
How Employers are Tracking Employee Office Usage to Inform Design
NeuroLeadership Institute’s Global Head of DEI, Janet M. Stovall, answers Worklife’s questions on how the pandemic and recent events have impacted DEI in the workplace.
Thank you for searching the NeuroLeadership Institute archives. Here’s what we were able to find for you.
Still having difficulty finding what you’re looking for? Contact us.
NeuroLeadership Institute’s Global Head of DEI, Janet M. Stovall, answers Worklife’s questions on how the pandemic and recent events have impacted DEI in the workplace.
We spoke with three neurodiversity advocates about how to create more neuro-inclusive hiring practices and workplace cultures.
Companies are finding it hard to bring people back to the office, despite luring them with everything from free lunch to free concerts with Lizzo. Here’s how to bring people back, in a brain-friendly manner.
In this episode of Your Brain at Work Live, Dr. David Rock (Co-Founder and CEO, NLI) joins Evynn McFalls (VP Marketing, NLI) to reveal the origins of the SEEDS bias mitigation model and how we put that science to work—transforming thousands of leaders and teams over the past decade.
The panel explored how unconscious bias manifests itself in our workplace relationships and talent pipelines, and dug deep into the complicated truths about how our factors like gender, race and identity can impact our career journeys.
In this episode, we’ll share the latest data and insights on the remote, hybrid, or in-office situation. If your organization is on the path to going hybrid or back to the office full-time, watch as we follow the science on how to do it well.
In this episode, we look at how these biases and expectations impact our ability to get the rest we need. We discuss how organizations can create more inclusive cultures and practices that take these unique challenges into consideration.
New research suggests this one cognitive bias may give you grit, but keep you from making the career change you need or send you back to a job not right for you.
In this article from The Wallstreet Journal, Christy-Pruitt Haynes (Global Head of Talent and Performance) discusses the possibility of some companies moving to a four-day work week and how that would impact employee performance.
Shorter virtual lessons can help organizations change in a matter of weeks instead of years.
Boeing set out to create a culture in which every employee feels safe to speak up and believes that their voice matters. Two years of hard work culminated in “Seek, Speak, and Listen” Boeing’s new behavior change model that their CHRO recently characterized as the most significant culture effort in the company’s 106-year history. Tune in for an inspiring conversation and a remarkable story.
In this Season 7 Premiere episode, Dr. David Rock and John Edwards recap some of the landmark insights that came out of the 2022 NeuroLeadership Summit in February.
In this article from Glamour, NeuroLeadership Institute scientist and researcher, Dr. Emma Sarro, explains how our brains make decisions with a 2-system model of thought processing, called the Fast and Slow system.
Why retooling recognition, generosity, and praise in a hybrid world can help team members become more visible, productive, and appreciated.
Why times of upheaval are the perfect time to change behavior and build new habits.
Why organizational efforts to belong have failed, and how companies can reframe the idea of belonging.
What’s happening in the news is causing conflict in unrelated places, like the office. Here’s what you need to know about the contagion effect, and how to put a lid on the flames of conflict.
In honor of Women’s History Month, we asked the question “How would work be different if no one knew your gender?” Here are highlights from the responses we received.
Is the 4-day work week the cure for burnout? Here’s what the research says.
Fast Company interviewed NLI Global Head of Talent and Performance, Christy Pruitt-Haynes, for her thoughts on how employers will gage a potential employee’s ability to communicate in today’s new work environment.
In this video, we highlight some of our favorite thoughts from the 2022 NeuroLeadership Summit about how to successfully build a hybrid work environment.
Advantage is more than just wealth, education, and demographics. Learn about the science of generational knowledge.
In this video, we highlight some of our favorite insights about leadership and organizational change from the 18th annual NeuroLeadership Summit.
In honor of Brain Awareness Week, we wanted to highlight a few of our favorite facts – and myths – about this complex, intriguing organ.
In this article from HR Brew, Dr. David Rock (co-founder and CEO of NeuroLeadership Institute) discusses some pros and cons of employers utilizing a virtual workplace.
In this video, we highlight some of the most powerful comments about growth mindset from our conversations at the 18th annual NeuroLeadership Summit.
In this article from Human Resources Director, Christy Pruitt-Haynes (Global Head of Talent and Performance) explains why companies could increase retention and performance by openly communicating salary expectations to employees.
Women in the workplace have made strides in terms of equal pay and climbing the career ladder, but there’s still more work to be done.
This article from the New York Times gives an overview of how Better.com managed the communication of more than 3,000 layoffs and Dr. David Rock (NLI Co-Founder and CEO) provides his thoughts on the event.
Dr. David Rock (Co-Founder and CEO of NeuroLeadership Institute) answers questions from Protocol on the heightened anxiety many employees feel at work through a global crisis and how leadership can help.
This article from the New York Post explores how leaders can help their employees navigate mental health issues, and Dr. David Rock (Co-Founder and CEO of NLI) provides his insight.
In this article from Fortune, Dr. David Rock (Co-Founder and CEO of NLI) discusses psychological safety concerns within the workplace and how leaders can work towards improvement.
Check out highlights from our DE&I sessions during NLI’s 2022 Summit.
In this article from Insider, Christy Pruitt-Haynes (Global Head of Talent and Performance) explains how to increase retention by prioritizing growth and develop for employees.
In this article from Fortune, Dr. David Rock (Co-Founder and CEO of NeuroLeadership Institutes) discusses how culture and leadership is reacting to the disruption of Russia’s economy.
As President Zelenskyy finds himself thrust into the spotlight of the global stage by a deadly and quickly escalating conflict, Dr. David Rock reflects on what leaders can learn from the “unexpected hero’s” example in Fortune Magazine.
Anecdotal evidence speaks loudly, but here’s what the data says about women in neuroscience and why they’re leaving.
Our 18th NeuroLeadership Summit, featuring Boeing and Procter & Gamble (P&G), included insights about growth mindset, de-escalation, and inclusion.
You’ve probably heard about code-switching and why some people do it, but what you may not know is the mental toll it takes.
Dr. David Rock (Co-Founder and CEO of NeuroLeadership Institute) explains to Fortune how proper training can alleviate perceived threats in the workplace during a time of conflict.
How do you integrate diversity and inclusion into your organization? To make sure your intent to be inclusive isn’t unintentionally exploitative, have a look at our guide to true inclusion.
For years, there’s been one mainstream way of understanding implicit bias. Now researchers have discovered something unexpected in how our brains react to biases.
Burnout might be something completely different. Read our Q&A with Dr. Noel Lipana for more about the impact of moral injury on motivation.
One of the most daunting and complex challenges of the pandemic has been how to keep workers connected. Eva Majercsik (CPO, Genesys), provides insight into how to best create a sense of belonging in the workplace.
In order to actually change behavior when it counts, new habits must be easily recallable under pressure. Here are three criteria to make behavior changes stick.
As Surface exams the idea of immersive sound in the workplace, Dr. David Rock (Co-Founder and CEO of NeuroLeadership Institute) explains how to navigate the topic in a non-threatening way to employees.
The Neuroleadership Institute’s Christy Pruitt-Haynes steps forward in this Worklife article to explain how organizations and parents can work together to build more equitable, parent-friendly businesses. Read more here.
Dr. David Rock is quoted in Inc Magazine’s list of inspirational and thought-provoking quotes to take into the new year. Read on for 365 days of insight.
What does the neuroscience of running have in common with being a leader in conflict? A lot more than you think, according to five-time Olympian Nick Willis.
Leaders can spend a slew of time and money on organizational change initiatives. But many of them often fail. Here’s why and how to get them right.
Dr. David Rock (Co-Founder and CEO of NeuroLeadership Institute) answers WorkLife’s questions about how work culture and leadership has shifted from the pandemic, including the possibilities that stem from this change.
What’s the best way to make new habits stick? To shed light on this complex question, we turned to Elliot Berkman, a psychologist at the University of Oregon and the associate managing director of the Center for Translational Neuroscience.
In this Season 6 finale of Your Brain at Work LIVE, Priya Priyadarshini (General Manager, Employee Career and Development, Microsoft) joins us to share the amazing story of Microsoft’s Growth Mindset journey. Learn how leaders at Microsoft were able to create stronger connections between teams through the pandemic and how the organization’s growth mindset translated to bigger impacts on industries and the marketplace.
There are many benefits to giving workers more autonomy. But you must plan carefully, or things can backfire.
Inclusion is more important now than ever before. In this episode, we dig into the neuroscience of inclusion with Linda Leonard (Global Diversity and Inclusion Lead, Bristol Myers Squibb). We discuss what we get wrong about inclusion and how we can use science to bring people together.
On this episode, Steve Miska, a retired US Army Colonel & Author shares his experience working with Iraqi interpreters during the war and the unexpected lessons on the value of compassion. Ultimately sharing stories that transcend the battlefield and translate directly into workplace leadership today.
Dr. David Rock is featured alongside Kathleen Hogan and Joe Whittinghill in Data Driven HR Monthly’s 2021 roundup of the best “HR and People Analytics articles of 2021” for their work on Microsoft’s latest public research on hybrid work.
Janet Stovall (Senior Client Strategist) joins Goodera’s 10K for Racial Equality campaign, which “encourages companies to take more proactive steps towards fighting racial discrimination within the workplace and society. At its heart, the campaign aims to empower 10,000 employees to volunteer for racial equality in 2022.”
It’s not your imagination that rudeness is rising in the workplace. Here’s how to tackle incivility and get to a more polite and productive state.
“Conventional wisdom will only get you conventional results. To stand out, you need to break the so-called rules and think outside the box.”
In this article, Thomas Insights cites Dr. David Rock’s Your Brain at Work as one of three books you should read to break the mold and stand out in your career. Read on to learn more.
NeuroLeadership Institute will host its 18th Summit, bringing top scientists and business leaders together to “Adapt Faster”.
The conference will explore how to optimize inclusion, growth and performance in the continuously changing world of work.
The NeuroLeadership Institute won a Silver Stevie® Award in the “Conference & Meetings – Educational Event” category in the 18th Annual International Business Awards® for its Brain-Based Coaching program.
