tool you have at your disposal — your brain.

In this presentation, you will learn:

• How to improve your productivity through understanding what’s happening in your brain.

• How to prioritize more effectively to get more done.

• The secrets of making solving problems easier.

• Strategies to keep your cool when the pressure’s on.

• The five things you need to know about getting the most from others.



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These facilitator materials have been designed to support your organization’s participation in this broadcast with David Rock. Use the materials before the broadcast to set the stage for the broadcast. Learn more about Mr. Rock and how the brain affects how, why, and what we do.

Mr. Rock will use the 90 minutes to provide some prepared material about the neuroscience of leadership, and how you can use your newfound knowledge of the brain to work smarter all day long. Participants should use the materials during the broadcast to record their notes, ideas, questions, and insights. If you are viewing the broadcast live, you can submit participants’ questions directly to the speaker through the webcast viewing window, via email to [email protected]., or to follow the conversation online or to submit your questions/comments during a live broadcast using Twitter, please use the hash tag #LinkageInc.

Most importantly, use the materials after the broadcast to help reflect on ways to embrace the principles and implement the tools and techniques Mr. Rock outlines in his presentation on Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long. Make the most of the wonderful, quirky nature of your brain to improve performance and achieve success.

This facilitator guide was developed to help facilitators make the most of the program with their audience or group. In this guide, you’ll find:

• Background material to help add richness to your discussions.

• Activities for a variety of group sizes and of varying leadership levels. Depending on your unique audience (and your own facilitation capabilities), you may wish to modify these activities to better meet the needs of your group(s).

• Facilitation tips and techniques that you may find useful as you prepare to facilitate the pre- and post-broadcast discussions.

Use this guide and its activities as they fit your needs. Before preparing for the broadcast, you will want to quickly preview this entire guide to determine how best to leverage the activities for your audience. Because this guide was designed for a variety of facilitation scenarios, it will likely include activities that may not exactly fit yours.

Conventions

The following conventions are used throughout this guide:

• Materials that are required will be listed in the left column. Directions are provided in the middle column. Space for your notes is provided on the right side of the page.

• SAY: The text following this direction is most effective if read verbatim. Note that most of the directions encourage you to use your own style and/or words.

• ASK: The text following this direction will usually have a question to ask, as well as suggested answers. The answers are provided to help you lead the discussion and/or to ensure that the critical points are drawn out from the participants.



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Materials: Pre-Broadcast Activities

The following materials are required for the pre-broadcast presentation; you may wish to prepare the flip charts ahead of time.

• Agenda

• Flip chart markers

• Tape to post the flip chart pages

• Flip chart stand and paper

• Participant Guide (one set per participant)

• Name cards (optional depending on your setting)

• Pencils

Instructions for receiving the broadcast or Extended View will be provided separately.

Materials: Broadcast Presentation

Other than the materials listed previously for the pre-broadcast presentation, there are no additional materials required for this section if you are viewing the live broadcast. If you are viewing by Extended View via the Web, you will need the username and password as well as a web connection to access the broadcast.

Materials: Post-Broadcast Activities (Optional)

In addition to the materials listed previously, the following materials are required for the post-broadcast activities:

• Extra flip chart paper, markers, and tape to post the flip charts



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Pre-Broadcast Activities 20-70 minutes

VISUALS/ MATERIALS

TOPIC/ACTIVITY TIME/NOTES

Welcome and Introductions 15-30 minutes

1. WELCOME participants to the special broadcast in the Linkage Thought Leader Series featuring David Rock.

2. INTRODUCE yourself. WRITE your name and title on a flip chart.

3. EXPLAIN the focus of the pre-broadcast program. SAY:

• Participating in today’s broadcast gives you the opportunity to hear from David Rock, Founder and CEO of the NeuroLeadership Group, a global consulting and training firm and thought leader in the global coaching profession.

• Mr. Rock will share insights from his book, Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long. Through his comprehensive research in the challenging areas of neuroscience and cognition, Mr. Rock is able to extract and share the most current understanding of how the mind and brain influence our lives.

• As Mr. Rock will share, you can be more productive in everything you do when you understand what’s happening in your — and others — brain.

4. REVIEW the Program Agenda (as a slide, flip chart, or handout).

• Pre-Broadcast Activities (optional)

• Presentation/Q&A with David Rock (90 minutes)

• Post-Broadcast Activities (optional)

Note: The timing can be expanded or limited depending on how much discussion you wish to allow.



