Connecting Leadership to the Brain

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Connecting Leadership to the Brain

• Dickman 6

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• Chapter Orientation
• There is a dramatic advancement in knowledge
  about nature of
• the human brain and the intelligence it enables
• Application of this knowledge depend on the
  education of
• those of leaders to respond to this paradigm
• Meaningful change or progress occur only when
  what is
• envisioned is translated into specific action
• In order to do so we need a framework
  (structure/support)
• The business of the brain is survival, therefore
  it assembles neural
• networks that organize information to that end
• That information is formed into patterns
• These patterns becomes more dramatic when they
  are used as prior
• knowledge, which again become the framework to
  new knowledge
• All responding to needs

Needs?prior knowledge?framework?action
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• Thinking Frameworks We Know and Use
• Exploring habits of highly effective people
• Framing of learning organizations through 5
  learning disciplines (Senge 1990 236).
• Systems thinking?integration of others in your
  perspectives
• Personal mastery?leads to team learning
• Mental models?organizations start with turning
  the mirror inward
• ?unearth our internal
  pictures of the world
• Building shared vision?its the capacity to
  hold a share picture of
• 
  the future we seek to create?encourage
• implementation and innovation
• Team learning?the process of aligning and
  developing the
• capacities of a team to create the results its
  
• members truly desire It builds
• on personal mastery and shared vision
• Deming, 1988
• vision, aspirations, and dreams
• goal-setting

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• GardnersTheory of Multiple Intelligences
• Sternbergs depiction of a triarchic
  intelligence?intelligent behavior
• arises from a balance between analytical,
  creative and practical abilities,
• and that these abilities function collectively
  to allow individuals to achieve
• success within particular sociocultural contexts

• A Framework for Connecting Leadership to the
  Brain
• Human brain (leaders) construct own meanings
• (personal understandings)
• and their implications for leadership behaviors
• Framework should include
• Essential information on human intelligence
• Determination of compatible leadership
  behaviors
• Alignment for the need, nature and nurture of
  human achievement
• Effective leaders adapt to both situation and
  context
• Leadership is influenced by physiological,
  social, emotional, constructive,
• reflective and dispositional intelligences

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Framework Foundations Chapter 1?Emerging
information about the human brain
presents an unique opportunity to inform
leadership practice Chapter 2? Information about
the nature of the human intelligence is
of primary value to informed
leadership Chapter 3? Information about human
intelligence must be effectively
organized if it is to inform leadership
practice Chapter 4? The context of the 21st.
century requires conscious tightening
of leadership connections to human
intelligence Chapter 5? Perceptions of
leadership connections is advanced
through proactive reflection
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• Framework Assembly
• Leaders have an obligation to proactively seek
• knowledge
• They can consciously construct personal
  understanding of brain compatible leadership
  behavior that advances the capacity of
  individuals
• and organization to achieve common purpose
• Arousal of brain attention to the potential to
  the mindful leadership initiates
  informinginitial encounters with information
  that establish the values of the issue
• Acquisition of knowledge
• Information about the brain is
  processedengaging knowledge
• sources
• Perception about the nature and nurture of the
  intelligence, thus
• informingconscious exploration of
  leadership-brain connections
• Behavior aligned to human capacity to achieve,
  thus informing
• personal reflection of the nature of human
  intelligence
• Applications to leadership practice, thus
  informingi.e. clarification of a) need b)
  nature c) nurture d) a plan of action
• Adjustment of knowledge in response to
  application experience, (reflection) thus
  arousing brain attention to further enrichment of
  the information phase
• Partnership?collaboration
• Practice?to master the leadership skills

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Entering the Framework

• How the Leader Might Engage the Framework as
  Means to Align
• Leadership Behaviors to the Nature of
  Intelligence and the Achievement
• of the Purpose
• Step 1 Turn On
• Arousal?prerequisite component?brain leadership
  connections
• information processing mechanisms for the
  construction of
• a knowledge base about the nature and
  nurture of intelligence
• and their applications
• Activity?read articles, books and other
  literature about brain research
• Step 2 Tune In
• Structure?organization of knowledge in order to
  construct personal
• understanding about human intelligence
  mindful leadership
• practice
• Activity?access to all source of knowledge about
  mindful leadership
• and interpret the context about what leaders
  might do about it

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• Step 3 Apply
• What would the leader be doing? structured
  application of knowledge
• about intelligence that represents the mindful
  exercise of leadership
• influence to achieve a goal
• Clarification of need what is the purpose
  or goal to be achieved?
• Nature assess intelligence requirements for
  achieving need
• Nurture assess the behavior options for
  influencing the nature
• of the required dimensions of
  intelligence
• Narrative compose a plan to nurture the
  natural capacity to
• achieve the need
• Step 4 Adjust
• This framework eventually should become
  internalized (practice)
• Eventually this process will become automatic
  dispositions and skills
• The key to this component is to
• consciously take the time to reflect about
  what is and is not working
• conduct the same reflection process in company
  of your colleagues

Leadership effectiveness emerges first and
foremost from attention to the nature and
nurture of ones own intelligence