The International Business Awards is the world’s premier business awards program. All individuals and organizations worldwide—public and private, for-profit and nonprofit, large and small—are eligible to submit nominations. The 2021 IBAs received entries from organizations in 63 nations and territories.
Christy Pruitt-Haynes (Global Head of Talent and Performance) provides tips and reasoning to Fast Company on how employees can best share their new job positions on social media.
Some anniversaries are harder than others. Here are three tools managers can use to put focus where it matters.
There are four components that create optimal conditions for learning complex tasks in high stakes occupations: a growth mindset, a safe environment, the will, and the way.
Christy Pruitt-Haynes converses with peopleHum on the risk of losing talent, especially during the Great Resignation.
Dr. David Rock is quoted in Inc Magazine’s list of inspirational and thought-provoking quotes to take into the new year. Read on for 365 days of insight.
The widespread move to a platform-first, push-notification heavy culture has made it harder than ever to focus. In this Shondaland article, Dr. David Rock offers strategies and tips on keeping a clear, sharp, well-managed mind.
Joey McLaughlin talks with HR expert and consultant at NeuroLeadership institute, Christy Pruitt-Haynes about the mental toll working form home is having on office life. Click here to listen to the interview.
Here are some of our greatest hits – no pun intended – on threat, de-escalation, and the skills we need to get along.
Have a look at some of our most popular content this year in performance management.
While the idea of what empathy looks like at work keeps evolving, here’s some of what we learned this year.
In this year-end content round-up, we compile our best advice on ways leaders can embrace hybrid work, and provide employees the autonomy they want to lead them to more productive and engaged outcomes.
In her article written for Insider, Christy Pruitt-Haynes (Global Head of Talent and Performance), provides 5 ways organizations can retain working mothers and allow them to do their best work for the company.
In this article from Advisory Board, CEO and Co-Founder of NeuroLeadership Institute, Dr. David Rock, explains why our brains avoid effort. Rock also provides three ways to cope with this stress and overcome the challenge.
In her interview with Authority Magazine, Christy Pruitt-Haynes (Global Head of Talent and Performance) provides insight on how to beat burnout based and the importance of mental health.
In our DE&I round-up, we highlight this year’s DE&I advancements, while also recognizing large gaps that need to be closed to continue down the path of long-lasting and impactful allyship.
As a society that thrives on completion, we often feel that as the finish line approaches, we become more desperate to get there. Research shows that thinking that way can undermine good habit formation. NLI’s Emma Sarro unpacks how we can make sense of this conundrum.
So many of us are trying to be better allies in the workplace. But research shows a discrepancy between the intent of allies and the impact of their actions. Here’s how to be a better ally.
While “the return to office” remains a murky and puzzling concept for many businesses, the need to manage employee expectations is apparent. Christy Pruitt-Haynes offers a perspective on how to do so at Pumble.
Familial arguments are common over the holidays—but there are brain-friendly tactics you can use to stay on friendly and firm common ground.
To perform at our best, our brains need rest — but downtime isn’t what we think.
Calls for empathetic leadership are on the rise in organizations. A new survey connects lack of empathy to the reason 54% of people recently quit their jobs. Empathy is a nuanced and often misunderstood term. When actually, compassion is what teams need. Compassion is when one’s desire to help becomes an impactful response. It’s the difference between telling someone you care and actually showing them.
On this episode, Steve Miska, a retired US Army Colonel & Author shares his experience working with Iraqi interpreters during the war and the unexpected lessons on the value of compassion. Ultimately sharing stories that transcend the battlefield and translate directly into workplace leadership today.
If you think your brain has become more foggy in the past year, you’re not alone. Research shows the pandemic has given us all a bit more cog fog. Here’s how to conquer it.
David Rock, cofounder of the NeuroLeadership Institute, says when a leader is successful in recognizing a person in distress, taking perspective, and responding with meaningful action, the result is both people’s brains receive reward signals that trigger the release of brain candy (like oxytocin).
Dr. David Rock shares strategies to help both employees and employers come out of the Great Resignation feeling more satisfied.
When people work together as a team, there are several “group dynamics” that determine how well they’re able to synergize, make decisions, and get things done. The factors that determine whether a team has a positive (or poor) group dynamic include power, relationships, status, fairness, the ability to put the interests of the group ahead of one’s own, and more.
How does your organization go through the process of team building? How are you being proactive in creating an inclusive environment that inspires team collaboration?
In this episode of Your Brain at Work, Dr. David Rock, Dr. Will Kalkhoff , and Dr. Joy VerPlanck will explore the science of group dynamics. We’ll examine the differences between status and power and analyze how leadership, group composition, expectations, and participation inequities that can impact decision-making and work outcomes.
As offices continue to open up, a study, recently conducted by Future Forum, found that only 3% of Black professionals want to return to the office full-time. Looking deeper, this statistic is a reflection of the depth and breadth of microaggressions that occur in the workplace and the psychological harm Black professionals experience.
Which brings larger questions of this impact to light. What ramifications could this have on diversity of teams, innovation, and companies’ bottom lines moving forward? What should leaders do to address this alarming discovery?
In this episode, Dr. Brian Lowery, Dr. Michaela Simpson, and Janet Stovall will unpack this data and its relation to workplace culture and Black professionals’ sense of belonging at work. Tapping into the science of cognitive bias and lived experiences, they will share ways organizations can create more inclusive cultures in the era of hybrid work.
With the backdrop of an ongoing pandemic, monthly resignations hitting all-time highs, and mounting reports of job burnout – nearly everyone is feeling the pressure right now. Some organizations may react to this moment by “bearing down” and pushing people harder. However, this is a major driver of the problem in the first place.
Human cognitive capacity- at both the individual and organizational level, is a precious resource that must be respected. In order to create truly engaged and productive workplaces, leaders need to map to cognitive capacity, not work against it.
In this episode, NLI’s very own Dr. Michaela Simpson and Dr. David Rock discuss the neuroscience of capacity, motivation, and bias to better understand our limitations and share ways leaders can drive engagement and performance, while turning down the risk of burnout.
Dr. David Rock is quoted in Fortune Magazine’s report on how leaders can look to Maslow’s Heirarchy of Needs to retain employees.
One soft skill has a place on the battlefield, the boardroom, the breakroom, and the Zoom room. Immerse yourself in stories that illustrate the benefits of compassion in any setting.
Many employers have turned to employee tracking software—surveilling the everyday activity. Christy Pruitt-Haynes provides guidance on what to do instead.
Much is made about “Zoom fatigue” and the loss of innovation in a platform-centric workplace. But before we accept these narratives as fact, let’s examine some of the upsides—and how best to leverage them.
Whether it’s a past mistake, a misunderstanding, or simply getting off on the wrong foot, not everyone will have a high opinion of you. Unfortunately, that negative perception can impact your ability to work together, lead, or get ahead.
In this article cognitive scientists including NLI’s own Dr. Michaela Simpson come together to provide readers with tips on how to assess—and improve—relationships that start off badly.
Employees are increasingly demand that their employees take action to address cultural problems and inequity. In this CNN business article, Dr. David Rock provides a perspective on what to do about it.
Decades of research show that feigning positive emotions at work can have a positive impact on a person’s career aspirations. But beneath the veneer of positivity, what dangers lurk for organizations who only see what’s on the surface for their employees?
As companies return to office, a staggering statistic has arisen: only 3% of Black Professionals want to return to in-person work. Why?
If you have a brain, you have bias. Some biases create bigger blind spots for decision-making, however. We’re seeing that a lot now as organizations try to redefine work and the employer-employee relationship.
In recent weeks, we’ve examined the progression of the workplace as we know it. As organizations work to establish balance, combat burnout, and continue scaling toward the future, it has become increasingly clear it will take more than policies. Leaders are now being challenged to go beyond the surface and resonate with their employees on a human level.
Empathy is commonly used as a blanket term, but the neuroscience behind it reflects a multi-faceted structure of related emotions. So how do we process these feelings? What practical steps can we take to exercise them in both professional and personal spheres?
This week, Dr. Lisa Aziz-Zadeh of USC and Dr. David Rock discuss the neuroscience behind empathy and how to approach weaving it into the framework of organizational development during this new age of work.
It’s incumbent on leaders to mitigate discontent. Here are three sustainable strategies based on science to help you retain your workers.
Resignations and job burnout are at a fever pitch. Here are three things managers and employees can do to make it through, according to science.
Dr. David Rock, CEO and Co-Founder of NeuroLeadership Institute, provides Hive with neuroscience-backed methods to help successfully approach difficult conversations at work.
People want–and expect– more from their relationship with work, whether it’s purpose, autonomy or status. As we navigate this new era of hybrid work, and look to understand what’s driving people to leave their jobs, we’re beginning to gain insight on a macro level of resignation trends. For one, the data show resignations have been on the rise for years now. Here’s an initial glimpse into the state of discontent among workers. Up Next: Sustainable strategies for companies to manage the state of discontent.
The initial challenges of 2020 have continued into 2021 for many. With pandemic-related deaths, massive job loss, and burnout on the rise- work was deprioritized on the scale of importance. As news coverage of civil unrest, political polarization, and major events became normal, we as a society were challenged to reflect beyond the scope of our 9-5 life.
Fast forward and now we’re seeing the outcomes of this shift in perspective: “The Great Resignation”. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly four million Americans quit their jobs in July 2021 alone. The resignation rate in the U.S. is now at a two-decade high, with more than 11 million jobs open. One recent study found that 95% of workers would consider a job change. Harvard Business Review noted that employees between the ages of 30 and 45 have had the greatest jump in resignation rates, with an average increase of more than 20% between 2020 and 2021.
This reflects more than just “The Great Resignation”. This is a state of discontent. Join us for this episode, as we dive deeper into what is taking place in the workforce and the science behind it.
A sense of control, or the power to decide, is a key human need. Here are several ways leaders can increase workers’ sense of autonomy and maximize employee engagement and performance.
Employers have continued to fluctuate between work policies, throughout the pandemic. Repeatedly shifting strategic courses and still lacking clarity on how to effectively approach change for their teams. Many organizations, like some of you listening, have not physically seen each other in up to 22 months. Considering this isolation paired with the heightened frequency of current events taking place, it can feel chaotic.