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5. EXPLAIN the workshop ground rules:

• Be committed to learning.

• Be a critical thinker.

• Listen actively and without passing judgment.

• Respect and uphold confidentiality.

6. EXPLAIN general “housekeeping” (breaks, facility information, etc.).

7. REFER participants to the flip chart with the statement: “It may be that understanding the brain is one of the best ways of improving performance in any setting, especially for teams of people working together.” - David Rock. DIRECT participants to introduce themselves to a person they do not know and to ask the other participant the following questions:

• What is your name?

• What is your job/title?

• Have you ever wondered why some people are able to take advantage of their mental resources and maximize productivity? What observations can you make about what allows for this success?

8. ASK participants to share their thoughts while keeping the tone of the conversation focused on these points:

• Those who understand the brain are more productive in every aspect of their work and lives.

• Understanding how your brain works translates to a greater ability to solve problems quicker, stay cool under pressure, facilitate change, and collaborate more effectively with others.

9. TRANSITION to Optional Pre-Broadcast Reading and Activity or to Question Generation.

Note: These introductory activities are not in the participant guide.



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Optional: Pre-Broadcast Reading 10-20 minutes

Pages 8 – 13

The following reading will help prepare participants more fully for the broadcast. The reading provides an overview of David Rock’s research into how the brain classifies the world around us into things that will either hurt us (a threat) or help us (a reward), and how we can use this knowledge to effectively regulate our emotions and improve productivity.

1. READ from the participant guide: They say awareness is the first step to self-improvement. Self-awareness is the path to understanding your behavior and actions. When you understand yourself, you can make the necessary changes to achieve success. But sometimes, even when we are self-aware, we still can’t explain why we make a bad decision or why we are unable to collaborate effectively with another person. We let our emotions take control and hijack our brain. It’s time to take self-awareness to a more elemental, yet complex, level. It’s time to enhance your understanding of your brain.

2. ASK participants to read (or review, if you provided this material as precourse work) the Introduction and Basic Premise on pages 8 – 13 in their participant guides.

3. After a few minutes, ask participants to share their thoughts on the link between how the brain works and the ability to keep cool in the face of the daily pressures leaders face on a daily basis. Lead the discussion making the following points:

• Understanding how the limbic system operates — and being aware of an increase in its arousal — allows you to reduce this arousal before it kicks in.

• When you sense a strong emotion coming on, refocus your attention quickly on another stimulus before the emotion takes over.

• You can reappraise by reinterpreting an event, or reordering your values, or normalizing an event, or repositioning your perspective.

• Reappraising you own experience is a powerful way of managing internal stressors; use this technique when you are anxious about your mental

Note: Depending on the time you have for pre-broadcast discussion, you may wish to provide the participant guide ahead of time and ask participants to complete this reading before coming to the broadcast.



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performance by saying, “That’s just my brain.”

4. SUMMARIZE key points from the discussion pointing out that we all want to improve our productivity and the best way to do that is by understanding what’s happening in our brain. By learning how your brain works, and implementing David Rock’s strategies, you can overcome distractions, regain focus, and work smarter all day long.

5. TRANSITION to Optional Pre-Broadcast Activity or to Question Generation.



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Optional: Pre-Broadcast Activity 15 minutes

Pages 14 – 18

The following article and activity will provide participants with food for thought as they prepare for the broadcast:

1. The reading focuses on a subject that most of today’s organizations are facing; the epidemic of overwhelm. David Rock, and his colleague, Dr. Dan Siegel, have created the Healthy Mind Platter capturing the seven essential mental activities necessary for optimum mental health. The pre-broadcast activity provides an opportunity for participants to apply the concept of the Healthy Mind Platter to their everyday life. To maximize mental capabilities at work, it’s critical to take a look at how you are balancing the seven daily mental activities: Focus Time, Play Time, Connecting Time, Physical Time, Time In, Down Time, and Sleep Time.

2. ASK participants to use the chart provided on pages 16-18 in their participant guide to map out an average day (or review, if you provided this material as pre-course work), and determine what percentage of their time is spent in each area. For each mental activity where they are not satisfied with the time spent in that area, determine some specific things they can do to positively impact the area.

3. GIVE participants sufficient time to complete or review the activity.

4. After about 15 minutes, call attention back to yourself and ask participants to share their thoughts on the activity. Lead the discussion while making the following points:

• Balancing the seven essential daily mental activities is key to optimal brain performance.

• “Mental wellness is all about giving your brain lots of opportunities to develop in different ways.”



