Neuroleadership
A journey through the brain for Business Leaders
by Argang Ghadiri, Andreas Habermacher, Theo Peters
A statement
The following is a reference summary, by Minerva, of the
original work written and researched by Argang Ghadiri,
Andreas Habermacher and Theo Peters
No attempt is made to infringe copyright by claiming any
credit for this summary
Title: Neuroleadership. A journey through the brain for Business Leaders
Published by: Springer–Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
First published: 2012
“The emotional tail wags the rational dog”
Controlled
Driving force of
human
interactions and
thought
Cognitive
Affective
Knowledge
Memory
intention
Emotions
Drives
Driving Seat
not
Controlled
Cognitive
Automatic
Below
consciousness
Jonathan Haidt 2001
Old plus new
The discipline is not changing but the way we go about it is and
the tools we use are changing as science accesses a better
understanding of the brain
Neuroeconomics
Neuro Business Administration
Ghadiri, Habermacher
& Peters (2012)
Microeconomic
Areas
Marketing
Finance
Org & Personnel
Development
Management
Neuro
Economics
Neuro
Marketing
Neuro
Finance
Neuro
Leadership
Neuro
Management
Buy/not buy
decision making
constructs
Financial
decision making
risks
(success/failure)
Interactions of
employees and
leaders
Drivers of
management
processes
(methods/tools)
Neuroleadership
Creating a working environment that stimulates and harmonises
employees’ four basic needs of the brain by:
•
•
•
Leading one’s and other’s brain
Satisfying the four neuroscience basic needs
Striving for harmony between basic needs, the brain and the
working environment
• Neuroscience questions the concepts of consciousness,
morality, choice and free will
• The results are surprising, counter intuitive and hard to come
to terms with
Historical concepts of man and motives
are being reshaped by science
Homo Economicus
(Roman to 1920s)
•
Strict working regimes
•
Clear instructions
•
Processes
•
Intensive control
•
Division of labour
(Taylor 1911)
Complex Man
1980s
•
Has changing, different
motives
•
Is capable of learning
•
Will change behaviour
(Schein 1980)
Homo Sociologicus
1930s
•
Workers seen as social beings
•
Productivity linked to internal
drives
•
Interpersonal relationships of
importance
(Hawthorne Studies 1930)
Brain Directed Man
2000s
•
Rationality takes a
secondary role in human
motives and behaviour
(Senge 2004)
Self-Actualising Man
1940s
•
Follows own self-development
and looks to fulfil higher needs
and develop into a better
being
(Maslow 1943)
Brain directed man explained
 Human behaviour stems from the brain
 Behaviour is not based on rationality but differing motivations
stemming from various brain regions
 Brain patterns and triggers are deeply programmed; layered
through experiences from birth
 Emotions are effective drivers of behaviour and lie over most
cognitive processes
 Rational processes have a secondary impact
 Fulfilment of neuroscience basic needs is essential for
employee satisfaction; various factors impact these needs
 Reality and rationality take a secondary role in human
motives and behaviours
Organisational and personnel
management
 Have direct impacts on the way the human brain operates and
reacts to the environment
 Behaviours create and solidify brain circuits; the environment
forms the brain
 Human basic needs lie at the heart of personal interaction with
the environment and personal behaviours
 Environments not in harmony with the basic needs of the
individual will cause deficient behaviour
 Base human motivational drives will be driven by the
manifestation of the desire to fulfil or protect human basic
needs
 To tap into potential, motivation at a deeper intrinsic level we
need to understand the basic needs and how they are
represented and fulfilled by each individual
Brain facts and figures
 The average human brain weighs 1.3Kg and is 80% water
 The brain in only 2% of body weight but uses up to 25% of the
body’s energy resources (water, oxygen and glucose)
 The brain consists of around 100 billion neurons and 100
trillion connections between each other
 Up to 1,200 litres of blood flow through the brain each day
delivering up to 70 litres of oxygen
 The left hemisphere deals with facts and details. The specifics
of language, vocabulary and grammar also sit here
 The right hemisphere has broader connections to emotions,
empathy but importantly to the holistic and big picture view
of the world
Brain - myths
 The brain is fixed in size and does not change over life – many
changes happen and due to neuroplasticity the brain is ever
changing
 Alcohol kills brain cells – alcohol disrupts the firing patterns of
the brain’s neurons but does not kill brain cells (only in extreme
over-indulgence)
 Intelligence is genetic – it is partly genetic but is more linked to
ability to connect and draw on various resources in the brain
 Reason and rationality are separate to emotionality – the
emotional centres of the brain operate together with
emotionality taking a driving seat
 Behaviours are hard-wired – we have many instinctive reactions
that are hard-wired but many behaviours are linked to our
interactions with the environment
Our brain - simplified
Prefrontal Cortex
Limbic System
rational, takes effort, limited resources which deplete quickly.
Equates to 1 cubic foot in size to the Milkyway (rest of brain)
Skittish, always looking for threats, makes decisions every
moment about every interaction
Brain organises around two principles – danger and reward. Danger (Threat) creates noise, the brain needs quiet.
Danger/fear has a profound impact on the prefrontal cortex and severely impacts performance
The impact of fear
 Fear has a significant negative impact on the hormonal
balance in the brain and in the body
 Amygdala, found in the limbic system are known for their role
in fear processing and the subsequent impact on mind and
body
 An overactive amygdala can inhibit functioning in the
prefrontal cortex (rational thinking and short term memory)
 Fear decreases cognitive ability – fear makes us stupid
 Any threat or perceived threat has a profound impact on the
brain, severely reducing cognitive ability
 Fear can be processed unconsciously without our explicit
knowledge – organisations may not know fear has activated
and is distorting thinking processes
The impact of fear contd.