This places a large amount of onus on leaders to take responsibility for the well-being of their teams. How do they keep teams connected when they are physically distanced? What’s the science behind connection? Why do we crave it so much? How valuable are stories in the new manager-employee contract?
That’s the focus of Season 6, Episode 3 of Your Brain At Work: How can we keep teams and people connected in times of chaos?
Leaders are reeling from the impacts of the great resignation—but there’s more to our workforce woes: a widespread state of discontent.
Systemic change at scale takes time, effort, and an evidence-based approach. This executive order is a golden opportunity to follow the science, experiment with novel approaches, and follow the data about what works.
As work – and our connection to work – keeps shifting, many popular thought pieces and research are rooted in the same foundational question: What does a manager need to do now? How have managerial roles evolved as a result of the pandemic and remote/hybrid models? One of the major ways is a shift from “surveillance” focus – i.e. “I value having strong oversight of my teams and what they’re working on,” to prioritizing focus on “outcomes”, which is aligned to achieving key goals. This is a massive adjustment for some managers and organizations- and adaptation can prove even more challenging.
Humans love stories, and live their lives through them, from Netflix to work discussions. But what do we know about storytelling and the brain, why does it resonate, and why should it be a bigger factor at work?
Diversity training can feel performative, and elicit groans from those asked to attend. But it absolutely can be impactful, and that’s through a mix of both delivery and measurement.
In this Season 6 Premiere episode of Your Brain at Work LIVE, our panel reviews the President’s recent Executive Order on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility that continues to drive positive change in the federal workspace and the organizations they impact. We examine some of the key points within the order through the lens of neuroscience and identify potential pitfalls that can snag even the most well-meaning leaders in their efforts.
In this article from Toptal, Dr. David Rock (CEO and Co-Founder of NeuroLeadership Institute) explains distance bias and some of the challenges organizations will face when implementing remote and hybrid work.
What does your brain look like on goals? What’s happening? How could the process be better?
As companies figure out how to implement vaccination mandates, brain science can help leaders develop strategies for managing employee reactions. Mandates feel like a violation of autonomy, which is one of the five most important intrinsic drivers of threat and reward in the brain. To help people feel less threatened, managers can try to offer another form of autonomy — for example, with the vaccine, this may mean allowing employees to choose when, where, or how they receive the shot. Another way to address the threat is to try to trigger one of the brain’s reward drivers. For example, the jarring nature of reduced autonomy (“Why am I mandated to do something?”) can be partially offset by increasing feelings of relatedness between employees (“I haven’t felt this close to my team in a while.”) Managers can also take steps to make employees feel greater levels of certainty, another of the brain’s reward drivers. While it’s difficult to provide absolute certainty when dealing with a mutating virus, transparency and communication can help provide clarity.
Leaders who aim to improve themselves and their teams traditionally embrace management methods and HR principles. But they’re often missing a critical tool: a deeper understanding of the human brain. David Rock, CEO and co-founder of the NeuroLeadership Institute, a global neuroscience-backed consultancy that advises over half of the Fortune 100 companies, including Microsoft and Adobe, on leadership strategies, management skills, and diversity, equity, and inclusion, defines this tool as “neuroleadership.” The Ladders interviewed him to get the scoop on what exactly neuroleadership is and how you can use it to become a better leader, improve your team and organization and drive more success.
If you’re trying to differentiate some of our learning and habit activation products based on your current needs, here’s (almost) all of our product explainer videos in one place.
In this article from EBN, NLI’s Senior Director of Neuroscience Research, Dr. Kamila Sip, explains the benefits that a 4-day workweek can offer toward mental health and productivity.
A landing place for some of the big themes around work as of late 2021.
President Biden has continued his series of executive orders, the latest one focusing on DEIA. Here are some brain-based actions agencies can take.
There are valid brain-based reasons for hybrid concerns, but responding with surveillance might be more costly than you think.
NLI has worked for years to develop “sticky” acronyms to help people understand the brain science behind performance, learning, motivation, feedback, and dealing with bias. Here’s a brief summation of that work.
A primer on the importance of insights and how to generate more of them.
Our newest product, FLEX, is designed to help executive leaders and front-line managers thrive in a hybrid world, and create a world of fairness and autonomy for their teams. Here’s some of the origin story.
Reports are coming due on how government agencies are advancing equity issues, and there’s a reinvigorated spirit around DEI topics in the government sector. How can government maximize this moment?
We talk often about the logistics of returning employees to offices, which is no doubt important. But what do managers need to do in order to manage the EMOTIONS of the moment?
As talent becomes increasingly global 18 months into the pandemic, more and more teams are having to achieve goals without ever having the pleasure of meeting in-person. How does that all work?
If you allow your employees the space to be autonomous and drive some of their own decisions and approaches to work, it doesn’t so much matter where they’re physically sitting to do that work.
There’s a growing argument, and bodies of research from some places, that “work from home” destroys innovation. In reality, it often does exactly the opposite.
Welcome to the Season 5 finale of Your Brain at Work Live. Performance management is a huge topic throughout work in general, but it’s faded somewhat recently due to COVID, hybrid approaches, and other concerns of leaders. We come back and revisit performance management as part of the talent ecosystem in this season finale, with David Rock, Marshall Bergmann, and Christy Pruitt-Haynes.
In this Fast Company article, Dr. David Rock (CEO and Co-Founder of NeuroLeadership Institute) provides some insight on how to handle feelings of jealousy brought on by a work situation.
One prevailing debate around remote and hybrid work is that virtual work is necessarily WORSE than any in-person work. But this doesn’t have to be true. Much can be achieved virtually. Here’s a road map.
Many companies were ready for a hybrid work model to start up this summer and fall. There were still big questions, but we were headed that way. Then a few variants emerged, and we entered into a larger vaccination discussion, and now some of these dates have been pushed back, often into January 2022 for some big brands. But — this is good news for leaders! It gives you more time to navigate the landscape. In this podcast, three NLI experts talk about how to navigate the world of hybrid work, including how to account for your real estate position.
A look at the differences between performative allyship and authentic allyship.
Given the scale of the workforce migration, individual employees’ reasons for leaving are pretty varied, but they generally come down to three main factors.
With tensions, anxiety, and burnout on the rise, de-escalation has rapidly become an essential skill for managers in the workplace.
Unconscious bias is a huge driver of work outcomes. While we’ve known this for generations, only recently has it become a bigger discussion in management theory and the training space. In this episode of Your Brain at Work Live, our own Janet Stovall sits down with NYU’s inaugural senior vice president for global inclusion and strategic innovation, Dr. Lisa Coleman, and Dr. Natalie Byfield, a professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at St. John’s University. The three discuss bias as an impediment to innovation, bias as a cultural concern, and ways of overcoming the inherent challenges of bias.
COVID most assuredly is not “over,” and the fall might be an even worse time for some communities. Time will tell on COVID’s various impacts on work, but here’s some of what we know now.
How can we de-escalate the situations in our everyday lives?
People have lots of theories about what the “new world of work” will look like. Maybe in reality it’s just about managers learning how to structure better, insight-laden conversations.
How could companies start doing better around diversity and inclusion — but for real this time?
Research has shown that diverse companies are more innovative and perform better. But strategies typically used to create inclusive work environments haven’t always been effective and often make things worse. Experts believe that the future of diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace will be about creating habits that help mitigate some of our most basic unconscious biases. And getting there requires some uncomfortable conversations. (Source: Bloomberg)
For behavior change to occur, new learning must be easily recalled and employed when it’s needed, like “stop, drop and roll.”
We’ve talked about de-escalation in the past, mainly in the context of its application with law enforcement. But as the world attempts to reopen, and we’re constantly bombarded with images and videos of situations that need to be de-escalated — think about airlines, as one starting place — we wanted to revisit the topic. In this episode, we discuss the neuroscience of de-escalation, and day-to-day strategies for bringing down the boil on a situation, with in-house experts Dr. Joy VerPlanck (Senior Insight Strategist, NLI), Dr. David Rock (CEO & Co-Founder, NLI), and Brian Uridge (Deputy Director Division of Public Safety & Security, University of Michigan Medicine).
What three scientific elements should we focus on to create more inclusive Australian workplaces for the differently-abled?
In this episode of Your Brain at Work, senior Neuroleadership Institute researcher Michaela Simpson and NLI’s Director of DEI Practice Paulette Gerkovich are joined by two distinguished guests: Elizabeth Nelson, the director of diversity and inclusion at Thomson Reuters, and Jennifer Amara, the VP of Global Talent at Otis Worldwide. This knowledgeable foursome of women walks through what works — and what doesn’t — about current approaches to diversity, equity, and inclusion on a global scale.
In this episode of Your Brain at Work, Dr. David Rock, the CEO and Co-founder of the Neuroleadership Institute is joined by two esteemed guests: Jonathan Haidt, a professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business and co-author of the best-seller The Coddling of the American Mind, and Alison Taylor, the Executive Director of Ethical Systems. The three shed light on the core divisions in America, how those divisions seep into professional discourse, and most importantly, what we can do to bridge divides. When the trio gets into strategies for bridging the divides we have, it’s less about deleting Facebook from your phone and more about what decades of brain science and social science research have taught us about practicing empathy, seeing others, and listening to opposing viewpoints.
After a year working from home, employees emboldened with a sense of independence are demanding fairness and autonomy in the workplace, and companies are taking note. One strategy long embraced by Buenos Aires-based software company 10Pines has employees deciding what co-workers get paid. Though fairly unique, it’s just one template for how radical transparency is increasingly being used to attract the best talent.
When we think of diversity as just numbers and percentages — binary do’s and don’ts — we might satisfy a grumble, but we miss out on the goodness. When you hear someone discussing the value of diversity, it’s a safe bet that they’re talking about the value of inclusion.
To get more people vaccinated, organizations need to fight back against falsehoods and build a narrative that is simple, sticky, and surprising.
How can we equip organizational leaders to handle tense situations and keep their teams productive? De-escalation could be the key managerial skill of 2021.
To affect change, changing language around privilege can strengthen the voice that’s speaking and improve the outcome with the listener.