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• Our minds are who we are. It’s critical that we increase our awareness of what we put into our minds and balance a Healthy Mind Platter to remain mentally healthy.

5. TRANSITION to Question Generation.



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Question Generation 5 minutes

Second to Last Page

1. NOTE: This section is only applicable if you are viewing the broadcast live.

2. EXPLAIN that in this broadcast David Rock will spend a portion of the broadcast responding to questions. As such, it is critical that participants submit questions. Encourage participants to make the most of the opportunity to interact with the presenter.

3. ASK participants to identify (in pairs or small groups) at least three questions they have for Mr. Rock.

4. RECORD questions on a flip chart. Identify any redundancies and generate a list of questions for submission. NOTE: As facilitator, you should collect these questions and submit them to Linkage on behalf of your group using one of the following methods: Webcast viewing window Email: [email protected] Twitter: use the hash tag #LinkageInc ENCOURAGE participants to submit any additional questions they would like either before or during the broadcast. They can write their questions on the second to last page of their participant guide and provide the page to you during the broadcast.

5. TRANSITION to Introduction to Broadcast.



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Broadcast 95 minutes

VISUALS/ MATERIALS


Introduction to Broadcast 5 minutes

Pages 22 – 26

1. INTRODUCE the title of the broadcast, Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long, featuring David Rock, Founder and CEO of the NeuroLeadership Group, a global consulting and training firm, and thought leader in the global coaching profession.

2. EXPLAIN the focus and highlights of the program:

• Mr. Rock will use his knowledge and experience to show us:

• How to improve productivity through understanding what’s happening in your brain.

• How to prioritize more effectively to get more done.

• The secrets to making solving problems easier.

• Strategies to keep your cool when the pressure’s on.

• The five things you need to know about getting the most from others.

3. EXPLAIN methods for being an active participant:

• Listen actively to Mr. Rock’s presentation. As you listen to his key points, apply his brain-knowledge to gain greater insight into what’s happening in your — and others — brains.

• Should you wish to take notes, there is space provided beginning on page 22 in your participant guide.



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Broadcast Presentation and Q&A 90 minutes

Last Page

1. MONITOR the room throughout the broadcast. Make note of themes that you want to emphasize or reinforce after the broadcast.

2. When the broadcast has ended, remind participants to complete and submit the Broadcast Evaluation Form found on the last page of their guide.

3. TRANSITION to Post-Broadcast Activities.



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Post-Broadcast Activities (Optional) Suggested: 2 hour 20 min. – 2 hours 50 min.

VISUALS/ MATERIALS


Introduction to Post-Broadcast Program 5 minutes

1. EXPLAIN that the Post-Broadcast Program will allow

participants to:

• Review the highlights of the broadcast.

• Discuss the key learning and applications with colleagues.

• Use the learning from the broadcast for personal action planning.

2.

Activity 1: Self-Reflection and Discussion 15 minutes

Pages 28 – 29

Because this activity is general in nature, it is relevant for most audiences.

1. DIRECT participants to turn to their guides.

2. ASK participants to share their key learning and take-aways from the broadcast and Q&A portion by asking the following questions and discussing as appropriate: Q#1: What in David Rock’s presentation struck a special chord with you? Why? Q#2: Reflect on what you have learned about your brain at work. Now that you know that some mental processes take up a lot more energy than others, how will you take advantage of your mental resources to work more effectively? What steps can you take to handle distractions and remain focused on the most important tasks of your day? Q#3: One of the things that can derail your brain’s effectiveness is uncontrolled emotion. As David Rock explains, “Your ability to regulate your emotions instead of being at the mercy of them is central to being effective in a chaotic world.” How aware are you of your emotional state? Are you in charge of your emotions, or captive to them? What specific ways can you implement Mr. Rock’s three techniques for staying

4.



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cool under pressure: labeling (for average emotional hits), reappraisal (for stronger emotional hits), and managing your expectations (for future outburst of arousal)? Q#4: What are YOUR leadership lessons? How will you take your new understanding of how your brain works and translate it to increasing your leadership effectiveness with your team and/or organization? Teaching Points:

• Understanding the brain’s functions, limitations, and capacities allows us to direct our own brain chemistry to be more productive and successful.

• Through understanding how the brain works, we can sort through the vast quantities of information our brains process to figure out how to prioritize it, organize it, and act on it.

• People are more open to changing the behaviors which hold them back when they understand how their brain works and what strategies they can implement to improve performance in all aspects of their work life.

