Neuroscience for Organizational Change: An Evidence-based Practical Guide to Managing Change

by Hilary Scarlett

As the pace of change in organizations increases, leaders and HR personnel must support their employees, show understanding as to why employees might react in a certain way, what they need from their working relationships, and how staff might be better motivated.  Neuroscience can offer insights into all these issues.  
Neuroscience for Organizational Change shows how to take the findings from neuroscience and put them into action by looking at the importance of communicating change effectively through storytelling, explaining how better understanding of the brain enables better planning of organizational change, managing emotions, and creating a feeling of social connection that employees can draw on for support during times of change. Each chapter includes illustrations, solutions and examples of what other companies have done, and questions/checklist at the end.

Genres: Business, Neuroscience, Nonfiction

216 pages, Paperback

First published February 28, 2016

Reviews

[Mark Perrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely fantastic book that guides you through phases of change and how your brains cope with it. My only criticism is that it doesn't accurately capture the Prosci change management method, and limits it to just ADKAR when it is much more than that, albeit a linear change model that is not suitable for complex systems.

[Mark Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Very insightful. It's given me a useful vocabulary and understanding of the nature of change as it relates to the people side... up there with Kotter!

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the way in which this book allowed the reader to envision the functions of various cortical regions and structures, while also interspersing real-life work scenarios in which reactions and interactions are triggered by activity in these same regions. It made the book accessible to someone who is fascinated by neuroscience, but definitely still a layperson. This book will speak to leaders of companies undergoing change, particularly in terms of understanding how to reach and motivate staff who are in the midst of emotionally over-ridden thought processes. The real-life examples were helpful in seeing how varying strategies play out in larger corporations.

[Ceil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent popular summary of key neuroscience principles and their relevance to change in organizations.