Don’t panic – I’m not going to suggest you need to get a degree in neuroscience.

However, there has been a big shift in recent years – focusing on neuroscience, and the implications of understanding human behaviour.

As a leader, I liken your role to that of an orchestral conductor. It is your job to bring all the players together, teasing out the best in each of them, all with the primary purpose of creating something great together.

To bring out the best in each of your people, you need to understand more about what makes them tick. And that’s where neuroscience comes in.

Whilst everybody is different, and what suits one person will not suit another, there are some similarities nearly all people share:

  • Being part of the “in” crowd – in other words the desire to fit in and be liked.
  • Survival – we are all wired to fight for survival, and our brains will do all they can to protect us. In the work place we see this manifest itself in concern about job security, being passed over for promotion, not being seen as doing a good job, for example.
  • Trust – we have a desire to trust, and seek out signs in others to determine if they are worthy of our trust
  • Emotionally led – despite our desire to be rational we are all led by our emotions. Some still seek logic to justify decisions, whilst others are happy to go with “gut instinct”, but tapping into and understanding those emotions will help you become a better leader.
  • Excitement – everybody’s perception of excitement is different, but we all want excitement. You need to understand what excites your people – the chance to try something new, meeting or even exceeding their goals, being part of a successful team.

This just a whistle stop tour. There are a huge number of books written about neuroscience and the impact it has on leadership.

Next time we will explore how you can harness neuroscience to make training more effective in your business.

In the meantime, if you would like to learn more about improving leadership in your organisation, please contact us on 01256 328 428.