3 Ways to Improve Your Leadership Habits (with Help from Neuroscience)

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Twenty-five years ago my leadership skills were on life support. In my own mind, I thought I was doing great and performing to standard. In the minds of others, an enormous ego, and a thirst for power, status, and instant gratification left a trail of distrust among bewildered team members.

Now that you have a glimpse into how I once operated, a fair warning: leadership is not about you. It's about giving, service, and the empowerment of people.

Years later, as I carved a new leadership path and became a coach to leaders, there were new habits and behaviors to which my brain had to acclimate.

Luckily, our brains have this amazing adaptive quality known as neuroplasticity, which allows for it to rewire to new behaviors. In this case, the esteemed leadership behaviors that lend to success.

At first, it wasn't easy to deprogram my mind from my previous tendencies to control decisions and micromanage, speak over people without listening, or show up with hubris and false charisma.

Thankfully, these toxic patterns were broken as I repeatedly chose to perform actions that created value, built community, and increased my influence. I just had to believe in and trust the process.

How to Reshape Your Brain

Neuroscience and positive psychology research have led us to a better understanding of how to improve our leadership behaviors and shifting from a fixed to a growth mindset. To take neuroscience for a test-drive and begin to reshape your own brain to become a better leader, there are three time-tested decisions you must make:

1. Practice new behaviors

Becoming a skilled leader is kind of like becoming a skilled doctor or lawyer, or plumber. Application and practice is the key. It's not something that is grasped intellectually, like learning algebra or accounting. We become leaders by first unlearning and subtracting old habits. We then shift to a growth mindset, showing curiosity and openness. We surround ourselves with leaders exhibiting character and emotional intelligence, soak up their wisdom, and model new habits and behaviors. Then, we apply our new learning and knowledge, and add experience to our everyday lives.

2. Change

You must be willing and motivated to change and grow as a leader. This is where the heart matters. Your intentions to become a great leader someday have to be heart-based. In other words, great leaders connect to the hearts of their followers to gain their trust. They pump the fear out of the room and liberate their employees to take risks, make mistakes, have a voice, and give input. As you grow and change as a leader, I'm not saying you're forsaking your head or intellect; it means both head and heart need to be in the game. Without the heart, you're stuck in autocracyland -- focusing heavily on the end results while treating people like cogs -- and forgetting the relationships that will achieve even greater results while making people's lives better.

3. Seek feedback

Finally, to develop leadership skills, you must be motivated to seek out and receive feedback from others to see yourself more clearly. This will take great courage. You have to be willing to go down deep to explore old habits and behaviors below the surface that need to be identified and changed. In other words, unlearning and subtracting old behaviors and learning and adding new habits.

Do you agree? What has been your experience? Leave me a comment.

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Podcast Highlights

The Love in Action podcast, which I host, is now heard in 140 countries. Every week I will feature a recent conversation with a global leadership expert or CEO.

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I had a great conversation with Shasta Nelson, friendship authority and author of "The Business of Friendship: Making Most of Our Friendships Where We Spend Most of Our Time."

There is a prevalent belief that managers do not want friendships among coworkers. Shasta remarks that the first thing leaders should do is dismantle that belief, and make it explicit that they encourage close relationships in the workplace.

Here are some highlights from our conversation:

• Why businesses aren’t taking all the research surrounding the importance of friendships among employees seriously.
• Research suggests that the bottom line for job satisfaction is having closer relationships with your coworkers.
• Friendship is a triangle of three requirements: positivity, consistency, and vulnerability.
• Shasta addresses what leaders should be doing to counter loneliness at work.
• Learn about the biggest obstacles preventing an organizational culture of friendship.
• Why fear-based management styles are still prevalent.

Downloand and listen to the full episode:

Marcel's website: https://lnkd.in/d43T8mp

Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3oUbKEK

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3eoNjuC

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News & Trends

- Truths and Myths Around Employee Burnout

According to Gallup's recent report, Employee Burnout: Causes and Cures, 76% of employees experience burnout on the job at least sometimes, and 28% say they are burned out "very often" or "always" at work. However, it's a common myth that simply reducing hours will solve employee burnout. Learn the real causes of burnout and what your company can do. [access report here]

- The Women vs. Men Leadership Debate

There has been a lot said about how women have done a better job leading during the Covid-19 crisis than men. Harvard Business Review reports that, according to an analysis of 360-degree assessments conducted between March and June of 2020, women were rated by those who work with them as more effective. [read the article on HBR]

- The Vaccination Dilemma

To make the workplaces the safest for re-entry, employers are now faced with a dilemma: Do they make vaccination of their workers mandatory? Or do they put measures in place to highly encourage it, but not mandate it? A recent poll of more than 9,000 workers nationwide found that 57 percent of them support a mandatory vaccine. Some large companies, however, as reported in The Wall Street Journal [paywall] say they "will encourage—but not mandate—employees to get Covid-19 vaccines, using a mix of incentives and consequences to ensure as many workers as possible are inoculated." What side of this debate do you stand on? Leave a comment.

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Top 3 Most Read Inc. Articles

The three most globally-read articles from my Inc. column. This week, check out:

• Warren Buffett: 4 Life Choices Separate the Achievers From the Dreamers [read article]
• If You're a Manager and Too Busy for These 4 Things, It May Be Time for a Tune-Up [read article]
• Saying Yes to These 8 Questions Means You May Be More Emotionally Intelligent Than You Thought [read article]

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My New Leadership Workshop

Thank you for reading and engaging in the conversation! Please leave me a comment and let me know what's on your mind. As always, my purpose is to help leaders grow and thrive. Find out how my new virtual leadership course can help you.

At your service,

Marcel

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About Marcel Schwantes

Marcel Schwantes is a speaker, executive coach, leadership advisor, podcast host, and a syndicated columnist with a global following. His work has been featured in Inc., Time, Business Insider, Fast Company, The New York Daily News, CNBC, Forbes, and others. Marcel trains leaders worldwide through his signature virtual course, "From Boss to Leader." He speaks (virtually and in-person) on the human side of work, and how cultures of care, connection, and people-empowerment power companies to outperform the competition.