The following is a guest piece from my friend, author and Forbes columnist, David Amerland.
Neuroscience has captured our attention right now because, like every new field of knowledge, it promises to give us hidden insights and reveal secrets that will help make something difficult much easier, and there is nothing more difficult than creating a leader who people want to follow.
Over the last two decades by integrating the study of the human mind and human behavior with the study of the anatomy and physiology of the brain, neuroscience has succeeded in revealing the hidden, neural connections of the thinking brain. To do that it has made use of imaging technologies such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET), along with brain wave analysis technologies such as quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG).
The results of these studies, captured from subjects operating under real or near-real conditions, has put the nature vs nurture debate on leadership to rest. It has revealed that being a good leader is a cognitive skill that requires the synchronization of complex centers in the brain that are involved in executive decision-making functions and not some kind of genetic quality we either have or don’t have.
This means that with the proper training we can all learn to be great leaders. The military and the world of business are naturally looking in this direction. Better leadership is emerging as the defining quality that governs the ability to attain positive outcomes and get the best performance possible out of teams. It is increasingly seen as the only viable answer to dealing with the fluidity of situations business leaders and military commanders have to deal with. So, what have the studies shown and what have we learnt?
The Neurochemical Signature of Leadership
There is such a thing as a hormonal make up of successful leaders. Testosterone, the hormone that helps regulate dominance, confidence, aggression concentration, mood and energy plays a role here as does cortisol, the hormone released in response to stress.
A 2016 study published in The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology showed that leaders of either sex who had successfully managed to balance responsibility and manage stress showed the highest levels of testosterone and the lowest ones of cortisol in their group.
This suggests that endocrinal functions that regulate the autonomic central system are actually regulated by the conscious control of stress levels. Controlling stress requires the development of personal awareness, mindfulness and empathy, skills that traditionally were derided as ‘soft’ but which have become critical.
Empathy, in particular, the ability to “understand and share another person’s perspective, experience and feelings” is now seen as a cognitive tool employed by snipers, top-level athletes, pilots and business people to better understand the human environment they operate in.
That sense of better comprehension of the dynamic involved leads to the ability to make better predictions, craft better strategy and tactics and, in the case of effective leadership, communicate without ambiguity and inspire greater loyalty.
This makes empathy a handy data-gathering tool that’s employed in the decision-making process. But it is its chemical signature of cortisol (the stress hormone) and oxytocin, a hormone that affects amongst other things, the regulation of trust and fear in the brain that is of greater interest.
The reduction of fear and an increase in trust in one self and the people around us activates the centers situated in the frontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for executive functions such as such as planning for the future, judgment, decision-making skills, attention span, and inhibition.
Neurotransmitters bridge the gap between attributes that are considered insubstantial and hard to measure, such as empathy and tangible, measurable skills such as effective leadership and the capability to deal with the unexpected, under pressure and still make really good decisions.
The Co-ordination of Thought
The neural signature of effective leadership is provided by a measurable quantity that researchers call coherence. Like a 40-piece orchestra playing in perfect tune, coherence is defined as the ability of the different parts of the frontal cortex to coordinate their activity to regulate emotion and create a deep sense of agency responsible for better social skills and self-awareness.
Studies show that leaders whose brains display organized coordination of a higher magnitude are more empathetic, better communicators, inspire greater loyalty and can handle responsibility and pressure better.
All of this is great news because they show they indicate that specific behavioral and perceptual changes can change the neurochemical response of the brain and, in turn, affect its physiology. We can, in other words, consciously rewire our brain for more effective leadership once we are willing to fully embrace some very specific strategies.
The Resonant Leadership Development Framework
The definition of resonant leadership is a leader whose leadership style resonates with those he leads at a neurophysiological level. The discovery of the mirror neurons network in the brain in the 1980s has led to research that points to their involvement in social cognition, empathy and emotional intelligence.
Resonant leaders are open, engaged, engaging, communicative, empathic and socially aware. Such is the necessity of these requirements that no less an entity than the U.S. Army, in its Army Field Manual on Leader Development, mentions empathy as a central ingredient to effective leadership.
The picture that’s emerging is that the best leaders are created from the ground up, they utilize a meta-cognitive approach to their own leadership style that makes them aware of who they are, what they do and what impact they have and employ a ten-step framework that’s goal orientated and task-driven and can be successfully coached to improve.
Here are the ten ingredients present in the successful, resonant leader formula you can emulate:
1. Clarity
Resonant leaders are clear in who they are, what they want and why they are doing things. Self-analysis and critical thinking are standard tools and situational analysis is regularly deployed to help them understand the magnitude and context of each challenge they face.
2. Social integrity
Resonant leaders are socially aware, inclusive and empowering. They understand that people matter and they make everyone they lead feel they are listened to even when not everything is taken on board, all the time.
3. Clear communication
Ambiguity is the resonant leader’s enemy. To avoid it resonant leaders go to great lengths to establish clear targets, define behaviors and clearly lay out expectations for their teams. They communicate using language that’s positive, empowering, direct and clear.
4. Purpose
Without a greater purpose to frame everything strategy falls flat, goals are forgotten and tasks can be overlooked. Resonant leaders are masters at communicating the bigger picture.
5. Model-based learning
The establishment of a task-orientated, process-driven approach to goal achievement allows for lessons to be learnt along the way and improvements to be made in every strategy and initiative, as required. Resonant leaders understand that they will fine-tune their strategy along the way, learning new things as they grow.
6. Strategy
Because resonant leaders are quick to establish a vision for their plans and action they find it easier to formulate strategies that are consistent, targeted and deployable. In addition they are quick to articulate that vision for everybody and explain how every person they lead fits into it.
7. Goals
In order to achieve the goals they have articulated resonant leaders make them realistic, achievable and progressive. Goals are a tool used to drive everything forward and lead to the realization of their vision.
8. Plan
Those who fail to plan are actually planning to fail. Resonant leaders create plans that have discreet, actionable stages with clear milestones, accountability and progression built-in.
9. Action
The test of every strategy is in the execution of the plans that have been laid out and here resonant leaders use the 4Cs of communication, clarity, consistency and credibility to get the job done.
10. Feedback
The final ingredient in the perfect leader’s formula is that nothing stands still and nothing is writ in stone. To deal with the fluidity and successfully face the unexpected resonant leaders demand feedback, elicit opinions and carefully consider suggestions.
None of these things is simple but we now know that each of them is grounded in specific neurobiological states that effectively rewire the brain for success. There is no perfect leader but by implementing these steps leaders become works in progress, constantly improving.
David Amerland is the author of ten books on business, marketing and search including “The Tribe That Discovered Trust” and the best-selling “Google Semantic Search”. He writes for Forbes, and HP UK, and blogs on his own website, DavidAmerland.com. When he is not writing or surfing the Web he spends time giving speeches internationally on how search, social media and branding are changing. His latest book is “The Sniper Mind”, a deep dive in the world of neuroscience, critical decision making and brain analytics and their application in real-world business.