KEY POINTS:
Just one sentence. "Could I see you in my office for a moment?" In seconds the classic workplace scenario between manager and employee can have adrenaline rushing and hearts pumping. When seen as a threat this seemingly innocent request may send the recipient back in memory to childhood, perhaps waiting for a reprimand by the headmaster.
The natural survival response to perceived danger activates the body's sympathetic nervous system, putting the employee into "fight or flight" mode. On one level, it is as if the office were a spot in the jungle and the manager a tiger. This example of dynamics in the workplace was given by David Rock, CEO, Results Coaching Systems, an international coach training and consulting organisation, during a keynote address at the recent HRINZ conference, Wellington.
Rock draws on neuroscience research about the brain in his coaching with leaders, and in training other professional coaches. In New Zealand he has worked with Air New Zealand, IAG, the National Bank and several government departments.
"Understanding the processes 'behind the scenes' of every day experience increases our sense of certainty, which reduces the threat response that inhibits good thinking," says Rock.
"It seems the more you know about your brain, the more you feel in control of your experience. We can make better decisions, solve more problems faster, be less stressed, collaborate more effectively and experience change more smoothly."
He observes successful people have "learned to stay cool" under pressure. Rather than suppressing strong emotions and risking high blood pressure or venting, which could drive others away, Rock advocates people use the mental strategy of "reappraisal" to consider different ways of assessing the situation.
This involves noticing an emotional response, giving it a name and thinking something like, "I'm getting upset; I need to reinterpret this". Or "I need to talk to someone, I'll call my mother".
Having empathy for the other person and looking at the situation from different points of view, or reframing, can also help reduce the strength of emotional arousal. Rock says the brain is a connection-making machine.
If people repeat the process of attending to their emotions, naming them and giving themselves different thinking options often enough, their brain lays down neural pathways that give them more choice in how they manage a range of situations and people. It is not just a matter of learning a set of skills on a one-off course - it requires practice. People's tendency to criticise themselves and others can create a climate that gets in the way of good performance.
Rock believes research into the impact of positive feedback on children's development, their IQ and wellbeing is still relevant in adulthood. In his book The Quiet Leader he writes, "If we want to transform people's performance we need to master the skill of acknowledgement."
And the skill of positive feedback can be a challenge for "highly competitive alpha males who've climbed their way to the top by stepping on others on the way up."
Rock has coined the term "neuro-leadership" to link the science of the brain with the practice of business management and leadership. Through being emotionally attuned to their staff and genuinely interested in them leaders can create an environment where people feel safe and empowered.
Neuroleaders coach people to evolve their own solutions and insights; a process Rock says is faster and more focused than other approaches. They ask questions and provide support, promoting a culture in which employees can reach their potential.
Organisational psychologist Rachael Stott, at Winsborough Ltd in Wellington, says the company delivers programmes that encourage reflection as part of building strengths and resilience. She was recently involved in developing a leadership development programme for the New Zealand Army and sees some similarities with Rock's approach.
"The tools we developed for [the NZ Army] include reflection, developing that concept of insight which is one of the core aspects Rock talks about in relation to neuro-leadership. They really seemed to understand that because [the Army's] leadership framework is very much underpinned by values and ethos around integrity, courage and other internal qualities."
She sees the traditional style of charismatic leadership being balanced by introspection. "It's not so much about the formal, upfront and very extroverted sort of leadership. It's now more about asking yourself questions, understanding how you approach and process things, what kind of thinking you bring to situations; how you flavour the way you receive information and see the world."
In their work she and other psychologists use psychometric tools to provide data that help clients understand and work with issues such as building resilience and developing personal and leadership skills.
Winsborough uses psychometric assessments developed by American psychologist Bob Hogan, and 360-degree assessments "that seem to be robust [and] have at their heart the intra-personal skills - do I understand the impact I have on other people; do I receive feedback and attempt to adapt in relation to that feedback?"
Reflecting, and being open to feedback, assisted by 360-degree surveys, helps people become more aware of their identity and reputation and how others perceive them.
"No matter how savvy, smart, influential or charismatic a leader is, if at the heart of it people don't trust them, or feel they are inconsistent or volatile, others' ratings of them over all will be lower."
Stott says the intra-personal (internal) skills are those that people get very early in life.
"To be effective as adults we need to have mastered those. Because they develop early, those early pathways formed in the brain are the hardest to modify and change, but with motivation you can do so over time."
The capacity of the brain to continue to change and "grow" has impressed Janis Grummitt, an Auckland-based consultant working in organisational intelligence. She says: "One of the myths of the past 20 years has been that once you're programmed that's it.
Nowadays there's a great deal of emphasis on 'neuroplasticity'; people are realising you can change the habits of a lifetime."
Returning to work after having a brain tumour removed last year, Grummitt is passionate about the regenerative capacities of the brain. She sees a great deal of untapped potential in organisations.
"Organisations pay for peoples' brains and then don't use them. If you put people in a structural and cultural strait jacket you can't get what you pay for. Effective leaders realise this."
Grummitt has a background in social anthropology and has worked with Telecom, DB, Manukau City Council, Zespri and the Queensland Treasury Corporation. Her view on the skills and qualities required by leaders to be effective is similar to that of Stott and Rock.
"People who are charismatic leaders and who make all the decisions leave a hole in an organisation when they leave. The hole is where people haven't been thinking. So the 'quiet leader' is one who enables others to think and solve their own problems."
But it is also critical to create the structures, systems and culture that support new behaviour. Grummitt believes people would do better to learn as much about the workings of their brain as they do about their laptop.
"For example, the emotions generated in the deeper part of the brain are usually more powerful than conscious thinking. We use both in decision making; it's not a purely logical process."
When working with groups where analytical thinkers predominate, Grummitt asks, "How do you buy a house"?
"Apart from those who say, 'My wife does that', they tell me about the table they draw up with a detailed list of rating criteria. And what do you do when you get to the fifth house and you really love it, but it scores low? Some of them say, 'Well I must have got the table wrong. I need to change the rating system'. They haven't allowed for emotion! But it is just as bad to base decisions on emotion without logic - this can be disastrous."
A whole brain approach is vital, she says. "Effective leaders bring people together to think on a regular basis. We stimulate each other's brains by physically being together. It's a human, emotional thing".
