320 - Facilitating with the Brain in Mind with Amanda Cookson
May 6, 2025
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Amanda Cookson, a coach and neuroscience expert, dives into the fascinating intersection of brain science and leadership. She shares how understanding emotional triggers can foster self-awareness and enhance team dynamics. Amanda emphasizes the power of discomfort in learning and the importance of asking thoughtful questions. The conversation also tackles imposter syndrome, especially in the age of AI, and advocates for creating calm environments to boost engagement. Listeners walk away with actionable strategies for fostering curiosity and emotional intelligence in their leadership roles.
Creating conversations that elicit positive emotions like oxytocin fosters creativity and collaboration within teams.
Facilitators must embrace the discomfort of cognitive dissonance to drive personal growth and deeper understanding among participants.
Effective leaders need emotional awareness to manage their responses, shaping team dynamics for better collaboration and innovation.
Deep dives
The Neuroscience of Communication
Understanding the neuroscience behind communication can transform how teams engage and collaborate. Conversations that trigger stress responses, such as cortisol release, can impair creativity and hinder effective teamwork. In contrast, communication that elicits oxytocin can foster a sense of safety and encourage creative thinking among team members. Facilitators should strive to create conversations that activate positive emotions, thereby enhancing collaboration and innovation.
Facilitation and Growth Mindset
Facilitators play a crucial role in encouraging a growth mindset within teams. They must recognize that discomfort is often necessary for personal and professional growth, as it drives individuals to question their existing beliefs and adapt. By creating safe spaces for reflection and inquiry, facilitators can help participants bridge gaps in understanding and unlock their potential. This approach allows teams to develop intrinsic motivation, ultimately leading to sustained behavioral changes.
Self-Regulation and Leadership
Effective leadership necessitates a high degree of self-regulation and emotional awareness. Leaders must understand their triggers and learn how to manage their emotional responses, as their feelings can significantly influence team dynamics. When leaders maintain composure, they can foster a collaborative and open atmosphere, essential for innovation and problem-solving. Awareness of one's emotional state also empowers leaders to decode others' behaviors, facilitating healthier interactions.
The Role of Ground Rules in Workshops
Establishing ground rules at the start of workshops can set the tone for collaborative and productive engagement. Ground rules like presence, curiosity, and generosity create a supportive environment where participants feel valued and encouraged to share their thoughts. By reinforcing these principles, facilitators can help individuals focus on the learning experience rather than be distracted by external pressures. This practice cultivates trust among group members, enabling deeper connections and richer discussions.
Emotional Intelligence in Professional Settings
Emotional intelligence is a critical competency for success in the corporate world, affecting both individual performance and team collaboration. Recognizing and addressing emotions not only enhances the leader's ability to communicate effectively but also helps in understanding team dynamics. Leaders need to embrace their understanding of emotions as valuable data, guiding them on how to respond to challenges constructively. By normalizing emotional discussions, organizations can create cultures that prioritize wellbeing and trust, which leads to higher engagement and productivity.
Helping people to do their best thinking, is Amanda Cookson. A coach, facilitator and all-round neuroscience whizz, she’s made it her mission to help leaders better understand what it means to be human.
And it all starts with our own thinking-feeling, wildly brilliant, untamed brain! She guides us through its inner workings with effervescence and passion, showing us how to work with it – rather than against it – steer pulse-quickening conversations towards oxytocin, and design experiences that help rewire the brain for real, lasting change.
An energising, thoughtful conversation, full of golden mind-training nuggets to try in both facilitation, and life!
Find out about:
Why the discomfort of cognitive dissonance can lead to richer learnings
The power of asking great questions in search of answers that ignite deep thinking
Amanda’s feelings-based ground rules of presence, curiosity and generosity
Friends vs Foe: how to turn self-fulfilling prophecies into human connection
How to facilitate with the brain in mind, for insight, rather than information
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