what every leader can learn from neuroscience 16 march

Update from the Neurosciences: What A Coach Wants to Know

MichaelA.Netzley,PhD

§ Academic Director, SMU Executive Development§ SMU faculty since 2002; 25 years in higher ed§ 2011 Champion’s Award, Innovative Course

Design and Delivery; 2015 Best Case Study Award Winner, EFMD

§ Editorial Board, Asian Management Insights§ Founding Director, SMU Teaching Excellence

Initiative§ Author of numerous case studies and 4 books § Visiting positions in Argentina, Berlin, Finland,

Slovenia, and Japan§ Key clients include Credit Suisse, BNP Paribas,

Singapore Airlines , Unilever, IBM, IHG, TCS, 3M, UOB, Singapore’s MFA & MoE, SingHealth, GSK, Bosnalijek Pharmaceutical, LundbeckPharmaceutical, Bayer, Schneider Electric, and Sumitomo Chemical.

Michael Netzley, Phd. 2016

Why Do We Care?Connecting neurosciences to executive development

Imagine You Are Managing A Computer LabWe know people are different from computers, but just play along…

Each Computer Has A Different OSMuch like people have different personalities, languages, and culture

Now Apply That Metaphor To PeopleOur brains have the same elements, but each is wired differently (we each have a slightly different OS). This is what managers deal with every day—neuroscience helps you succeed across the differences.

How You Can Help Using NeurosciencesThe professional benefits of applied neurosciences

Optimize Your Mental Flow“Flow” describes our brain’s peak performance when we are completely immersed in an activity

Build Improved Habits By understanding neuroplasticity and how the brain can be rewired for new tasks and strategic change


Avoid Unintentionally Stepping on LandminesNeurosciences teaches us how our best intentions can trigger the wrong response—and how you can evoke the desired response


Master Your Cognitive Biases


Let’s Begin With A Little Quiz

1. True or False: When we refer to our mind, we are referring to something that is separate from our body.

2. True or False: We make better decisions when we leave emotion out of it and rely primarily on logic.

3. True or False: People are either “left brained” or “right brained” (left brain is better for logic and organization while right brain is better for creativity and intuition)

4. True or False: There are neurochemicals that make us better leaders (e.g., serotonin and Oxytocin are the brain’s “selfless” chemicals)

5. True or False: Old dogs cannot learn new tricks.6. True or False: Medical researchers have proven that

new habits are generally formed in 21 days.

Don’t worry…the answers will follow

Michael Netzley, PhD. 2016

LeadershipHow do the neurosciences add to our understanding of leadership?


“ Traditional leadership (and executive, and coaching…)development has largely focused on what could be seen; the brain’s activity was either estimated or simply ignored

Today, We Can Literally See What Goes On Inside The Brain

§ So what happens when you question a coachee’s performance or sign the contract for an exciting new gig?

§ We can now see a part of the equation—the brain activity—that has mostly been excluded from our understanding

We can now see the brain’s operations in real time


MotivatingAn example of seeing something that was previously not visible


Threat and Reward Response

§ The NegativeEmotional Feel

§Pain§Attention retracted§Mental blockages

§ The Positive Felt Reward

§Pleasure§Attention given§Mental activity “flows”

Neuroscientists say we should start here


Social vs Physical BrainWhere both reside in the brain


SCARF

§Status§Certainty§Autonomy§Relatedness§ Fairness

What did neuroscientists discover about motivation?


Status

§ When we perceive an encounter might diminish our status§ Threat response kicks in§ Cortisol is released into

the brain§ Cortisol production is

stress-related§ Corporate values and

culture strongly impacts our status comparisons

Humans assess the rise and fall of social status


Certainty

§ Familiarity shifts the brain to autopilot

§ We use established neural pathways

§ This saves energy- is very efficient§ Can do 2 things at once –

talk and drive§ Variation: mild uncertainty

can attract interest§ How can managers build

certainty?§ Link to self-efficacy

Ambiguity or confusion triggers the threat response


Autonomy

§ Reduced autonomy—e.g., micromanaging—can induce the threat response

§ Perceived lack of control can increase stress (cortisol is released)

§ Greater scope to make own choices leads to better perceptions of work life balance (regardless of factual hours worked)

Can I exercise my decisions without too much oversight?


Relatedness

§ In the brain, trust and empathy toward others is shaped by whether they are perceived to be part of the same social group

§ Meet someone new = brain “friend or foe” decision

§ As we become friends, brain releases oxytocin (linked to affection, generosity, maternal instinct)

§ Threats of loneliness or isolation can flood the brain with neurochemicals identical to when we feel physical pain

Fruitful collaboration depends on healthy relationships


Fairness

§ In studies, perceptions of fairness have brain responses similar to eating chocolate

§ Motivator is so strong that some are willing to fight and die over fairness

§ Without it, trust and collaboration cannot flourish

Perceived fairness is relative, but also an important “glue”


“We now have reason to believe that economic incentives are only effective when people perceive them as supporting their social needs…

- David Rock, 2009


“ If you are a leader, every action you take and decision you make either supports or undermines SCARF…

- David Rock, 2009


Your Brain


The Frontal Lobes

§Historically we did not pay a lot of attention to the frontal lobes.

§ Today we know they are the orchestra’s conductor

§Essential to reasoning, planning ahead, etc

The orchestra’s conductor – where executive functions are performed


Why Focus on the Executive’s Brain?

