Neuroscience for Leadership: Harnessing the Brain Gain Advantage

279 Pages·2015·3.59 MB·English

by  Tara Swart

Praise for Neuroscience for Leadership
“Neuroscience for Leadership is a must-read for any leader, not just
business leaders. The authors take the complicated world of brain function
and emotions and map them to those critical decision moments all leaders
face – making it clear that the inside factors are just as important, if not
more so, as the outside ones!”
–Glenn A. Youngkin, Co-President and Co-Chief Operating
Offi cer, The Carlyle Group
“Where science meets leadership, for aspiring leaders in the new and
dynamic tech world. This fascinating book takes over where other ‘how
to’ books leave off .”
–Ned Spieker, Former Chairman, CEO, Spieker Properties NYSE
(New York Stock Exchange); Chairman, Continuing Life
“In absolute contrast with the typically lightweight fare found in books on
leadership, Neuroscience for Leadership really educates, informs, and gives
actionable advice. It’s not tediously academic nor riddled with airport
bookstore clichés. Food for the mind. Highly recommended.”
–Raymond van Niekerk, CMO, Investec
“In all of the dozen or more businesses I have created, the towering issue
has been enabling people to do simple things they fi nd diffi cult to do.
The neuroscience of this is the missing link in management training. The
authors provide a hugely valuable insight.”
–Brian Kingham, Chairman, Reliance Security Group Ltd.
“The authors blend neuroscience, brain chemistry, psychology, and
business to better understand what leaders do, why they do it, and
most importantly how they can change to be more eff ective. The book
is infi nitely readable and pragmatic, with fun facts about the brain and
practical steps to creating sustainable behavioral change. Covering topics
from emotional intelligence to goal setting, values and purpose to self-
confi dence, risk to inertia, this book is wide in reach and application.”
–Deborah L Ancona, Seley Distinguished Professor of Management,
Faculty Director of the MIT Leadership Center
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“Thoroughly researched and fi nely written, the real brilliance of Neurosci-
ence for Leadership is how it links scientifi c brain network research with
solid advice on decision-making, employee motivation, and organizational
growth! Perceptive and brilliant!”
–Marshall Goldsmith, author or editor of 34 books including
the global bestsellers MOJO and What Got
You Here Won’t Get You There
“If you have ever wondered what could be going on in the brain of
individuals you are managing – or in your brain – this book provides a
clear, easy to understand, and entertaining neuroscience explanation.
More importantly, it shows how to use these neurochemical processes
to develop your leadership capacity to full potential and to inspire and
motivate others to innovate and achieve common organizational goals.”
–Dr William A Ribich, Director, Physical Sciences Inc; Former
President, CEO Foster-Miller Inc (one of the 100 most
innovative companies in the USA, INC Magazine)
“If you are jaded by the torrent of books on leadership and organizational
behavior, read this one for a refreshing change! The authors distil the
conclusions from neuroscience research and apply them to leadership,
governance, management, administration, and personal development in a
most readable way. Each chapter presents fascinating vignettes on a wide
range of topics.”
–Sir John Daniel, O.C., Former Assistant Director-General,
UNESCO for Education; Former Vice-Chancellor,
The Open University
“This stimulating book brims with useful insights and sage advice on
practically every page. Managing emotions, communication, decision-
making, and intuition are just some of the topics that it illuminates.
Highly recommended!”
–Dennis Tourish, Professor of Leadership and Organisation
Studies, Royal Holloway; author of The Dark Side
of Transformational Leadership!
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The Neuroscience of Business series
Neuroscience is changing our understanding of how the human brain
works and how and why people behave the way they do. Properly
understood, many of these insights could lead to profound changes in
the way businesses interact with their employees and customers. The
problem is that, until now, most of this research has been published in
specialist journals and has not made its way to managers’ desks. At the
same time, however, business leaders and managers are faced with a
plethora of extravagant claims based on misunderstood, or exaggerated,
neuroscientific research.
Palgrave’s The Neuroscience of Business series seeks to bridge the gap
between rigorous science and the practical needs of business. For the
first time this series will describe the practical managerial applications of
this science in an accessible, but in-depth, way that is firmly underpinned
by a clear explanation of the science behind the management actions
proposed.
Series editors: Peter Chadwick and Roderick Millar
Series ISBN 9781137478320
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Neuroscience for
Leadership
Tara Swart
CEO, The Unlimited Mind, UK
Kitty Chisholm
Director, Boardwalk Leadership, UK
Paul Brown
Senior Advisor, Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation,
Vietnam. Faculty Professor – Organisational Neuroscience,
Monarch Business School, Switzerland
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© Tara Swart, Kitty Chisholm, Paul Brown 2015
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this
publication may be made without written permission.
No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted
save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence
permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency,
Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS.
Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The authors have asserted their rights to be identified as the authors of
this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published 2015 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndsmills, Basingstoke,
Hampshire, RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY10010.
Palgrave is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has
companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN 978–1–137–46685–3
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully
managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing
processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the
country of origin.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Swart, Tara.
Neuroscience for leadership : harnessing the brain gain advantage / Tara
Swart, CEO,The Unlimited Mind, UK, Kitty Chisholm, Director, Boardwalk
Leadership, UK, Paul Brown, Senior Advisor, Vietnam Veterans of America
Foundation, Vietnam.
pages cm. — (The neuroscience of business)
ISBN 978–1–137–46685–3 (hardback)
1. Leadership—Psychological aspects. I. Chisholm, Kitty. II. Brown,
Paul. III. Title.
BF637.L4S93 2015
158’.4—dc23 2014038811
Typeset by MPS Limited, Chennai, India.
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Dedications
Tara: In their memory – my grandmother Amiya Kana Ganguli, a true
leader as matriarch, and my grandfather Narendranath Banerjee, who
nurtured my developing brain with unconditional love.
Kitty: For Aleca and Jacey (the but for whom), Alexandra and Roderick,
with my love and gratitude.
Paul: To Tara, who made this book come alive for me; and to Jane Meyler
who made the introduction to Tara.
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Contents
Boxes and Figures x
Acknowledgments xiii
Preface xiv
1 There is Chemistry and Then There is Chemistry 1
2 Brains, Bodies and Businesses: A Systems Approach 18
3 The New Model Leader 40
4 Testosterone, Risk and Entrepreneurship 60
5 Why is the Soft Stuff so Hard? 76
6 The Challenge of Decisions 93
7 Changing Yourself – Changing Others 111
8 Elite Performance, Brain Agility and Engagement 126
9 Stress, Resilience and Confidence 150
10 Creating the Spark, Lighting the Fire 173
11 Difference, Diversity and Gender 192
12 Whole Person, Vibrant Organization 211
Glossary 224
Notes 233
Index 247
x
i
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