The current narrative of hybrid work gives leaders little to work with. Really, all arguments against hybrid work boils down to these four main myths.
In this episode of Your Brain at Work, Dr. David Rock, the CEO and Co-founder of the NeuroLeadership Institute is joined by Dr. Jason Mitchell, a Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. Together, they explore the concept of in-group and out-group, the effects it has on the brain and behavior, and what we can do about it to mitigate the negative effects and accentuate the positive. The two scientists unpack how we can leverage that knowledge to make interactions more positive and effective, and to make organizations more human.
The United States Congress has passed a bill declaring Juneteenth a federal holiday. The bill’s passage marks the first time a new federal holiday has been established since Congress approved Martin Luther King Jr. day in 1983. More importantly, Juneteenth marks and commemorates emancipation of Black Americans. Now, organizations across the country are asking what they can and should do to mark the occasion. In this episode, an esteemed panel discusses Juneteenth from a historical perspective, how it resonates and moves communities today, and where the conversation is going in the future. They explore what meaningful ways can companies, leaders, and society-at-large deploy efforts and resources to create a more just, diverse, and equitable future.
Hiring for culture fit could be damaging your organization. Instead, you should look for candidates that can add to your culture.
In this article from Le Monde, Dr. David Rock (CEO and Co-Founder of NeuroLeadership Institute) comments on how employees have been traumatized from the pandemic.
At the start of the pandemic, when many US companies were implementing remote work policies, many leaders feared that workplace culture would wither without in-person interactions. But, to the amazement and relief of many, that wasn’t necessarily true. Why? Because your culture was never your building—it’s something more. In this episode of Your Brain at Work, we unpack the science and explore the data at the intersections of culture and hybrid work. Our panel, including Lisa McGregor, the Global Lead of Workplace Space Strategies at Jacobs, and Perri Mathews, the Manager of Culture Transformation and Change at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of North Carolina, shares how hybrid work settings can actually be a culture accelerator, if we follow the science.
Juneteenth has been officially recognized as a federal holiday by U.S. Here’s a list of resources to enrich your understanding of this important holiday.
In This Human Resource Executive article, Dr. David Rock (CEO and Co-Founder of Neuroleadership Institute) shares some of the reward and autonomy solutions given to General Mills for their high-stressed workers.
Dr. David Rock (CEO and Co-Founder of NeuroLeadership Institute) provides insight to People Equation on the cognitive biases that prevent some leaders from seeing the opportunity aligned with hybrid working.
The workplace is shaped by how people interact with other people. That’s where allies come in.
With the world on the verge of returning to the office (or not), it’s important to remember that your culture was never your building.
Psychological research can help us better direct diverse teams to the right places, and at the right time, to make the most of early wins.
Despite widespread and increasing reports of job burnout in the past year, the concept of burnout is often misunderstood or overlooked—to the detriment of both individuals and organizations. Dr. Kamila Sip, the Senior Director of Neuroscience Research at the Neuroleadership Institute, recently joined the HR Works Podcast to explore the concept through the lens of neuroscience. In the episode, she explores the causes of job burnout, sheds light on common misconceptions about burnout, and shares how organizations can prevent and alleviate job burnout. Kamila explains that while the concept of job burnout is not new—it was declared an occupational phenomenon by the World Health Organization back in 2019— for many, the experience of burnout was amplified and intensified by the massive amount of uncertainty we experienced in 2020. When the pandemic struck, and people moved from desks and offices to kitchen counters and converted bedrooms, many lost a sense of security in their jobs, their finances, and their health. As month rolled into month, and the pandemic did not recede, neither did the stress. In other words, we went from feeling stressed sometimes to feeling stressed all of the time. While the psychological toll of the pandemic is a huge contributor to stress and anxiety, it also magnified the workplace challenges in ways that exposed the causes of job burnout that are distinct from being generally overworked or stretched too thin. This is because the real causes of job burnout are more rooted in organizational culture and expectations than in the individuals’ ability to manage the stress of life. Kamila explains that job burnout, like all stress phenomena, affects how we make decisions, how we regulate our emotions, and how we interact with others (all critically important to work). She also unpacks the role and importance of having our psychological needs met, and how by meeting those needs, organizations can reduce job burnout and increase a healthy performance, even in the face of a crisis. To learn more about burnout and what organizations can do to prevent it, listen to the full episode of the HR Works Podcast here.
Northwest Permanente Chief People Officer T. Ruth Chang, MD, MPH. discusses her plans for implementing a new organizational curriculum which was developed by NeuroLeadership Institute.
If leaders want to make the right decisions when it comes to hybrid work, it’s important to consider the question through the lens of neuroscience.
In this article from The Philadelphia Inquirer, Dr. David Rock (Co-Founder and CEO of NeuroLeadership Institute) discusses how leaders can best handle employee stress when returning to the office.
In this article from Fast Company, Dr. David Rock (CEO and Co-Founder of NeuroLeadership Institute) provide guidance on how to manage stress related to going back to the office post-pandemic.
After more than a year of uncertainty, a large portion of the U.S. is poised to return to the office in the coming months. As employees return, organizations and employees are renegotiating how, when, and where they’ll work. This migration is a once-in-a-century opportunity to build a better normal, but it won’t come without its challenges. To help leaders capitalize on this opportunity, and avoid the pitfalls, we kick off Season 5 of Your Brain at Work with a look at hybrid work. Dr. David Rock, NLI’s CEO and Co-Founder, is joined by Liane Hornsey, Executive Vice President & Chief People Officer at Palo Alto Networks, to share insights that will help leaders make the most of their people’s time and talent. Together, they explore what it means to “solve for autonomy, and manage for fairness;” the big concerns organizations have about hybrid work (and why they may be overhyped); and the skills managers will need to lead and succeed in a hybrid world.
By understanding brain science and valuing people, your organization can unlock the unexpected benefits of the hybrid workplace.
With our opportunities for face-to-face interaction virtually nil, organizations have to rethink learning—and that’s a good thing.
In this article from Axios Future, Dr. David Rock (Co-Founder and CEO of NeuroLeadership Institute) provides insight on the productivity of a 4-day work week.
Before you can launch any initiative, you’ll need your leaders’ buy-in. So we’ve compiled a list of our most foundational pieces on allyship to help you make the case to your organization.
With much of the U.S. poised to return to the office in the coming months, organizations are renegotiating how, when, and where people work.
Despite the anxiety of the pandemic and drastic changes at work, many studies show that the majority of both employers and employees reported positive effects from a year of working from home.
We want to believe all managers are now “resilience coaches”, but we have to clear a few hurdles before we get there. Here’s how.
Increasingly, equity is finding its way into conversations, organizations, and acronyms across the world. But there’s a lot of noise, and many misconceptions, about what equity means and how it applies to organizations. As a result, many business leaders aren’t quite sure how to define, develop, or deploy the “E” in DE&I. In Season 4’s final episode, our panel helps you reduce some of the noise by following the science. NLI’s Janet Stovall, Senior Client Advisor, is joined by Dr. Michaela Simpson, Senior Researcher, and Dr. Dominic Packer, Professor of Psychology, Lehigh University. Together they provide science-informed, applicable guidance to help solve systemic inequity and increase equity.
We’ve all had to become practitioners of resilience in the past year. In that time, some myths and misconceptions have arisen. Here’s what the science says.
In this episode of Your Brain at Work we continue our discussion of equity. This time, we explore what’s happening in our brains when we’re at an advantage, at a disadvantage, and when we seek to restore equity to a situation (or don’t). NLI Senior Client Advisor Janet Stovall is joined by Senior Researcher, Dr. Michaela Simpson; and University of Pennsylvania Postdoctoral Fellow, Dr. Brad Mattan. Together, they discuss the neuroscience of power, inclusion, perspective taking, empathy, and allyship. The panel sheds light on the skills employees need to increase equity, and how organizations can leverage science to build them.
Organizations are using allyship to promote an inclusive culture. We want to learn more about ways in which organizations make it a reality.
Many workers won’t be returning to an in-office situation anytime soon. We know the biases baked into telework; now’s our chance to mitigate them.
Many business leaders aren’t quite sure how to define, develop, or deploy the “E” in DE&I. Here’s what the science says.
In recent months we’ve seen much debate, some productive and some not, on the concept of equity. So we, as we often do at the NeuroLeadership Institute, have looked at equity through the lens of neuroscience. In this episode of Your Brain at Work, Janet Stovall, Senior Client Strategist; Jeanine Stewart; Senior Consultant and Facilitator; and Dr. David Rock, Co-founder and CEO unpack the concept of equity. They explain why equity is different from equality (and why that matters), how allyship can increase equity in the workplace, and why equity rounds out diversity and inclusion in the modern corporate landscape. Throughout the discussion, they debunk common misconceptions and offer clarifying science.
Research shows that letting employees unplug can pay off. So maybe instead of embracing employee engagement models, we should disengage.
The NeuroLeadership Institute (NLI), a cognitive science-based research consultancy dedicated to making organizations more human since 1998, today announced the launch of its groundbreaking solution, ALLY – The Neuroscience of Advocating for Others. ALLY is the first science-based behavior change program focused on helping organizations identify inequity, increase equity, and drive systematic change.
The NeuroLeadership Institute (NLI), a cognitive science-based research consultancy dedicated to making organizations more human since 1998, today announced the launch of its groundbreaking solution, ALLY – The Neuroscience of Advocating for Others. ALLY is the first science-based behavior change program focused on helping organizations identify inequity, increase equity, and drive systematic change.
In Thrive’s series about the “Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times”, Dr. David Rock (Co-founder & CEO of NeuroLeadership Institute) provides five most important things a business leader should do to lead effectively during uncertain and turbulent times.
A few times every year, a major company is in the crosshairs of a larger work culture and burnout debate. It’s been Goldman Sachs many a time before, and it appears to be them again—13 first-year analysts in Goldman’s investment banking unit surveyed themselves about their work hours, which can reach 110 per week, and then organized those concerns into a detailed PowerPoint presentation that has since spilled onto social media. The report even includes bar charts showing the analysts’ deterioration from job stress.
Up to 98% of people have the potential to become allies. To reach that potential, we need to understand what makes a person an ally.
