Using Neuroscience to improve leadership effectiveness and workforce engagement

To say that much has been studied and written about leadership is an understatement. A quick search in Amazon’s book section reveals over 180,000 books on the topic. Hundreds, if not thousands, of assessment tools have been created to describe and measure different personality traits and leadership behaviors.

Yet, until very recently, there has been nothing backed by hard science that describes how one particular individual’s brain works, and specifically how that individual’s personality shows up at work and in leadership behaviors.

Fortunately, with advances made in neuroscience, there is disruptive new technology to provide valuable information about how each of us is uniquely “wired.”  

Dr. Helen Fisher’s research on the 4 brain systems that create an individual’s “personality signature” provides a measure of the specific ingredients of their unique personality. The results have been validated both statistically and biologically through fMRI brain scans. Based on this research, an assessment was created specifically for the business world, called NeuroColor.  

Briefly, the 4 brain systems include:

• The dopamine system- the “opportunity focus” neural pathways and brain regions
• The testosterone system - the “results focus”
• The estrogen/oxytocin system - the “relationship focus”
• The serotonin system - the “process focus”
   

Each of us has a unique blend of these 4 systems at play in our brains that determines things like our style, optimal workplace, our motivators, how we get work done, how we react to change, handle stress, communicate with others, make decisions--and other important dimensions of work and leadership style.

In our next article, we will examine how this information can be used to provide dramatic advantages in innovation, team effectiveness, engagement, and diversity of thought.

If you are interested learning how NeuroColor might be used in your organization, contact us for more information.