§ Achilles and the Myrmidon warriors§ Historically leaders inspired courage with

front line fighting, as did Achilles§ Today they lead from the balcony;

overseeing§ The key assumption is that this specific type

of executive role—from the balcony—will make the team/troops better

§ Today’s CEO typically displays such leadership, as does the conductor of the orchestra. The CEO does not manufacture the goods or deliver the actual services anymore than the conductor makes the music.

Look at how the role of the executive has evolved


“The function of leadershipacquires a distinct status andbecomes separate only whenthe size and complexity of theorganization crosses a certainthreshold.

- Elkhonon Goldberg, The Executive Brain


Myths and Mistakes About Your Brain


1. Descartes’ Continuing Influence

“I think, therefore I am”

This statement implies that thinking is the real substance of being; it celebrates the mind-body distinction

Renee Descartes (1596 – 1650)


Descartes’ Mind-Body Distinction

Mind§Software§A mental event (there

is no physical structure called the mind)

§ “The mind is willing…”

Body§ Hardware§ A physical event

(we do have a physical body that can be studied)

§ “…but the body is unable” (as an aging athlete might say).


1. Descartes’ ErrorMind and Body are Inextricably Connected to Each Other


“ “Descartes’ Error…. Specifically,[was] the separation of the mostrefined operations of the mindfrom the structure andoperations of a biologicalorganism.”

- Antonio Damasio, author and neuroscientist


Who Cares About Descartes?

Here is Why You Should Care!

§ Researchers are already helping us—managers, coaches, and everyday people—maximize the benefits that come from leveraging on the mind-body connection.

§ “presence,” the state in which we stop worrying about the impression we’re making on others and instead adjust the impression we’ve been making on ourselves….we need to nudge ourselves, moment by moment, by tweaking our body language, behavior, and mind-set in our day-to-day lives.

The mind-body connection has potentially powerful benefits

Source: http://amycuddy.com/presence/Michael Netzley, Phd. 2016

2. Emotion v Rationality Can Be a False Choice


“ Reduction in emotion may constitute an equally important source of irrational behavior.



3. Left Brain versus Right Brain

§ Traditionally, we describe the left brain as the scientific and logical half

§More recently, Dr. Elkhonon Goldberg argues that the left is for routine activity

§Well trodden

§And the right brain is described as the creative and innovative half

§Dr. Elkhononsuggests the right side processes novelactivities

§Exploratory

The latest insights offer a slightly different theory…


4. Neurochemicals and LeadershipUnfortunately, a complete overstatement in the popular press


“[Neurochemicals] are part of an exceedingly complicated mechanism which operates at the level of molecules, synapses, local circuits, and and systems, and in which sociocultural factors…intervene powerfully. A satisfactory explanation can arise only from a more comprehensive view.



5. Old Dogs Can Learn New TricksFortunately, Neuroplasticity Gives Us Hope

Neuroplasticity refers to changes in your brain’ssynapses and pathways that result from changes inbehavior, thinking or emotion.


6. New Habits Tale A Bit More Than 21 Days

§ Great place to introduce weak and strong neural connections, following neuroplasticity, and the expenditure of cognitive energy

§ Misinterpretation of Dr. Maxwell Maltz’s work (1960) saying it took a minimum of 21 days for new habits to set in.

§ Recent research (2010) in European Journal of Social Psychology by Lally, van Jaarsveld, Potts and Wardle reports that on average 66 days were required for a new habit to take hold.

§ The days required to form the new habits, in this study, ranged from 18 to 254 days

The original research appears to have been misquoted


Let’s End With Our Quiz Answers

1. True or False: When we refer to our mind, we are referring to something that is separate from our body.

2. True or False: We make better decisions when we leave emotion out of it and rely primarily on logic.

3. True or False: People are either “left brained” or “right brained” (left brain is better for logic and organization while right brain is better for creativity and intuition) We use both

4. True or False: There are neurochemicals that make us better leaders (e.g., serotonin and Oxytocin are the brain’s “selfless” chemicals)

5. True or False: Old dogs cannot learn new tricks.6. True or False: Medical researchers have proven that new

habits are generally formed in 21 days.

Don’t worry…the answers will follow


Leading ChangeA Final Example For Your Learning Pleasure


§Old habits die hard§People’s beliefs and behaviors have been

reinforced through everyday routines§Changing these habits are difficult – brain’s

“habit center” further entrenches these patterns


§Draws on parts of brain that require more effort, energy

§New behaviors must be embedded in “habit center” through time, intensity, and repetition.

Requires a tremendous amount of cognitive energy

Source: Gaito (the inner circle); Schwartz and Lennick (the numbered steps)Michael Netzley, PhD. 2016

§ Don’t tell people what they are doing wrong –accentuate what they’re doing right, focus on desired end state

§ Cultivate cognitive veto power – people always have the option to veto the way things are done, practice needed

§ Capability of focusing attention built over time – establish a path leading to focused attention, 6 steps of virtuous cycle


How We Talk About Performance Matters

§ By focusing on what is wrong, we amplify the problem.

§ We\hen building new neural pathways, we want to instead amplify the desired behavior.

§ Why amplify the new behavior? Remember, neurons that fire together will wire together.

§ With AI, part of our design is staying focused on what the coachee does right.

§ Positive care; the positive search for what is best in people.

Like appreciative inquiry (AI), we sometimes focus on the positives


Essential Reading


Bonus Materials

Essential Viewing

§Charlie Rose Brain Series, multi-part discussion of the human brain with leading researchers and a Nobel laureate (YouTube)


what every leader can learn from neuroscience 16 march

Education