Recently I met with Kristen Hansen. Kristen has been working in sales management positions for companies like News Limited, Fairfax, Bonds and Calidad for over twenty years. She now also works as an Executive Coach and trainer specialising in sales leadership.
Kristen contacted me as she has a strong interest in responsible leadership - particularly in the development of staff.
What we discussed is the development of individuals potential and the influence of the new field ofsocial cognitive neuroscience.
Responsible leaders stretch their staff to achieve as much as possible. Coaching and mentoring is a big part of the process in achieving this.
With a passion in understanding the brain, Kristen is now working towards the world’s firstMasters in Neuroscience of Leadership at Middlesex University, UK. Kristen has discovered thatwe are all motivated to maximise reward and minimise danger. There are 5 key domains in which we are either motivated “toward” or motivated “away” which directly affects performance. These domains have been proven in many thousands of experiments in the field of social cognitive neuroscience to be the key drivers. These 5 domains were summarised by Dr. David Rock as SCARF:
- Status
- Certainty
- Autonomy
- Relatedness
- Fairness
Introducing these elements to leaders can help them ensure their teams are motivated and operating at peak performance levels regarding creative thinking and problem solving.
It is now acknowledged that through over-stressing staff you can reduce their intelligence. If negative emotions (via the brains limbic system) are activated, there are simply less resources for the thinking brain (pre-frontal cortex). Too much stress reduces cognitive abilities and creative problem solving.
By mentoring staff using the SCARF principles, whilst giving them time to think about the best solutions to problems - you help them personally develop and improve creativity and intelligence.
In achieving these improvements leaders start to learn that what have been traditionally recognised as the soft skills are not really that soft. They are the toughest and most difficult skills to develop. However, a responsible leader will mentor, coach and help their staff develop these skills in alignment with their work and their social interests / obligations.
This is also the most effective way of improving competitive advantage and the bottom line in the long term.
By taking a coaching approach to your leadership you are enabling your staff to increase their Status by allowing them to be recognised for their input and ideas. You are giving them more Certainty as they make more decisions and start to take control with more Autonomy in their work. By engaging and encouraging them in the process, rather than simply telling them what to do, Relatedness develops. The coaching process, with their input is also incredibly Fair and encourages sharing of knowledge. Simply put, coaching engages staff and generates intrinsic motivation towards their leader and the achievement of their own goals.
The related achievements are significant as your staff do the same with people they work with - within your business and with clients.
People are motivated by certainty, fairness and status/recognition. By engaging with them in these areas you truly develop the individuals full potential - a key focus of responsible leaders.
For further reading Kristen recommends:
David Rock’s books
“Quiet Leadership” – Help people think better, don’t tell them what to do and:
“Your Brain at Work”– Learn about how the brain works in four key areas: problem solving and decision making, emotion regulation, collaborating and influencing others and managing change.
Click here
Daniel Pink “A whole new mind – why right brainers will rule the world”
http://www.danpink.com/whole-new-mind. A look at previously under-valued “right-brain” characteristics, that are becoming far more valued.
And his other bestseller – Drive....The Intrinsic Motivators
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