In this episode of Your Brain at Work, Dr. David Rock welcomes Kristina Morton; Vice President Human Resources, Supply Chain, at General Mills. At General Mills, their mission is to feed the world. Hard enough on a good day, but how about during a global pandemic? Their challenges were multifaceted and complex, but throughout, factory workers went above and beyond to meet the goals of the organization. Rewards were obviously in order. So leaders at General Mills experimented with autonomy and rewards to say thanks. Here’s their story (and the science behind it).
For governments everywhere, agility is essential. But unfortunately it’s not the norm. Growth mindset can help.
People started talking about “moonshots” back in 1949. Back then, the phrase quite literally meant to shoot for the moon—with a spacecraft, that is (eg. the Apollo missions). Since then, the term has become shorthand for an audacious vision paired with an ambitious goal. This type of thinking in the organizational context, popularized by pioneering organizations like Microsoft, Apple, Google and SpaceX, has driven innovation for decades and been the source of countless technological breakthroughs. So it has us thinking: What’s the moonshot for leadership? What do the effective leaders of the future look like? And how do we help today’s leaders get there? In his latest article on Forbes, Dr. David Rock, Co-founder and CEO of the NeuroLeadership Institute, reflects on those questions. David explores the key insights that leaders should embrace and act upon right now to set themselves up for success in the future. Throughout, he explains how science should inform and transform how we think about leadership. Some of the insights David unpacks include: How to leverage the moment to do big things Why leaders should care about humans at levels you never imagined How to embrace hybrid work and autonomy And why leaders should follow the science, experiment, and follow the data To read the full article click here, or to learn more about NLI’s approach to leadership click here.
How does one become an ally? Ultimately, it’s a set of habits that we practice daily. Here’s how you can create and cultivate those habits.
There are millions of people that have tasted remote work and won’t easily let it go, and further, they’re expecting it at this point. And alternatively, there are others that would prefer to return to the office. We find ourselves on the precipice of yet another very important decision for many organizations. How much autonomy should we give our people about their work environments? We probably don’t have a choice but to face it head-on. In this episode Senior Client Strategist at NLI, Rob Ollander-Krane and Senior Director of Neuroscience Research and Dr. Kamila Sip will do just that.
Adam Mendler interviewed CEO and Co-Founder of NeuroLeadership Institute, Dr. David Rock, to gain a better understanding of the science behind leadership.
Leadership needs a grand commitment. General Motors (GM), a Fast Company Most Innovative Company, recently announced it will sell only zero-emission vehicles by 2035. The move sparked lots of discussion, largely positive, and other industries—i.e. healthcare—declared they “need their own Mary Barra,” a reference to the GM CEO and her leadership.
We’re adding our voice to the chorus of COVID-at-1 stories, through the prism of organizational learnings and brain science.
Last December 156,000 people lost jobs due to the pandemic—and all of them were women. Not just a high percentage of them. All of them. This could be the biggest backward step for women’s representation in the workplace we’ve ever seen. While there are many factors at play, there is one hidden culprit that has an outsized impact—gender bias. In this episode NLI Senior Consultant Deb Campbell facilitates a panel discussion with Francine Rosado-Cruz; Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer, Davis Polk & Wardwell; Janet Stovall, Senior Client Strategist at NLI; and Elizabeth Haines, Professor and Social Scientist at William Paterson University. Together they unpack the research about gender bias, how it shows up in the workplace, and how organizations can put us back on the road to gender parity.
Dr. David Rock (Co-founder and CEO of NeuroLeadership Institute) interviews with Authority Magazine about his personal experiences and how leaders can navigate through challenging times.
For this episode we invited three leaders from very different companies to reveal their approaches to lifting inclusion. NLI’s VP of Client Experience, Katherine Milan leads the discussion with Romita Grover, Head of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging in the Card Division at Capital One, Lynn Hare, Director of Global Talent Development at Akamai, and Jon Suber, Supplier Diversity & Development Manager at Freddie Mac. Together, they review how their organizations structured inclusion programs, what obstacles they encountered, what they learned along the way, and what wisdom they can share with organizations looking to create similar outcomes.
As we progress through our careers, we may feel that we’re not qualified for our role-a tendency known as imposter syndrome. Fortunately, there’s a cure.
“One year of COVID” are the hot takes of the moment, from “Sorrow and stamina, defiance and despair” to numerical breakdowns to seemingly never-ending partisan bickering, and all points in between. We are going to add our voice to the chorus of COVID-at-1 stories, hopefully not in a nails on chalkboard fashion, but through the prism of organizational learnings, culture shifts, and most importantly, brain science.
In this article from Business Insider, Dr. David Rock (Co-founder and CEO of NeuroLeadership Institute) provides insight on how leaders can manage their stress levels using neuroscience.
In this episode David welcomes renowned neuroscientist and author of Seven and a Half Lessons about the Brain, Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett. Dr. Barrett and David walk us through the latest research and insights about how the brain (the physical organ) and the mind (the human consciousness that thinks, feels, and acts) interact and inform our behaviour. Together, they unpack the neural mechanisms that explain our behavior and how this understanding of the brain can impact how we mitigate bias, increase empathy and inclusion, both in ourselves and others.
A new era of corporate leadership is upon us. Now is the time to reinvent your approach to leadership development. Here’s how.
As we move into the second calendar year of the pandemic, organizations are still trying to combat the unparalleled feelings of uncertainty and anxiety among their employees. The high levels of stress employees are experiencing can lead to reduced cognitive capacity, resulting in diminished productivity. Our research shows that organizations have tried all sorts of strategies to address the problem, but they may be missing a more obvious strategy—fairness. In the early stages of the pandemic, the NeuroLeadership Institute polled 688 US employees from various roles and industries. Through our research, we aimed to understand the psychological impact the pandemic had on workers, and what their leaders can do about it. Our findings suggested that employees felt a pronounced need for decisions to be made fairly. We explored this finding, and others, in our recent Idea Report. We also provide steps organizations can take to increase feelings of fairness and mitigate the stress caused by the pandemic. Here’s how. The science behind fairness At NLI, we use the SCARF® model to define the five domains of social threat and reward (Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, and Fairness). Based on this model, we studied the elements of SCARF that helped employees feel confident in their organization’s ability to survive the pandemic. We found that one of the core psychological needs that led to confidence in employees was fairness. People prefer fairness as opposed to having situations tilted in one party’s favor—that’s no surprise. But, did you know that the perception of being treated unfairly actually causes feelings of disgust? We can all recall a time when we’ve felt we were treated unfairly at work. We feel slighted because we don’t understand how performance objectives were assessed or know the thought process behind a promotion we didn’t receive. Yet, only 52% of employees find that in their workplace, explanations regarding decisions were sufficient during the pandemic, and only 37% of that group found their workplace transparent about it in the first place. Interestingly, top leaders are significantly more likely to agree that their organization is transparent – compared to all other employees. This is probably due to the goal-oriented—rather than people-oriented—perspective that leaders often have. Leaders discount the value of communicating how and why decisions are made to achieve specific goals. These mismatches in perspective, and in turn communication, can create tension between employees and leadership. Creating fairness through transparency The good news is that leaders can take the extra step to be as transparent as possible about the decision making process to minimize the distress. One way to do so would be to schedule a town hall meeting between leadership and all employees. Allow room for questions ranging from the playful to serious inquiries about the business, policy, and key decisions. This combination of certainty and fairness is deeply rewarding for the brain, and it will motivate employees to achieve the productivity leaders want. Organizations should create their goals with a prosocial bent; that means making decisions with employees’ and their well-being in mind. Instead of assuming how your employees feel about a particular decision, simply ask. It’s as simple as pulling them aside for a one-on-one conversation, explaining your perspective on the matter, and asking for their input. Doing so helps leaders become more accountable to their teams, seek others’ perspectives, and heighten their attention to detail. Being fair and transparent can go a long way to mitigate anxiety at work during turbulent times, but you can do much more than that. You can actually use this opportunity to make changes that will serve you long after the pandemic is over. This is just one area where your team needs support for their psychological needs. You can gain further insight by reading our full idea report at the link below. [action hash= “638a5f77-c66e-49e6-b610-592c6dc17ae6”]
Decades of research have made it clear that diverse teams are smarter and more innovative than homogeneous teams. But there are a few stubborn cognitive quirks that get in the way of building and fostering diversity in organizations. In this episode of Your Brain at Work, NLI CEO Dr. David Rock is joined by Associate Professor of Psychology at Columbia University, Dr. Valerie Purdie-Greenaway, and NLI Senior Consultant Dr. Paulette Gerkovich to discuss the compelling, and science-backed, business case for diversity, how to build diversity in teams, and why despite feeling less comfortable, diverse teams perform better.
Are you part of an organization that allows you to bring your authentic self to work? How does power and privilege impact your ability to do so? And does your organization support the authenticity of all of its employees? In this episode, Dr. David Rock is joined by best-selling author and renowned expert on covering, Kenji Yoshino, Professor of Constitutional Law at NYU School of Law. David and Kenji unpack these questions, exploring the concepts of power, privilege, inclusion, diversity, and allyship in the process. Listen to learn how individuals and organizations can create systemic solutions to these challenges.
By understanding our minds’ limits, we can use science-backed strategies to embed habits that are easy to recall and apply.
This week we tap the mind of Martin Whitaker, CEO of JUST Capital. In a meeting of CEOs Dr. David Rock and Martin explore how JUST lifts the voice of the American public to identify the issues that matter most when it comes to just business behavior. They identify the specific qualities of leading companies that supported their workers, customers, and communities through the pandemic and ongoing racial injustices. Martin also shares how JUST Capital is addressing systemic challenges at scale to create an economy that serves all Americans.
Organizations face new and growing talent challenges. Regenerative practices hold powerful insight on how we can grow people better.
Creating a culture that maps to the modern landscape of diversity, equity and inclusion requires a scientific approach. Here’s what science taught us: forcing people into DE&I training doesn’t work. In this episode, NLI’s co-founder and CEO Dr. David Rock, and consultants Camille Inge and Dr. Paulette Gerkovich reveals the real key to behavior change. Listen in as they review the research helping us to understand what truly works.
