“When you teach people about how their brains work, they become more effective managers as well as leaders.”

So says Dr. David Rock, Director of the NeuroLeadership Institute and a frequent speaker on TED as well as Google Tech Talks on such topics as “How to be a Provocateur” and “The Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distractions, Regaining Focus and Working Smarter All Day”.

Rock’s work over the past decade has helped leaders in many disciplines to make better decisions, collaborate more effective with others, stay cool under pressure and influence others more easily.

A more recent talk in Tokyo, “How Learning about the Brain Changes Everything” is one of my favorites though.  In it Rock talks about four critical brain “factors” that everyone who wants to be a leader should know including:

  • Novelty Enables Influence
  • “Seeing” Creates Buy-in
  • Why taking a Shower can create Great Insights (SURPRISE: It’s not about the water.)
  • A “Social” brain is a Happy Brain

Curious?  Check out his talk below…

 

Go right to Minute 10 to learn more about one of my favorite management tools – the SCARF model – and learn how many managers do all of the wrong things when it comes to motivating and engaging their teams.

But hey – it’s one of the shorter TED talks we’ve blogged about – less than 15 minutes.  So take a break, sit back and watch the whole thing!

 

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