3. Go to the next chosen activity or the Final Activity: Action Planning.



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Activity 2: Making Prioritizing a Priority 40-50 minutes

Page 30

1. This activity is general in nature and relevant for most audiences.

2. READ the information on page 30 in the participant guide: How many times a week do you think “I have a pretty light day today.” Maybe 20 years ago, but in today’s fast-paced organizations the odds are extremely high that every day is jammed packed with emails, voice mails, meetings, and project deadlines. Of course, this doesn’t even account for the critical decisions that need to be made, or the complex problems that have to be solved. Today’s business leaders must manage a significantly larger and more complex to-do list. Our expectations are high — after all, the most successful people are able to get it all done, right? As David Rock explains, it is to our benefit to “discover the biological limits that underlie mental performance, and in the process develop more brain-smart approaches to everyday challenges.” Through understanding how the brain handles making decisions and solving problems, you will gain the advantage you need to improve performance and manage your ever-growing to-do list. Let’s take a look at what Mr. Rock calls “the Goldilocks inside us all.” The region of your brain responsible for making decisions and solving problems is called the prefrontal cortex. Sitting behind the forehead, it is the part of your brain that thinks things through; it allows you to plan, control impulses, make decisions, and visualize a situation you’ve never seen before. And forget thinking creatively without this little gem in your brain. Don’t be fooled by its size; it may only comprise a “measly” four to five percent of the volume of your brain, but like a featherweight boxer, it’s small and powerful. As Amy Arnsten, a professor of neurobiology at Yale Medical School, explains, “Your prefrontal cortex holds the contents of your mind at any one point. It’s where



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Pages 31

we hold thoughts that are not being generated from external sources or from the senses. We ourselves are generating them.” While amazing, your prefrontal cortex has limitations. Responsible for five functions — understanding, deciding, recalling, memorizing, and inhibiting — the prefrontal cortex requires significant resources to operate. It is also particular in nature, thus the moniker “Goldilocks.” “It has to have everything just right or it doesn’t function well.” So what does this science lesson have to do with the importance of prioritizing? By understanding how your prefrontal cortex works — and its limitations — you need to “prioritize prioritizing.” In other words, prioritize your day before anything else — before reading emails or thinking about an upcoming meeting — because as Mr. Rock shares, “Prioritizing is one of the brain’s most energy-hungry processes. After even just a few mental activities, you may not have the resources left to prioritize.” Deciding to let other tasks jump in front of prioritizing is a choice you make to your own brain’s detriment. Prioritizing is hard, which explains why we tend to avoid it. But it is a critical skill that is necessary to work more effectively and get more done. Prioritizing is a mental task that often requires us to make decisions about things we may have no experience with. Imagine deciding what is more important, hiring a new assistant or writing a project proposal? Prioritizing is a demanding mental task, one that David Rock likens to the coding for degree of difficulty used on ski slopes. “Mental tasks…are green, blue, and black. Prioritizing, at least in a knowledge economy full of conceptual problems, is definitely a black run. Do it when you are fresh and energized, or you might crash and burn down the hill.”

3. READ David Rock’s strategies for prioritizing more effectively on page 31 in the participant guide:

• Prioritize prioritizing, as it’s an energy-intensive activity.

• Save mental energy for prioritizing by avoiding other high-energy consuming activities such as dealing with



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Pages 32 – 33

Page 34

emails.

• Use the brain to interact with information rather than trying to store information, by creating visuals for complex ideas.

• List projects for the day. It saves your brain for comparing the elements instead of using energy to hold each one in your mind.

• Schedule the most attention-rich tasks when you have a fresh and alert mind. Making a tough decision might take 30 seconds when you are fresh, and be impossible when you’re not.

• Be aware of your own mental energy needs and schedule accordingly. Schedule blocks of time for different modes of thinking. Divide your day into blocks of time for deep thinking, having meetings, and routine tasks like responding to emails. Use this strategy to shift around the type of work you do to let your brain recover.

• Don’t think when you don’t have to. To be more effective and get more done, discipline yourself to not pay attention to non-urgent tasks unless, or until, it’s truly essential that you do. Learn to say no to tasks that are not among your priorities.

4. EXPLAIN that this activity has two parts. For part one, participants should evaluate how they currently manage — or perhaps more importantly — manage their time. Complete the questionnaire on pages 32 - 33 to determine what four time mastery areas they need to work most on (areas with the lowest totals).