By understanding and employing the science of spacing, we can tweak programs to make a dramatic difference in the impact of learning.
Let’s Start a Conversation Read the Full Case Study KEY INDUSTRY Financial Services PRACTICE AREA Diversity, Equity & Inclusion PRODUCT Trusted as the Bias Mitigation Partner To Some of the World’s Most Impactful Organizations Case Studies by Practice Area Across industries, we make organizations more human and higher performing through science. These case studies show the change we can co-create. Diversity, Equity & InclusionTake inspiration from firms that mitigate bias and create equitable cultures.Accelerate Inclusion Culture & LeadershipExplore how organizations transform their culture, and shift mindsets at scale.Transform Leadership Talent & PerformanceLearn how companies harness feedback to improve employee retention, engagement and development.Optimize Performance Want to Find the best solution for you today? Commit to Change Connect with NeuroLeadership experts to explore how you can transform your organization at impact, speed, and scale. Scroll To Top
As coronavirus cases and deaths spiked around the world, so did an equally pervasive, but less observable ailment—anxiety. The effects of anxiety—reduced productivity and a lack of focus to name just two—have been felt widely among the global workforce, causing leaders to rightly ask, What can be done to stem the tide and restore calm to employees? We asked the same question. Specifically, we asked a host of questions of 688 survey participants and reviewed the relevant scientific literature. Through our research, we sought to understand the extent of the pandemic’s rippling cognitive and emotional effects and what leaders can do to alleviate them, cultivate well being, and instill confidence in their workforces. Our findings are compiled in our recent Idea Report, “The Mind in Crisis: Understanding employees’ needs in a changed workplace.” Among the most interesting and important findings is that employees who felt they were part of a team were significantly less anxious than those who didn’t. Moreover, there are things leaders can do to cultivate that camaraderie and reduce anxiety. Here’s how. The science and power of relatedness To feel a part of a team is to feel valued and heard, or in a word, included. At NLI, we use the SCARF® model, which defines five key domains of social threat and reward (Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, and Fairness), to understand how we can intentionally include others on a daily basis. Specifically, we can understand the feeling of being part of a team through the lens of relatedness. Relatedness is our innate need to belong to groups that offer us safety, shelter, and acceptance, and it’s been shown to be an important factor of a person’s ability to thrive, both in general and in the workplace, especially in times of crisis. We all know this intuitively from experience—humans have a natural reflex action to come together in a crisis. When we gather with friends and family in the wake of a crisis, we balance out the lack of certainty and feelings of having no control with the reward of being with others we trust. We create relatedness. We face a crisis now, but our physical isolation from other people may threaten our basic need for belonging and companionship, depriving us of our relatedness and exacerbating our anxiety. Therefore, cultivating a sense of organizational and interpersonal connectedness is crucial to helping your remote employees feel less isolated and less anxious. Organizations can cultivate relatedness by holding online all-hands meetings, or regular virtual morning coffee breaks or happy hours, where people stop work and just chat for 30 minutes. At a firm NLI partners with, people are creating relatedness by encouraging folks to change their backgrounds when on video, and then sharing what their background means to them—perhaps a photo from a vacation, or just a beautiful scene. Try this at 4:45 pm every day: Invite your team to a virtual group hangout to share what they have made progress on. Learn more This is just one of the findings of our latest research on the effects of the pandemic. Read about the other insights from NLI’s Idea Report, “The Mind in Crisis: Understanding employees’ needs in a changed workplace,” by clicking the link below and grabbing your copy today. [action hash= “638a5f77-c66e-49e6-b610-592c6dc17ae6”]
Let’s Start a Conversation Read the Full Case Study KEY INDUSTRY Financial Services PRACTICE AREA Diversity, Equity & Inclusion PRODUCT Trusted as the Bias Mitigation Partner To Some of the World’s Most Impactful Organizations Case Studies by Practice Area Across industries, we make organizations more human and higher performing through science. These case studies show the change we can co-create. Diversity, Equity & InclusionTake inspiration from firms that mitigate bias and create equitable cultures.Accelerate Inclusion Culture & LeadershipExplore how organizations transform their culture, and shift mindsets at scale.Transform Leadership Talent & PerformanceLearn how companies harness feedback to improve employee retention, engagement and development.Optimize Performance Want to Find the best solution for you today? Commit to Change Connect with NeuroLeadership experts to explore how you can transform your organization at impact, speed, and scale. Scroll To Top
Let’s Start a Conversation Read the Full Case Study KEY INDUSTRY Healthcare PRACTICE AREA Performance PRODUCT Trusted as the Bias Mitigation Partner To Some of the World’s Most Impactful Organizations Case Studies by Practice Area Across industries, we make organizations more human and higher performing through science. These case studies show the change we can co-create. Diversity, Equity & InclusionTake inspiration from firms that mitigate bias and create equitable cultures.Accelerate Inclusion Culture & LeadershipExplore how organizations transform their culture, and shift mindsets at scale.Transform Leadership Talent & PerformanceLearn how companies harness feedback to improve employee retention, engagement and development.Optimize Performance Want to Find the best solution for you today? Commit to Change Connect with NeuroLeadership experts to explore how you can transform your organization at impact, speed, and scale. Scroll To Top
Let’s Start a Conversation Read the Full Case Study KEY INDUSTRY Technology PRACTICE AREA Diversity, Equity & Inclusion PRODUCT Trusted as the Bias Mitigation Partner To Some of the World’s Most Impactful Organizations Case Studies by Practice Area Across industries, we make organizations more human and higher performing through science. These case studies show the change we can co-create. Diversity, Equity & InclusionTake inspiration from firms that mitigate bias and create equitable cultures.Accelerate Inclusion Culture & LeadershipExplore how organizations transform their culture, and shift mindsets at scale.Transform Leadership Talent & PerformanceLearn how companies harness feedback to improve employee retention, engagement and development.Optimize Performance Want to Find the best solution for you today? Commit to Change Connect with NeuroLeadership experts to explore how you can transform your organization at impact, speed, and scale. Scroll To Top
Let’s Start a Conversation Read the Full Case Study KEY INDUSTRY Financial Services PRACTICE AREA Culture & Leadership PRODUCT Trusted as the CULTURE CHANGE Partner To Some of the World’s Most Impactful Organizations Case Studies by Practice Area Across industries, we make organizations more human and higher performing through science. These case studies show the change we can co-create. Diversity, Equity & InclusionTake inspiration from firms that mitigate bias and create equitable cultures.Accelerate Inclusion Culture & LeadershipExplore how organizations transform their culture, and shift mindsets at scale.Transform Leadership Talent & PerformanceLearn how companies harness feedback to improve employee retention, engagement and development.Optimize Performance Want to Find the best solution for you today? Commit to Change Connect with NeuroLeadership experts to explore how you can transform your organization at impact, speed, and scale. Scroll To Top
Let’s Start a Conversation Read the Full Case Study KEY INDUSTRY Financial Services PRACTICE AREA Talent & Performance PRODUCT Trusted as the CULTURE TRANSFORMATION Partner To Some of the World’s Most Impactful Organizations Case Studies by Practice Area Across industries, we make organizations more human and higher performing through science. These case studies show the change we can co-create. Diversity, Equity & InclusionTake inspiration from firms that mitigate bias and create equitable cultures.Accelerate Inclusion Culture & LeadershipExplore how organizations transform their culture, and shift mindsets at scale.Transform Leadership Talent & PerformanceLearn how companies harness feedback to improve employee retention, engagement and development.Optimize Performance Want to Find the best solution for you today? Commit to Change Connect with NeuroLeadership experts to explore how you can transform your organization at impact, speed, and scale. Scroll To Top
In the Season 4 premiere, our panel of experts discuss the forces of change that swept organizations in 2020, and how we can channel the momentum they unleashed into creating more human organizations in 2021. NLI’s co-founder and CEO, Dr. David Rock is joined by Director of Industry Research, Andrea Derler and Senior Vice President of Corporate Solutions, Marshall Bergmann. Together, they explore the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead and the directions organizations can (and should) go in.
Because anxiety has real implications for productivity, organizations have to address it before anything else.
In 1971, a Yale psychologist borrowed a chilling concept from the novel “1984” to label a new phenomenon of human behavior.
Ann Schulte, Procter & Gamble’s Global Leader of Learning and Leadership Development, discusses how she turned to NeuroLeadership Institute (founded by Dr. David Rock) to develop a program that developed team morale.
Leaders can use insights derived from science to manage their teams’ cognitive capacity, ultimately making them smarter, happier, and more effective.
The pandemic has played havoc with our mental health, and a significant factor in our malaise is that we’re missing our people—terribly. We long for friends, family and colleagues. We are hardwired for connection, and with the need for social distancing and the reality of being away from the workplace—and everything else—for such a long period of time, we are struggling.
Stress can be thought of simply as heightened attention to the negative. Using a growth mindset can help with reducing stress in the moment.
At NLI we believe that now is perfect time to build a more flexible, continuous, and people-focused performance management system. Here’s how.
What better way to ring in 2021 than with a new perspective on your own potential? Growth mindset can help unlock skills you once thought were unattainable.
