Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER November 16, 2015 12 EXECUTIVE SERIES EmploymentSource™ New to WestlawNext® Canada EmploymentSource is your fastest route to the employment and OH&S law you need to expertly advise clients, employers and unions. Be more effective and efficient in your research with the right mix of resources in one online research tool. EmploymentSource combines exclusive expert commentary, case law, legislation and dismissal notice periods, with functionality that is easy to use. Experience the benefits • Prepare winning dismissal litigation strategies • Defend occupational health & safety charges • Advise clients/employers regarding health and safety compliance Visit westlawnextcanada.com/employmentsource or contact us at 1-866-609-5811 for more details 00224VB-A47772 Encouraging collaboration, communication If you thought neuroleadership in the workplace was destined to be just an- other trendy model, you may be sur- prised to learn it is emerging as a critical talent management strategy and practice. Reportedly, this is a trend that is radically and positively shifting organizational practices and leadership development at a number of organizations. e focus for Josh Davis, director of research at the NeuroLeader- ship Institute, is to teach busy professionals and leaders about how their brains make decisions and choices. "e best business minds make decisions very differently than we thought," said the April 2014 ar- ticle "e Inner Workings of the Executive Brain" in the Wall Street Journal. Apparently, contrary to com- mon belief, the logical section of the brain is not the exclusive mechanism of resolving prob- lems. We actually use two other essential sections — the emo- tional and intuitive. Neuroscience researchers are finding that the best leaders seem to lean on their emotions much more than logic. At the 2015 NeuroLeadership Summit in New York City, Dan Radecki, lead professor at the in- stitute, said, "Our brains work best when we no longer feel the need to hide, cover up our mistakes or dwell on errors. "We do better when we aren't mentally bogged down in a 'threat response' worrying about which of our colleagues is the boss' 'fla- vour of the month,' getting a hasty promotion or badmouthing our work." Imagine the difference it would make in leadership effectiveness if leaders learned and understood how emotions influence their decisions and fuel unsatisfactory results. Changing the way manage- ment thinks through its decisions is a significant achievement. e advantage with this ongoing re- search is neuroleadership is posi- tively transforming leadership based on neuroscience. Davis offers some interesting examples on how conventional leadership can unintentionally result in the exact opposite when it comes to people's performance and creativity. In other words, leaders can cause employees to become less efficient and lose creativity be- cause they are unaware of how people work most productively. For example, some leaders will drive for achieving goals and im- proved performance with rigid deadlines and increased effort. Neuroscience research indi- cates such pressure can cause people to shut down, limit their thinking capability and decrease productivity. It fascinates me that some lead- ers still believe the only way to get results or have anything finished on time is for them to be tough leaders. Another example is when leadership teams introduce an organizational change and they too quickly dismiss people's resis- tance and judge it to be a major barrier. Neuroscience, however, sug- gests leaders need to change their thinking and learn to take the time to acknowledge and listen to peo- ple's uncertainty, anxiety and fears about their job security. It's important for people to know that leaders accept the im- portance of their concerns and of- fer sincerity in supporting them in finding their own solutions. Correspondingly, perceived or anticipated resistance can move to a more positive and collabora- tive attitude. Unlike Abraham Maslow's hi- erarchy of needs, David Rock, co-founder of the NeuroLead- ership Institute, has identified five fundamental needs that, when satisfied, enable people to achieve improved levels of confi- dence, creativity, risk-taking and collaboration. His research establishes that when people feel threatened, their brain goes on the defensive and activates their survival or avoid- ance coping mechanisms. I would surmise many leaders are aware of these reactions yet dismiss them as an emotional weakness. In so doing, leaders re- main unaware of the critical im- pact their logical decisions make on people's reactions. Rock created the acronym SCARF for Status, Certainty, Au- tonomy, Relatedness and Fairness. It's important to appreciate how each of these five needs mutually connects people's social needs in the workplace. In my experience, when people feel the need to assume defensive and survival behaviours, they tend to be increasingly distrustful, de- moralized, show little interest in their work and become progres- sively more disengaged. With the continued support of neuroleadership research, work- places can incorporate more of a human social experience that can only encourage collaboration, enhance open communication, strengthen retention and help re- inforce people's commitment. Whether you are a leader or HR professional, the following insight from Antonio Damasio, professor of neuroscience at the University of California, will hopefully mo- tivate you to rethink your lead- ership effectiveness, human re- sources processes and organiza- tional practices: "I continue to be fascinated by the fact that feelings are not just the shady side of rea- son but that they help us to reach decisions as well." Trish Maguire is a commentator for SCNetwork on leadership in action and founding principal of Synergyx Solutions in Nobleton, Ont., focused on high-potential leadership develop- ment coaching. She has held senior leadership roles in HR and OD in education, manufacturing and entre- preneurial firms. She can be reached at synergyx@sympatico.ca. Trish Maguire Leadership In Action Neuroscience suggests leaders need to change their thinking and learn to take the time to acknowledge and listen to people's uncertainty, anxiety and fears.

• Cover