Your Brain and Business: The Neuroscience of Great Leaders (5 page)

In the introduction, the executive or coach learns the broad principles of how brain science applies to coaching and communicating with specific examples for each principle. In the “Relationship” section, the coach will learn about how brain science justifies the approach of positive psychology in coaching and about how knowledge of the brain helps coaches develop effective relationships with their leaders. In addition, we will review how this knowledge can also help leaders develop effective relationships with their followers. Also in this section is a special chapter on the intangibles with insights from brain science. This chapter reviews concepts such as innovation, intuition, and resilience. With this background, the next section then describes the brain science behind the actual interventions. In the first chapter in this section, we will review how brain science can bring people to commitment to change as well as how to move from this commitment to action. In the last section, we will review the interventions described throughout the book. Here we will review the specific interventions that target different brain regions, and then specific interventions that target brain processes relevant to communicating in the executive environment. At the end of this book, the coach or executive will have a good idea of several concepts in brain science that can be applied to his or her own coaching relationships and interventions so as to add to the available tools for coaching.

Conclusion

Neuroscience is highly relevant to the language and process of coaching in the executive environment. This applies to executive coaches and to managers or leaders who act as coaches. Although it is important to avoid the use of jargon and alienating concepts in brain science, neuroscience can be used in practical and effective ways to enhance the execution of strategies. Furthermore, because the brain is universal, the language of brain science is also universal. I have taught these concepts in the U.S., Brazil, Greece, and Switzerland, for example. In teaching these concepts, I have confirmed that brain science is indeed a useful tool for cross-cultural coaching too. Thus, it allows the coach to use a more “neutral” language to facilitate the coaching process.

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Chapter 2. How Does Positive Thinking Affect the Business Brain?

Within a business context,
positive psychology
refers to an approach within psychology that focuses on the positive aspects of thinking and feeling that allows people and businesses to grow. Rather than a
problem-based
approach, positive psychology extols the virtues of a
strengths-based
approach, keeping a steady and disciplined eye on these strengths so that leaders can grow them and apply them wherever necessary.

The relevance of positive psychology to the business environment has been described in the literature.
¹
For example, in the corporate world, studies have shown that consumers who have a positive outlook on life (e.g., people who have hope and gratitude) are more sensitive to corporate social responsibility.
²
Also, positive emotions have been shown to result in favorable outcomes in the workplace, such as supervisor assessments and coworker support.
³

From a neural perspective, when positive psychology is rewarding, it improves the brain’s ability to learn.
^4
,
5
This refers to the fact that learning requires not just listening, but holding onto information (retention), consolidation of information (packaging and transfer to long-term memory), storage of information, and retrieval of information when necessary. Positive feeling states and approaches enhance learning at these different stages.
^6
,
7
Thus, when a worker eschews your requests to focus on the positive in the face of chaos or adversity within the company, you can say that one of the reasons we focus on
the positive is to keep the reward system activated so as to enhance learning that needs to occur to correct the situation.

Executives will sometimes feel as though “positive psychology” prevents venting or expression of their frustrations. When positive psychology is forced at an inopportune time, this is often the outcome. It is important to be sensitive to this and gradually introduce a positive focus when this is relevant. When negative feelings arise, there are more nuanced ways to put these feelings into a positive context. For example, you may ask, “What do your feelings tell you? If we understand your anger as information for a minute, how would this information contribute to the growth plan for the company?” This is much more effective than telling someone to stop being angry because they need to be positive. Positive psychology is not cheerleading in the face of adversity—it is being solution-focused rather than problem-focused.

In this chapter, we will examine in greater detail various aspects of positive psychology that are relevant to the executive environment. These include hope, optimism, happiness, mindfulness, and compassion.

The Context

Positive psychology matters because it offers a different background of feelings for problem solving within the business environment. In addition, it is an effort to attend to what is going well rather than what is not going well. In the executive environment, this is particularly difficult, especially at a time like now, when the stock market is so unpredictable, the recession is threatening, and people are focused on surviving. When the brain is in survival mode, it often eliminates niceties so that threats can be evaluated. Yet, if we look at this issue more deeply, the psychology of being positive can even be achieved in the mindset of survival, especially if attention becomes fixed on the solution.

Given that the time to think about positive psychology at work is when we are problem solving, this poses a contradiction because the initial imperative is to focus on the problem. Yet, the art of positive psychology involves knowing when to let go of the problem. (In the brain, the orbitofrontal cortex serves the function of cognitive flexibility, allowing shifts in attention.) When you let go of a problem to start the solution, the initial stages may be difficult and it may take time to get up to speed. Positive psychology allows you to continue your actions despite the initial rough patches on your journey toward your goal.

The Impact of Negative Emotions on the Brain

The concept:
The human brain is wired to protect us from dangers. As a result, negative constructs such as fear and anxiety receive high priority for processing in the brain. Both consciously and unconsciously, the human brain is geared to be in a vigilant state, and the results of this state on thinking are profound.

Leaders will often come across difficult challenges in their lives; they may lose deals that they expected to come in, or have to deal with the threat of new competition. Sometimes they will be hurt, and at other times they will succeed, yet, because they are human, they will remember those hurtful moments more than any of the many successes that they have had. If you are a leader or manager, how do you proceed in life without being held back by the fears that those difficult times posed? How do you recover from the fears that mistakes amplify? How do you “take the hit” and not be discouraged? Where do you find the courage when things seem to be not working out?

IBM’s Thomas Watson, Sr., once said, “The fastest way to succeed is to double your failure rate....”
⁸
Yet, this seems counterintuitive because nobody likes to fail, and the fear of failure can paralyze any leader. Here are some examples of fears that are relevant to leaders:

•
Fear of failure—
“My company will never be the powerhouse that it used to be. What if I fail again?”

•
Fear of layoffs—
“Will my company morale survive if I lay off so many people?”