5. DIRECT participants to continue to the second part of the activity using what they just learned — and the strategies shared by David Rock — to practice prioritizing a real day in their business life.

6. EXPLAIN part two of the activity. SAY: Imagine it is tomorrow morning and you are thinking about what you are facing for the day. For this activity, start small. Use the worksheet on page 34 to manage your top three priorities for your day. Implement the strategies shared by David Rock to prioritize more effectively and get more done.



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7. ASK participants to share their thoughts on the insights revealed in this activity. DIRECT the discussion to include at least one insight from each part of the activity: managing/mastering time and effective prioritizing.




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Activity 3: When Collaboration is Cold, Put on a SCARF 30-40 minutes

Pages 35 – 36

1. This activity is general in nature and relevant for most audiences.

2. READ the information on pages 35 and 36 in the participant guide: Working in silos is becoming a thing of the past. Today’s organizations are increasingly cross-functional and collaborative in nature. Within this structure, conflicts can arise that negatively impact productivity. In today’s social business world, the ability to collaborate is central to creativity, innovation, and success. In order to stay ahead of the competition, everyone within an organization must work incredibly well together — like a well-oiled machine. But how can everything run smoothly when human nature pops up and the machine grinds to a halt due to conflict? As David Rock explains, “The problems that occur between people could be reduced if there were a wider understanding of some of the basic needs of the brain…there are ‘social needs,’ which if not met, create a sense of threat that can quickly devolve into conflicts between people.” Understanding how your brain works when you work with others is the key to effective collaboration. David Rock’s research for Your Brain at Work found that the brain has some basic requirements for collaboration:

• The brain views status as a primary reward or threat and will go to great lengths to protect or increase status.

• The brain likes to know what is going on by recognizing patterns in the world. The brain likes to feel certain.

• The perception of being in control is a major driver of behavior.

• The brain needs social connections, a feeling of being safely connected to others.

You may want to familiarize yourself with these concepts before facilitating this discussion.



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• The sense of fairness drives a lot of behavior.

These requirements can be seen by the brain as either a reward or a threat. While writing his book, David Rock noticed surprising patterns that lead him to recognize the five domains of social experience that the brain treats the same as survival issues. These domains form the SCARF model: Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, and Fairness. The SCARF model gives a language to those experiences that may otherwise be unconscious. When you are aware of how your brain interprets the five domains of the SCARF model — and can recognize them as they occur — you have a powerful tool for improving performance and collaborating with others. The implications of the SCARF model for the workplace are clear. As Mr. Rock shares, “Although a job is often regarded as a purely economic transaction, in which people exchange their labor for financial compensation, the brain experiences the workplace first and foremost as a social system.” “Leaders who understand this dynamic can more effectively engage their employees' best talents, support collaborative teams, and create an environment that fosters productive change. Indeed, the ability to intentionally address the social brain in the service of optimal performance will be a distinguishing leadership capability in the years ahead.” As you become more familiar with the SCARF model — and how your brain utilizes it — you can begin to consciously apply this powerful tool. Here are some things you can try immediately as you begin to implement the SCARF model in your collaborative relationships:

• Watch out for people’s status being threatened.

• Reduce status threats in others by giving people positive feedback.

• Watch for uncertainty creating a feeling of threat; practice noticing this.



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Pages 37 – 39

• Watch for a feeling of reduced autonomy creating a sense of threat; practice noticing this.

• Find ways to create choice and a perception of autonomy whenever you can.

• Anytime you meet someone new, make an effort to connect on a human level as early as possible to reduce the threat response.

• Actively encourage people around you to connect on a human level to create better collaboration.

• Be open and transparent about your dealings with people.

• Watch out for fairness being linked to other issues such as certainty, autonomy, or relatedness, where you can get intense emotional responses.

3. ASK (from the participant guide), “How can you implement the SCARF model?”

4. DIRECT participants to answer the question for each domain of social experience listed in the participant guide and describe in detail how they will implement each one:

• Status: When collaborating with others, what are some specific strategies you can implement to ensure other people’s status is not being threatened? What can you do to boost the status of those around you and get the most from them?

• Certainty: While creating a sense of certainty on your team and/or in your organization in today’s ever changing environment is not always possible, what can you do to manage uncertainty?

• Autonomy: When collaborating with others, even a subtle perception of autonomy can improve performance. What are some ways you can delegate control — or at least the perception of control — to others? What can you do to introduce choice into your collaborative mix?