 The dominance of the limbic system in our thought processes
and decision making ability is of key importance for
organisations
 Fear and threats are overwhelming – they impact our
behaviour and emotions much more than has been
considered previously
Key protagonists and their approaches
Ned Herrmann 1996
Herrmann Brain Dominance
Instrument
• Defined 4 thinking types:
Rational, Experimental, Safety
Based, Feeling Based
• Based on certain dominance as
to how and which parts of the
brain we use
• Targeted at helping teams work
together, productivity/creativity
Gerald Huther 2009
Supportive Leadership
To design brain friendly working spaces:
• Create new challenges
• Network Corporate Knowledge
• Develop a positive market culture
• Create space for positive experiences
With leaders who:
• Encourage taking on new tasks
• Encourage the tackling of tasks/problems
and trusts solution will be found
• Inspire and develop motivation for tasks
Christian E Elgar 2009
Based on scientific study
• Defined 4 basic systems in the brain - The
Reward System; The Emotional System;
The Memory System; The Decision System
Developed 7 base rules for Leaders:
• The reward system; Fairness and feedback:
Influence through information: Each brain is
unique; Facts are tied to emotions;
Experience defines behaviour: Situational
dynamics
Informing
Neuroleadership
Science and
Understanding
David Rock 2008
Neuroleadership Institute
• Developed SCARP Model
• Based on principles of
Reward and Threat
Split into 5 categories:
• Status
• Certainty
• Autonomy
• Relatedness
• Fairness
Srinivasan Pillay 2011
Targeted Regional Approach – focus
on specific interventions
Explores brain in more detail:
• Positive/negative thinking
• Social Intelligence
• Innovation and Intuition
• Ideas in action
• Action to change
• Coaching brain regions
• Coaching brain processes
Background in neuroscience and
psychiatry
Human needs at the heart of neuroscience
 The brain is an emotionally driven organ
 It is forever plastic with neurons organically connecting,
reconnecting and growing at any given time
 By examining neural substrates (Gazzaniga et al 2008) we can
now see that the processing that drives certain reactions and
behaviours is similar. The reaction to stimulus, however,
remains different
 If psychological processes lie on neural processes the
understanding of this offers a variety of ways to influence the
environment in corporations in which employees operate
 If we understand the neural substrates of the human mind
and moreover the basis of human interactions then we can
understand where we can apply the point of leverage
Graves’ model of basic needs
 Graves’ model of basic needs and subsequent consistency
theory model is solidly founded in Neuroscientific research
and gives a clear model at the very core of human behaviour
 Learning to tap into these basic needs is the core of
neuroleadership
 To fulfil the basic needs, each individual will develop their
own approach – to search for positive experiences and avoid
negative experiences. These are known as motivational
schemata
The four basic needs
 Attachment
 Takes effect from birth onwards. Oxytocin the bonding hormone is also
stimulated by trust
 Orientation and Control
 Ability to design and develop own environment. Lack of clarity and
ambiguity stimulates negative reactions in the amygdala (fear)
 Self-Esteem
 A specific human needs. Constantly looking to increase self worth and
protect it. Difficult to research at a neuroscientific level
 Pleasure Maximisation
 Aim to increase pleasure and avoid pain. Subjective area of the brain
with experiences over time giving rise to a whole network of mainly
unconscious triggers. Linked to positive/negative experiences
“Basic needs that are present among all humans and their violation or enduring non fulfilment leads to impairment in mental health and well-being”
Graves 2006
Incongruence and/or consistency
 The inability to satisfy one or more basic needs is known as
incongruence. This means that the individual will be unable
to achieve their goals in their context
 Consistency is, on the other hand, the harmony between the
environment and context and the fulfilment of an individual’s
basic needs
 Motivational schemata are the individual interpretation of
motives and drives to achieve their goals in the current
context. We can differentiate between approach schemata
and avoidance schemata
 Approach is the state of an individual actively pursuing the fulfilment
of their basic needs
 Avoidance is the state of an individual protecting their basic needs in
place of striving to fulfil and increase them
Neuroleader competencies
Leaders need to behave and act in a brain friendly way: PERFECT
Potential: develop and support the potential of each employee
Encourage: encourage employees to take on new challenges and develop themselves
Response: give regular and consistent feedback
Freedom: allows as much freedom as possible
Emotions: emotional leadership
Communication: regular communication at the same level
Transparency: be transparent in behaviour and communication
P
E
Attachment
R
Orientation and
control
F
E
C
T
Self-esteem
Pleasure
Competency components
Potential




Consistent and regular development
Development based on individual needs
Leader acting as a coach
Leads to high activation of self-esteem and significantly impacts
attachment and pleasure
Encourage
 Create clarity and encourage employees to take on the challenge
 To build flexibility into the system to keep finding new solutions
 Impacts orientation and control and if done badly activates fear
Response
 Consistent, regular feedback is critical
 Facilitates alignment and positive working relationships
 Impacts orientation and control, potentially feeding attachment and
self-esteem
Competency components
Freedom
 Give clear guidelines with enough autonomy to complete task
 Will release energy and impact orientation and control
Emotions
 Drive motivation and influences our hormonal and cognitive balance
 Need to be aware of own and employee emotions
 Influences pleasure and self-esteem
Communication
 Creates clarity and understanding, the tone indicates respect
 Impacts self-esteem and helps drive orientation and control
Transparency
 Necessity to be clear, open and honest
 Clarity in communication, personal and business goals
 Builds trust and directly influences orientation and control