The extraordinary circumstances of the pandemic have given new weight to the end-of-year break, as the line between work and home has blurred more than ever for many workers. Some companies are trying to encourage their employees to disconnect from their jobs more than usual this year, as holiday routines and connections have been upended for many. Jim Mathis runs the small ad agency, Adwerx, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He’d normally have a full calendar during the holidays: the company party, visits to extended family and planning for a new year staff retreat. But this is 2020. “There’s just this lingering cloud over everyone that is just getting hard on folks,” he said. He’s encouraged his seven employees to take extra time off this week and next – they have unlimited vacation. “Definitely recharge your batteries,” he said. “We all need to do that. And this year, that’s been stressful, we probably need it more than normal.” Sheila Ryan is the Chief People Officer at Clear Capital appraisal services in Truckee, California. During this darker-than-usual end of the year, she’s trained managers to identify potential signs of burnout among their 600 employees. “You look for changes in behavior – were they really participatory and vocal in your meetings and now they’re being more quiet?” she said. “Are they getting more slouchy and turning their camera off a lot more?” If so, managers at her company have been reminding staff of mental health resources like the Employee Assistance Program and encouraging staff to take time off. Ryan said more people at her company have taken vacation days this holiday season than usual. Breaks are important for cognitive function, said David Rock, co-founder and CEO of the NeuroLeadership Institute, which applies neuroscience to work. “With the brain you need to literally let networks rest for a while for them to regenerate and come back energized,” he said. The brain gets tired out by repetitive stress, like constantly worrying about a pandemic, or thinking about work at all hours of the day, he said. “One thing we know about fitness is you don’t do three hours of repetition on the same muscle without stopping,” he said. But even with time off, pulling our brains out of work is easier said than done these days, said Jaclyn Jensen, who teaches organizational psychology at DePaul University. Because millions of workers have now combined their home with their workplace, “your mind is always at work, even if you are not actually sitting in front of your computer working,” she said. Finding a new routine during time off can help rebuild those boundaries, she said: spending time outside, reading or scheduling those things you don’t have time for during a busy work week. And by all means, stay away from email. “Several days ago, in anticipation of the holiday I did take my email off of my phone, and it is freeing,” she said. So much so, she might even leave it that way after the holidays are over. This article originally appeared on Marketplace.org.
What can you count on coming your way in 2021? More ambiguity, uncertainty and change! Hooray! As a leader, your challenge is to increase your capacity in the face of it all, because traditional approaches to leadership development aren’t keeping pace with the kinds of complexity we now face. Currently, fewer than 18% of leaders have the qualities of mind to optimally lead in volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) environments (Hall & Rowland, 2016). Fortunately, many bright people have been working on this very agenda over the past decade or so. What are they cooking up for us for 2021?
We close Season 3 of Your Brain at Work with our two performance gurus, Barbara Steel, the head of our performance practice, and Rob Ollander-Krane, a Senior Client Advisor at NLI who will review some of the biggest trends of 2020. From the underrated—but absolutely vital— check-in conversation, to the role bias plays in performance management, and performance management’s impact on broader talent strategy, we look back on the trends and lessons of 2020, and look ahead to what organizations should prioritize in 2021.
Diversity Equity & Inclusion strategy will continue to be a top priority for organizations in 2021. They’ll enter the new year with more momentum than perhaps ever before, but that momentum needs to be channelled into real, impactful change. In other words, we need to do things right and right now. In this episode of Your Brain at Work, we look back at tectonic shifts that took place in 2020, and how, armed with that knowledge, organizations can follow the pathways to real change.
“Don’t dismiss a good idea simply because you don’t like the source.” The brain science behind the twelve words that changed my life.
We’re busier than ever, but less able to get our own work done. Here’s how science says we can make the most of our days.
When tech giant Google fired a prominent AI researcher last week, it was not a great PR moment for the company. Will it also bring a legal headache?
If you weren’t among the 2,400 attendees at our virtual Summit this year, we missed you, but don’t sweat it. This week on Your Brain at Work, we revisit our most insightful sessions from our three-day annual conference—all in one episode. Our senior NLI team shares how to implement large scale change initiatives, how to create impactful and scalable virtual learning programs, why organizations should strive to be regenerative—not just restorative, how to develop the leaders of tomorrow, how to build a culture of allyship, among many other things.
Leadership will be critical in the year to come, as you navigate uncertainty, fierce competition and resource constraints. One way to get your organization ready for these challenges is to establish leadership principles for your organization.
Here we are — eight months into our COVID-19 pandemic. So many changes have taken place in our outer world. Yet, it’s our inner worlds that face the task of processing all of this….
If they want workers to be more vigilant, fear doesn’t work. Fortunately, there are alternatives.
Heightened uncertainty can have a devastating impact on the performance and mental health of employees, triggering a threat response in the brain that interferes with rational thinking, collaborating and solving problems. By understanding the core psychological needs of employees, leaders can focus their efforts on the strategies that will have the greatest impact on engagement and performance.
Experts say that times of great change should be seen as opportunities to help organizations form new habits.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make organizations more human and build a better normal. Here’s how.
Change can be scary and tiring, but it also represents an amazing (and fleeting) opportunity to build a better world of work. Here’s how.
Giving and receiving better feedback requires us to kick some old habits and adopt a new mindset. Here’s how science can help.
Many organizations are wondering how to address the chasm between right and left, and what many consider right and wrong. In this week’s Your Brain at Work, NLI’s Dr. David Rock and Dr. Kamila Sip welcome Dr. Peter Coleman (Professor of Psychology and Education, Columbia University) for a frank and informative conversation that traces the history of polarization in America, explores conflict in the brain, and outlines the steps organizations can take to successfully bridge the gap.
So, you’ve come to the conclusion that we need to modify our approach to performance management. Luckily, we have the science to show you how.
Human beings enjoy cohesion so much that we are often afraid to say anything to disturb it. Diversity can help.
Bias affects the way we communicate, often obscuring our feelings and intentions. Science offers a better way to communicate.
It’s hard to be cognitively effective during a crisis. Research shows that a few key shifts in mindset can help us stay focused and productive.
Holli Martinez leads the DE&I efforts at T-Mobile, and she’s on a mission—to make DE&I not just a priority, but a reality. This week on Your Brain at Work, Holli joins NLI’s Head of Diversity & Inclusion Ester Neznanova to discuss the pressing need for DE&I strategies that truly shift behaviors, they explore the power of culture, and they explain how organizations should approach creating lasting change in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
This year has been unlike any other, that’s why we designed a Summit unlike any we’ve ever had. Join us, and these distinguished scientists, at this year’s NeuroLeadership Summit.
A funny thing about providing feedback—once you start providing your thoughts to others, you will begin receiving their thoughts on you. It’s a natural human reaction that when you suggest someone can do something better, they will have something for you, as well.
Celebrating differences in teams may sound well-intentioned, but research shows it pays to build inclusion through celebrating similarities.
Performance reviews are loaded with cognitive biases that cloud the reviewer’s judgment and possibly put employees on the wrong career path.
In this week’s episode, NLI Co-founder and CEO Dr. David Rock is joined by Senior Researcher Michaela Simpson. Together they unpack the importance and power of mindset. They discuss the research that suggests we can cultivate adaptive mindsets not just individually, but at scale, and explain the habits that can help us thrive through difficult times.
This year has been unlike any other, that’s why we designed a Summit unlike any we’ve ever had. Join us, and these distinguished scientists, at this year’s NeuroLeadership Summit.
In this article from Tech Target, NeuroLeadership Institute experts provides insight on how to focus on shared goals to diffuse tensions at work.
While examining the leadership style of Scott Kirby (CEO of United Airlines) during a challenging time for airlines, Inc. interviews Dr. David Rock (Co-founder and CEO of NeuroLeadership Institute) for his thoughts in leadership development.
This week, our panel includes VP of Research, Practices, and Consulting Khalil Smith, DE&I Practice Lead Ester Neznanova, and Senior Consultant Camille Inge. Together, these NLI experts explore the nuances between racism and bias, discuss strategies used to detect and mitigate bias, and explain how you can build an anti-biased organization where better systems enable smarter decision-making.
Organizations with cultures of collaboration, innovation, and integrity are the most successful. Here’s why, and how you can make yours one.
Whether it’s on the front-lines of a crisis, or the conference room, opportunities for escalation exist all around us. Science can help us de-escalate.
With DE&I are at the forefront of everyone’s mind, we’ve curated the resources to help leaders understand, and act on, the science.
In this week’s episode, NLI Co-founder and CEO Dr. David Rock is joined by Diversity & Inclusion Practice Lead Ester Neznanova, and Senior Researcher Michaela Simpson to discuss how science can inform strategy in DE&I. Together, they explore strategies used to engage leaders and spark change. They share NLI’s latest thinking and best practices, including how to activate emotional buy-in, the importance of accentuating benefits, and the role of explaining the mechanisms of change.
Unlocking the power of a diverse organization requires creating a sense of inclusion. These three action-oriented ideas can help offer a roadmap.
In this article from CNBC, Dr. David Rock (Co-founder and CEO of NeuroLeadership Institute) provides some ways to reduce work burnout, especially for executives who are under more pressure than usual.
These days, our beleaguered brains could use some help. So we’ve collected our most insightful reads on how you can stay focused day to day.
With much of the focus of Your Brain at Work on the behavior of large populations, we decided to change gears with something more personal for a bonus series we’re calling “From the Field.”
Our producer Gabriel Berezin stumbled onto an inspiring story that shows the positive impact we can have on each other in quick, simple interactions. In academic circles it’s known as prosocial behavior, in layman’s terms it’s the familiar desire to help others. In this case, it was a bit of guidance for an ambitious young person of color from an experienced sales leader during a serendipitous Uber ride. Meet Josh and Kendrick to get a glimpse of what it looks like to lend a helping hand to those around you, and how that gesture can have a butterfly effect.
In this week’s episode, NLI Co-founder and CEO Dr. David Rock is joined by Senior Vice President of Client Experience Katherine Milan to discuss the science of learning. Together, they unpack the latest research around memory and habit formation, discuss how to make learning more social, identify the five biggest mistakes organizations are making when transitioning learning to a virtual format, and reveal the five ways you can avoid those pitfalls and design better learning experiences. Hint: it’s by following the science.
Your organization is facing challenges that were unimaginable a few months ago. That makes this the perfect time to build a better normal, and to attend the NLI Summit.
This article from MILO Range provides thought on how to de-escalate police training using neuroscience as delivered by NeuroLeadership Institute.
Only about a third of US employees qualify as “engaged.” It’s up to management to create the habits that can boost that figure.
This week, our panel of experts includes NLI’s Head of Performance Barbara Steeel, Senior Client Strategist, Rob Ollander-Krane, and CEO and Co-Founder Dr. David Rock. Together, they discuss the latest trends and research in performance management; they share illuminating insights on giving, and receiving, feedback; and they reflect on the six critical conversations employees and managers should be having to perform at their best.
In this article from Chief Executive, Dr. David Rock (Co-founder and CEO of NeuroLeadership Institute) discusses how to use the SCARF module to activate EQ (emotional intelligence) in leadership.
This year has turned ‘conventional wisdom’ on its head. Join us at the 2020 Summit to learn what science says about building a better normal.
