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
Jan 18, 2022 • 58min
How Adopting a Growth Mindset Transformed Microsoft
Microsoft has undergone a massive culture transformation in recent years with “growth mindset” being the driving force behind every major decision and change they’ve made.
The goal for senior leadership from the outset was to evolve from a culture of “know-it-alls” to a culture of “learn-it-alls.” They sought to enrich how they engaged their 181,000 employees around the world and encourage continuous curiosity, learning, and growth.
This shift in mindset has permeated the organization in so many ways – from business strategies to employee behaviors. It has become integral to Microsoft’s leadership principles, performance practices, allyship efforts, hiring strategies, career conversations, feedback processes, and more.
In this Season 6 finale of Your Brain at Work LIVE, Priya Priyadarshini (General Manager, Employee Career and Development, Microsoft) joins us to share the amazing story of this journey. Learn how leaders at Microsoft were able to create stronger connections between teams through the pandemic and how the organization’s growth mindset translated to bigger impacts on industries and the marketplace.
11 snips
Jan 14, 2022 • 51min
What We Get Wrong About Inclusion
Nov 19, 2021 • 47min
Compassion Wins at War and in the Office
Calls for empathetic leadership are on the rise in organizations. A new survey connects lack of empathy to the reason 54% of people recently quit their jobs. Empathy is a nuanced and often misunderstood term. When actually, compassion is what teams need. Compassion is when one's desire to help becomes an impactful response. It's the difference between telling someone you care and actually showing them.
On this episode, Steve Miska, a retired US Army Colonel & Author shares his experience working with Iraqi interpreters during the war and the unexpected lessons on the value of compassion. Ultimately sharing stories that transcend the battlefield and translate directly into workplace leadership today.
Nov 15, 2021 • 48min
Power and Expectations: The Neuroscience of Group Dynamics
When people work together as a team, there are several “group dynamics” that determine how well they’re able to synergize, make decisions, and get things done. The factors that determine whether a team has a positive (or poor) group dynamic include power, relationships, status, fairness, the ability to put the interests of the group ahead of one's own, and more.How does your organization go through the process of team building? How are you being proactive in creating an inclusive environment that inspires team collaboration?In this episode of Your Brain at Work, Dr. David Rock, Dr. Will Kalkhoff , and Dr. Joy VerPlanck will explore the science of group dynamics. We’ll examine the differences between status and power and analyze how leadership, group composition, expectations, and participation inequities that can impact decision-making and work outcomes.
Nov 12, 2021 • 44min
The Great Realization: The High Cost of Exclusion
As offices continue to open up, a study, recently conducted by Future Forum, found that only 3% of Black professionals want to return to the office full-time. Looking deeper, this statistic is a reflection of the depth and breadth of microaggressions that occur in the workplace and the psychological harm Black professionals experience.
Which brings larger questions of this impact to light. What ramifications could this have on diversity of teams, innovation, and companies' bottom lines moving forward? What should leaders do to address this alarming discovery?
In this episode, Dr. Brian Lowery, Dr. Michaela Simpson, and Janet Stovall will unpack this data and its relation to workplace culture and Black professionals' sense of belonging at work. Tapping into the science of cognitive bias and lived experiences, they will share ways organizations can create more inclusive cultures in the era of hybrid work.
Nov 12, 2021 • 45min
The Limits of Cognitive Capacity & Transforming How We Work
With the backdrop of an ongoing pandemic, monthly resignations hitting all-time highs, and mounting reports of job burnout – nearly everyone is feeling the pressure right now. Some organizations may react to this moment by "bearing down" and pushing people harder. However, this is a major driver of the problem in the first place.
Human cognitive capacity- at both the individual and organizational level, is a precious resource that must be respected. In order to create truly engaged and productive workplaces, leaders need to map to cognitive capacity, not work against it.
In this episode, NLI’s very own Dr. Michaela Simpson and Dr. David Rock discuss the neuroscience of capacity, motivation, and bias to better understand our limitations and share ways leaders can drive engagement and performance, while turning down the risk of burnout.
Oct 25, 2021 • 44min
Managing Humans - The Neuroscience of Empathy
In recent weeks, we’ve examined the progression of the workplace as we know it. As organizations work to establish balance, combat burnout, and continue scaling toward the future, it has become increasingly clear it will take more than policies. Leaders are now being challenged to go beyond the surface and resonate with their employees on a human level.
Empathy is commonly used as a blanket term, but the neuroscience behind it reflects a multi-faceted structure of related emotions. So how do we process these feelings? What practical steps can we take to exercise them in both professional and personal spheres?
This week, Dr. Lisa Aziz-Zadeh of USC and Dr. David Rock discuss the neuroscience behind empathy and how to approach weaving it into the framework of organizational development during this new age of work.
Oct 18, 2021 • 42min
Beyond the Great Resignation: The State of Discontent
The initial challenges of 2020 have continued into 2021 for many. With pandemic-related deaths, massive job loss, and burnout on the rise- work was deprioritized on the scale of importance. As news coverage of civil unrest, political polarization, and major events became normal, we as a society were challenged to reflect beyond the scope of our 9-5 life.
Fast forward and now we’re seeing the outcomes of this shift in perspective: “The Great Resignation”. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly four million Americans quit their jobs in July 2021 alone. The resignation rate in the U.S. is now at a two-decade high, with more than 11 million jobs open. One recent study found that 95% of workers would consider a job change. Harvard Business Review noted that employees between the ages of 30 and 45 have had the greatest jump in resignation rates, with an average increase of more than 20% between 2020 and 2021.
This reflects more than just “The Great Resignation”. This is a state of discontent. Join us for this episode, as we dive deeper into what is taking place in the workforce and the science behind it.
Oct 11, 2021 • 50min
The Science of Keeping Teams Connected During Chaos
Employers have continued to fluctuate between work policies, throughout the pandemic. Repeatedly shifting strategic courses and still lacking clarity on how to effectively approach change for their teams. Many organizations, like some of you listening, have not physically seen each other in up to 22 months. Considering this isolation paired with the heightened frequency of current events taking place, it can feel chaotic.
This places a large amount of onus on leaders to take responsibility for the well-being of their teams. How do they keep teams connected when they are physically distanced? What’s the science behind connection? Why do we crave it so much? How valuable are stories in the new manager-employee contract?
That’s the focus of Season 6, Episode 3 of Your Brain At Work: How can we keep teams and people connected in times of chaos?
Oct 5, 2021 • 43min
Managing in a Hybrid World: Surveillance vs. Outcome Focus
As work – and our connection to work – keeps shifting, many popular thought pieces and research are rooted in the same foundational question: What does a manager need to do now? How have managerial roles evolved as a result of the pandemic and remote/hybrid models?
One of the major ways is a shift from “surveillance” focus – i.e. “I value having strong oversight of my teams and what they’re working on,” to prioritizing focus on "outcomes", which is aligned to achieving key goals.
This is a massive adjustment for some managers and organizations- and adaptation can prove even more challenging. However, it is possible, and your turnover, profit, productivity, and culture can all benefit.
In this episode of Your Brain At Work, we dive deeper into surveillance vs. outcomes and investigate how managers can successfully shift their approach and continue to establish a positive and productive workplace for their teams.
