Neuroscience for Leaders: Practical Insights to Successfully Lead People and Organizations

by Nikolaos Dimitriadis, Alexandros Psychogios

Unlock your potential with the latest neuroscientific insights and succeed as a leader in complex business environments.

As understanding of neuroscience increases, it is better understood how scientific insights can be applied to develop and enhance leadership. Neuroscience for Leaders captures the most up-to-date and important findings in neuroscience and links these to the business world. This guide offers a simple framework to put these principles into practice to make better decisions, take the right actions and find faster solutions.

Now in its second edition, this book presents a comprehensive approach to leading people and organizations based on academic research. The authors' 'Brain Adaptive Leadership' approach offers a step-by-step guide to enhancing the way leaders think, understanding and nurturing emotions, shaping automated brain responses and developing dynamic relationships. Examples, activities and practical suggestions are all designed to be clear and engaging. Neuroscience for Leaders is the essential guide for leaders who are ready to gain the business advantage scientifically.

Genres: Leadership

336 pages, Paperback

Published October 27, 2020

Reviews

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of Neuroscience for Leaders from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. This is a very well researched book that summarizes some of the advances in neuroscience that the authors believe can improve leadership by understanding how we respond personally and collectively in a work environment. The authors term their approach-- "brain adaptive leadership" which will not win a viral marketing award for best new leadership slogan that will become the next big leadership fad. If you can detect a hint of world weariness in my review, I have come to believe that you can't learn leadership from reading a book. You can pick up a few nuggets and insights that can help you approach a difficult situation which is certainly helpful but unfortunately 'leadership," is an applied "soft" science. Lab and neuroimaging studies are too simplistic to account for the myriad of variables that account for success. What works in one company, may not work in another, especially with multinational companies, different cultures, different industries, etc. That said, the authors write clearly for a lay audience and do a good job translating some of the research findings into practical leadership suggestions.

Additionally, the authors do a nice job of not inflicting neuromania upon the reader by trying to pinpoint each anatomical brain structure and synapse with a specific behavior. If many of our traits our polygenetic--meaning that there are various genes and environmental influences that impact a human trait--certainly thinking that understanding one aspect of the brain will lead to an evidence-based specific business solution to a problem would be grossly naive. The authors point of stating that we have a "triune brain"--the old/reptilian brain; the emotional/affective/limbic system brain; and the rational/thinking/neocortex brain"--highlights the need to manage and communicate with logic and emotion while being able to motivate various individuals into a collective whole. They also formulate four "pillars" of their approach that derive from understanding how the triune brain works that are as follows: thinking will become more robust, we will recognize the importance of emotions in decision-making, understanding basic neuroscience can help us improve our business relations and that those relations will "become stronger and more motivating." The authors also use case studies and practical tips to use these principles in a business setting. These are reasonable but hardly game-changing.

In conclusion, I recommend this book if you have an interest in understanding how the brain works in conjunction with other behavior-influencing bodily functions like hormones in explaining how this leads to different behaviors and how to potentially use this knowledge to be a more effective leader. It can also lead to some self-awareness in leaders if they find themselves reacting in an ineffective way under certain conditions.

[Gregor · Rating 4 out of 5]

mix of many theories and research papers, well written and good summaries at the end of chapters