• Relatedness: Personal differences are often perceived as a threat by our brain and negatively impact collaboration. What are some ways you can



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interact with others that will bring out points of similarity, strengthen social connections, build trust, and increase a sense of relatedness?

• Fairness: When a situation is perceived as unfair, it undermines trust and creates conflict. Collaboration can’t flourish in any organization if people perceive the environment as unfair. What are you doing to ensure that you are being open and transparent to those around you? Conversely, a sense of unfairness can be created if unfairness is tolerated. How do you create an environment where fairness is expected and encouraged? What processes do you have in place to ensure that unfairness will not be tolerated on your teams or in your organization?

Teaching Points:

• Understanding the true drivers of human social behavior is becoming an ever more urgent need in today’s increasing interconnected business world.

• Understanding the five domains of the SCARF model, and implementing strategies to effectively use these brain insights, can help people become better leaders, managers, and teammates.

• Implementing the SCARF model enables employees and executives alike to minimize the easily activated threat response and maximize positive, engaged states of mind during attempts to collaborate with and influence others.




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Activity 4: Change Your World 30-40 minutes

Page 40

Pages 40 – 42

1. This activity is designed for senior leaders and executives.

2. READ the information on page 40 in the participant guide: Often, we rely on two well known strategies to facilitate change: feedback and — when that doesn’t work — problem solving. After all, if we can find the cause of the problem and tell others how they can resolve it, things remain rational, unemotional, and under your control. The truth is problems at work, like the organizations we work in and the people we work with, are not always rational or unemotional, and keeping control is not the answer either. It’s time to look at a new approach to change your world.

3. ASK participants to read the excerpt from Your Brain at Work on pages 40 - 42 in their participant guide.

4. ASK participants to think about how their organization provides feedback — whether through a process of feedback on a regular basis, only through an annual performance review, or both. As they reflect on the lessons gleaned from Mr. Rock’s neuroscience research, what can they do to move from constructive performance feedback to facilitating positive change — and in the process facilitate a change within their own organization?

5. EXPLAIN the activity: Imagine you are presenting a proposal to move your organization from constructive performance feedback (most likely you currently use some method of an annual performance review) to a culture of facilitating positive change. As you think about how you can ensure that senior leaders within your organization will not only be open to this proposal, but ultimately adopt it, you will want to include the research findings that support the effectiveness of this technique as well as the benefits for 1) the employees and 2) the organization. Be persuasive! You want your culture to be one that



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Page 43

effectively facilitates change. Working together in small groups, use the space on page 43 to capture some ideas you want to include in your proposal to make this change a reality.

6. Give the groups sufficient time to complete the activity.

7. REGROUP and SHARE some of the ideas they came up with to strengthen their proposals and facilitate a cultural change within their organizations.

Teaching Points:

• Today’s leaders must recognize that giving feedback often creates an intense threat response that doesn’t help people improve performance.

• The problem-solving approach may not be the most effective pathway to solutions.

• To improve performance, move from constructive performance feedback to facilitating positive change.

• Help people to think about their thinking — real change happens when people see things they have not seen before.

• “As you have insights, you change your brain, and by changing your brain you change your whole world.”




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VISUALS/ MATERIALS


Final Activity: Action Planning 15 minutes

Page 44

1. READ from page 44 in the participant guide: Now is the time to get moving. Everything in today’s broadcast supports the need to take action and start implementing the lessons shared. Picture yourself six months from now. You’re reflecting with a sense of pride and satisfaction on how you have implemented the strategies shared by Mr. Rock. You better understand your brain at work, and are using your knowledge to overcome distractions, regain focus, and work more effectively. What have you done to foster an understanding of the brain throughout your organization, enhancing people’s sense of success and increasing productivity?

2. READ: Back to the present. With the above goal set for six months from now, what intermediary steps do you need to take to reach that goal? DIRECT participants to individually complete the page in their participant guide.

3. DISCUSS.

4. OPTIONAL: ASK for volunteers to share examples.

Program Conclusion 5 minutes

1. Thank participants for investing this time to better

understand their brain and transform their performance. Remind participants that those who understand the brain — both its quirks and limitations — are more productive in every aspect of their work and lives.

2. Tell them to use David Rock’s strategies to overcome distraction, regain focus, and work more effectively — independently and collaboratively.

3. Encourage participants to embrace the neuroscience of leadership. “Leaders and leadership scholars of the future may be looking at the world in a whole new way — with the brain firmly in mind.” The journey has only just begun — be on its cutting edge!

strategies for overcoming distraction, regaining … leader series ... view via the web, ......

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