Understand the Brain Basis for Leadership Development

Do you know people like this?

An executive I know constantly gets impatient, blowing up at her direct reports.

At another company, a brilliant systems analyst “can’t be put in front of our clients,” as his boss says, because he instantly starts talking about his solution to their problem. He pays no attention to them – no small talk, no questions, nothing.

And, then there is that new team leader who is failing although she was a bright star as a lone contributor.

The Brain at Work

Each of these common performance deficits is caused by a particular brain system. Take that executive who lashes out, alienating the very people she depends on for her own success. Research by neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux at New York University tells us such emotional hijacks suggest an amygdala insufficiently controlled by the prefrontal cortex.

That pattern of amygdala hijacks can be seen in toddlers, many teenagers – and quite a few executives. In the case of kids and teens, the normal maturation of the brain’s self-management circuitry should take care of the problem. For the executive, this could call for some focused work with a coach.

That systems analyst who can’t relate to clients most likely suffers from a deficit in the brain’s wiring for empathy. As Jean Decety, a neuroscientist at the University of Chicago has shown, there are three distinct wiring patterns in the brain for different kinds of empathy – understanding how other people are seeing things; feeling what they are feeling; and caring. Good client relationships – or relationships of any kind – take all three.

And, the bright lone star who fails as a leader may have trouble integrating circuits for managing herself with those for effective relationships. The work of Daniel Siegel, a psychiatrist at UCLA, shows the smooth integration of the whole brain marks an ideal for leadership – an inner reality that translates into optimal performance.

Brains Can Change

But don’t give up on any of these executives. The brain is plastic, changing with repeated experiences, practice, and learning. Tania Singer at the Max Planck Institute, for example, has designed training programs for the empathy circuitry that produce positive changes. And Daniel Siegel’s “wheel of awareness” exercise helps boost brain integration. And better amygdala management can come from exercises ranging from anger management courses to meditation.

Use Your Understanding of Brain Systems

Want to help leaders improve? Accurately target your leadership development work by recognizing the distinct brain circuitry that underlies particular challenges.

Want more credibility? Leadership development professionals who understand leadership growth at the brain science level command more credibility from clients and potential clients.     

Brainpower: Mindsight and Emotional Intelligence in Leadership, provides leaders, executive coaches, management consultants, and HR professionals with a science basis for their leadership development work. Register for the live four-part webcast series throughout February here. 

Additional Reading

Develop Your Inner Radar to Control Turbulent Emotions

Are You Aware of Your Self-Defeating Habits?

How Self-Awareness Impacts Your Work

A Relaxed Mind is a Productive Mind