Your Brain at Work
Neuroleadership Institute
In organizations around the world, leaders are facing a deluge of urgent issues: a crisis in employee engagement, the need to make workforces more diverse, and the challenge of making workplaces feel human in an era of increasing dependence on technology and remote communication.
At the NeuroLeadership Institute, we believe brain science can help provide solutions. Join us on Your Brain At Work, the official podcast of the NeuroLeadership Institute — where top researchers and thought leaders share breakthroughs in brain science and industry leaders reveal the strategies behind their success.
By helping them understand how the brain works, we equip leaders with the tools to transform their organizations — building new habits and changing how people work, communicate, and make decisions. Combining research and practice, brain science and business leadership, Your Brain at Work explores how insights from the lab can provide solutions that work across industries and at any scale.
Season 1 guests include broadcast journalist Soledad O’Brien; Dean Carter, Director of Human Resources, Finance, Legal, Shared Services at Patagonia; Deb Bubb, Vice President of Learning and Inclusion at IBM; and FD Wilder, Senior Vice President of Go-To-Market Strategy and Innovation at Procter & Gamble.
Your Brain At Work. Helping make organizations more human.
At the NeuroLeadership Institute, we believe brain science can help provide solutions. Join us on Your Brain At Work, the official podcast of the NeuroLeadership Institute — where top researchers and thought leaders share breakthroughs in brain science and industry leaders reveal the strategies behind their success.
By helping them understand how the brain works, we equip leaders with the tools to transform their organizations — building new habits and changing how people work, communicate, and make decisions. Combining research and practice, brain science and business leadership, Your Brain at Work explores how insights from the lab can provide solutions that work across industries and at any scale.
Season 1 guests include broadcast journalist Soledad O’Brien; Dean Carter, Director of Human Resources, Finance, Legal, Shared Services at Patagonia; Deb Bubb, Vice President of Learning and Inclusion at IBM; and FD Wilder, Senior Vice President of Go-To-Market Strategy and Innovation at Procter & Gamble.
Your Brain At Work. Helping make organizations more human.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Sep 25, 2026 • 49min
Did We Break Performance Management? Here’s What Works Today
Are performance ratings making work better, or merely creating an illusion of certainty? David Rock and Emma Saro explore why organizations are revisiting rankings, how psychological safety and accountability can coexist, and why meaningful conversations may outperform rigid systems. They also examine six essential performance discussions, safer ways to give feedback, and how AI can support processes without replacing human judgment and connection.
Aug 22, 2026 • 53min
Proactive Accountability: Build a Culture that Gets things Done
Discussion about why accountability triggers threat responses and how systems can unintentionally undermine ownership. Clear distinctions between responsibility and accountability are explored. Practical approaches include designing roles with autonomy and purpose, building psychological safety and growth mindsets, and creating norms that shift cultures from blame to proactive ownership.
12 snips
Aug 14, 2026 • 55min
Psychological Safety: A Team Essential
They explore what psychological safety means for teams and why it matters in a fast-changing, post-pandemic world. Conversation covers how growth mindset and social connection reduce threat and boost learning. Practical habits for setting norms, inviting participation, and responding thoughtfully are highlighted. They also link safety to business impact, AI adoption, and real-world stories like operating room risks.
Aug 7, 2026 • 57min
Growth Mindset: From Nice to Have to Urgent Imperative
Emma Saro, Senior Director of Research at the NeuroLeadership Institute who studies neuroscience applied to workplace behavior, joins to discuss why growth mindset is urgent now. They cover origins of fixed vs growth thinking. Practical leader routines, habits like experimenting and feedback, status threats, metacognition, and how AI can support growth are highlighted.
Aug 3, 2026 • 53min
What We Expected and What We Got: A Deep Dive on the Neural Side Effects of AI Use
They unpack AI's early promise and the FOMO that sent organizations into rapid rollouts. Listeners hear about how offloading to AI can weaken memory, skills, and enjoyment of problem solving. The conversation covers AI-driven fatigue, performance drops, and sycophantic responses that shape culture. Practical tactics and human-centered rollout strategies to preserve learning round out the talk.
Jul 18, 2026 • 56min
The New Hybrid Learning: Reimagining People Development with AI
David Rock, co-founder and CEO of the NeuroLeadership Institute and pioneer of Neuroleadership, talks about reimagining hybrid learning with AI. He explores how AI and smartphones changed learning habits. He explains the AGES and PRESS models, compares learning formats, and outlines hybrid architectures that combine attention, social interaction, and AI-enabled practice.
Jul 10, 2026 • 55min
Leadership in the Age of AI
Dr. David Rock, Co-founder and CEO of the NeuroLeadership Institute and pioneer in applying brain science to leadership. He argues AI reshapes human thinking, warns against overreliance, and recommends function-specific rules. He outlines human-first AI practices, resistance factors like status and autonomy threats, and ways to scale AI fluency while protecting creativity and decision quality.
Jun 26, 2026 • 59min
The Essential Human Skill: Metacognition in the Age of AI
David Rock, NeuroLeadership Institute co-founder who translates brain science into leadership practice, and David Creswell, psychologist studying stress, resilience and mindfulness, discuss metacognition and AI. They explore mindfulness as a metacognitive skill, neuroscience links to self-monitoring, why AI use demands stronger metacognitive habits, practical scaffolds for prompting and evaluation, and risks of endless meta-loops.
10 snips
Jun 12, 2026 • 54min
AI Transformation: What 200+ Global HR Leaders Are Saying Now
David Rock, co-founder and CEO of the NeuroLeadership Institute and originator of 'neuroleadership', speaks about what 200+ HR leaders are experiencing with AI. He outlines widespread low AI fluency and uneven adoption. He warns about cognitive risks like memory and skill loss, describes practical phased rollouts and training, and shares frameworks and tools to build responsible AI habits in organizations.
Jun 1, 2026 • 55min
A Blueprint for Leading High-Performing Teams
Dr. Bridget Lin, Director of Research Design at the NeuroLeadership Institute with a PhD in Community Psychology, co-presents the GPA leadership framework. She breaks down Growth, Psychological Safety, and Accountability. Conversations explore brain threat vs reward, why admitting mistakes and debate feel risky, and practical strategies for role-modeling, encouraging disagreement, and building proactive accountability.