Right now many leaders are asking how they can turn their companies anti-racist—that is, supporting an anti-racist policy through their actions, or expressing an anti-racist idea. It’s an important question, and we should all embrace the intent behind the inquiry.
Joe Smarro, one of the two police officers featured in the Emmy-nominated HBO documentary, “Ernie & Joe, Crisis Cops,” is helping create a more human society. In the season three premiere of YBAW, Joe joins NLI CEO and Co-founder Dr. David Rock, Senor Director of Neuroscience Research Dr. Kamila Sip, and facilitator Davie Floyd to discuss bringing science-backed de-escalation training to police officers. Together, the panel unpacks how the science of social threat and reward can help us better understand and communicate with each other to reach positive outcomes. And the benefits extend far beyond front-line workers to organizations of all sizes, and individuals of all backgrounds.
In a world that seems divided over any topic you can think of, a bit of laughter can bridge even the widest gaps. You already knew that intuitively; now learn some of the science to validate it.
Building anti-racism and bias mitigation into the systems and processes of an organization might be one of the more effective and sustainable ways to dismantle systemic racism and ensure equal opportunities and fair processes.
If leaders can make their organization a psychologically safe place to speak up, they can tap into a wellspring of new ideas from otherwise quiet folks.
Uncertainty can spark new opportunities to reimagine culture. Learn to build a better normal with strategies from today’s leading scientists and executives.
This week, our panel of experts includes NLI’s Head of Consulting and Research Khalil Smith, Senior Consultant Paulette Gerkovich, and Senior Vice President of Corporate Solutions Marshall Bergmann. Together they discuss the latest research on the importance of taking bold action; they share illuminating and inspiring case studies from organizations who have embraced acting boldly; and they reflect on the series as a whole to offer leaders the best strategies to show up in the best way possible for the people who matter most.
This article from the BBC explores the implementation of DE&I programs within organizations, and Dr. David Rock (Co-founder and CEO of NeuroLeadership Institute) discusses how to do so successfully.
Speaking up is essential to share ideas, question decisions, and challenge behaviors. Here are a few big ideas that can help any leader raise quiet voices.
In this article from SHRM, NeuroLeadership Institute Practice Lead, Barbara Steele, explains that employers should examine their benefit programs to determine whether or not it meets the expectations of employees and job candidates.
Along with Dr. Kamila Sip, NLI’s Senior Director of Neuroscience Research, and Khalil Smith, Head of Research and Consulting at NLI, this episode features the insights of Dr. Dominic Packer, social psychologist at Lehigh University. The group discusses how we determine who’s “one of us,” the consequences of doing so, and how we can expand our perceived boundaries to create larger ingroups.
Colleges play an important role in bringing diverse groups together. As such, they should make it a priority to create a sense of allyship on campus.
Inclusion is proven to be good for business, but it’s also been shown to afford employees a host of psychological and physical benefits.
There’s a cost to regarding yourself through a fixed mindset. Adopting a growth mindset can help you meet today’s challenges.
In this article from Forbes, Mika Liss (COO of NeuroLeadership Institute) discusses how accountability acts as a social motivator and generates stronger results.
We’re not out of the woods yet, and won’t be for a while. So how do we thrive amidst all this? Research suggests there are two things to focus on.
Among the tips for starting a new job provided in this article from TechRepublic, are some thoughts from a brain science perspective from NeuroLeadership Institute COO, Mika Liss.
Understanding the nuances between allyship and inclusion is important to helping your team act in everyone’s best interest, and correct past imbalances.
In a discussion on listening deeply, host Barbara Steel, Head of NLI’s Performance Practice, is joined by Paulette Gerkovich, a Senior Consultant at NLI, and Dr. Michaela Simpson, one of NLI’s Senior Scientists. Together they talk through what listening circles can look like in organizations, the science of psychological safety and perspective taking, and the potential pitfalls of getting it wrong.
Jamil Zaki, Stanford Professor of Psychology and the author of “The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World” joins NLI’s Head of Consulting and Practices, Khalil Smith. Jamil shares some of his biggest findings from studying empathy, and offers fascinating insights that anybody can use to build the muscle of empathy in their personal and professional relationships and create a better, kinder world.
Hiring is a critical process for organizations. That’s why building, or rebuilding, the hiring process takes careful thought. Here’s what the research says.
Deb Bubb, IBM’s Chief Leadership, Learning, and Inclusion Officer, is bringing her work home in an inspiring and transformative way. Here’s how.
An organization’s leadership model will serve as an effective guide for decision-making and team engagement when it is “sticky,” has meaning, and people can easily grasp how the model links back to organizational objectives.
Lindsay-Rae McIntyre, Chief Diversity Officer at Microsoft, sits down with with NLI CEO and Co-Founder Dr. David Rock and NLI Head of Research and Consulting, Khalil Smith, for a discussion on allyship. Learn how Microsoft has been working for the past two years to develop a culture of allyship and how leaders can develop tools to make allyship come alive in their organizations.
We all need to strike the right adaptive mindset amid this crisis. The Stockdale paradox can teach us how to balance realism with optimism.
High levels of stress and anxiety can affect your ability to focus. Science shows us how can you manage stress, maintain focus, and stay productive.
While the world of work has changed dramatically since its initial publication, the science and substance of the book have become even more relevant.
With the world on lockdown, organizations everywhere have had to rethink how they operate. But in the midst of the crisis, some have discovered something unexpected: productivity has gone up, not down. A crisis like a global pandemic naturally triggers extreme anxiety and stress, but it also unleashes tremendous energy and motivation. If leaders keep threat levels low, they can harness that sense of urgency to achieve work results that would normally seem impossible.
Do your employees feel comfortable speaking up in a constructive manner? Or do they fly blind with disastrous consequences?
This crisis’ effects are physical and psychological. Here are the everyday psychological habits to keep your mind healthy and stay productive.
When governments issued lockdown orders earlier this year, organizations everywhere scrambled to move their learning programs online. Since then, a team at the NeuroLeadership Institute has conducted over 20 learning audits to assess how larger companies handled the transition. Unfortunately, our conversations revealed that most organizations took in-person learning programs, already poor at driving behavior change, and made them worse, not better.
Chris Boruff, Director of Operations at the financial services firm Morningstar, sits down with NLI Co-Founder and CEO Dr. David Rock and NLI’s Director of Industry Research, Andrea Derler, to discuss growth mindset—what it is, how it works, and and how Morningstar has made the most of the COVID-19 crisis to transform the entire organization’s approach to learning, feedback, and growth.
Face to face with a crisis, it’s seldom clear where to focus our attention. NLI has assembled frequently asked questions about what leaders should do.
In this article from HR Dive, Dr. David Rock (Co-founder and CEO of NeuroLeadership Institute) discusses the brain-based model of SCARF, along with some other strategies to de-escalate conflict.
Leaders who practice optimal inclusion—that is, deploying the right people for the right jobs—can create more efficient, effective teams.
The data say leaders need to get more intentional about cultivating diverse talent. The science of allyship and inclusion can show us how.
Unconscious bias lives in everyone. For leaders, it’s exceedingly important to learn to mitigate that bias before it negatively impacts decision-making.
For over two years, Microsoft has been on a journey of cultivating allyship in its leaders and employees, and CDO Lindsay-Rae McIntyre has led the charge.
The only constant in life is change, as they say. But you can’t expect your behaviors to change just because you really want them to. The same goes for leaders who want to create behavior change in their team members. Early excitement fades over time, and soon we settle back into our old ways.
Suzanne, together with NLI’s Khali Smith and Dr. David Rock, explore the many ways Splunk has designed and deployed a diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy. The conversation also delves into Splunk’s thoughtful response to the ongoing human rights movement and calls for racial justice.
IBM, Procter & Gamble, and Netflix reacted quickly to crisis. In doing so they showed that successful organizations put humans first for good reason.
Here’s how organizations can be more actionable and purposeful about helping employees grow, through feedback, while the world works from home.
A recent Wall Street Journal article put Google’s diversity struggles on full display: Googlers of all ideologies and political leanings are finding it difficult to reconcile their personal beliefs with those of their colleagues. Googlers For Animals are clashing with Black Googler Network. Conservatives At Google say their preferred candidates get unfairly smeared at work. And Sex-positive Googlers take issue with Google Drive staff removing explicit images from the platform. Google grapples with this kind of infighting in part because Google encourages people to bring their full selves to work. The policy may be noble on its face, but as our client work has found, complete inclusivity often leads to clashes over conflicting viewpoints. Everyone is saying something different, so no one is getting heard. The solution we propose for optimizing inclusion is developing a shared language. The psychology of inclusion We know from the research that diversity makes inclusion harder — no matter if you’re talking about gender, ethnicity, or belief. Teams with more differences must exert greater effort to help others feel like they belong. Too often, well-intentioned companies start groups to celebrate these differences, such as those focused on women or minority ethnic groups. Studies have shown this only makes things worse. One 2015 review found that efforts to celebrate differences can lead non-dominant members to feel uncomfortably aware of their group identities. They feel more marginalized, not less. The way to make people feel more in-group is to celebrate similarities. Colleagues feel like they belong when they are reminded of what everyone has in common, such as a shared sales target or project objective. Psychologists call these “superordinate goals,” and they’ve been shown to improve cohesion and reduce conflict. This is where shared language comes in. If coworkers are united around similar goals, they can begin to adopt specific vocabularies for talking about those goals. By using similar phrases, they can ensure mutual understanding. Shared language must be brain-friendly Unfortunately, typical D&I mantras are too exhaustive to add any real value for companies. In our own work, we rely on the science of memory to help clients build a handful of short, sticky phrases that are easy to recall and share in daily conversation. The phrases have the added benefit of getting people to automatically think in terms of the team’s goals — a process known as “unconscious priming.” In matters of bias, for example, having a shared language equips people to call out biases in real-time. If someone notices a coworker hiring only people of their same gender, race, and age, they can ask the person if there might be a similarity bias at play. Asking questions and using the same language allows teams to broach big issues in a non-threatening way. Tips for your organization To get the most out of shared language, explain your thinking to create clarity. People won’t always agree with decisions, but at least they’ll understand and respect them. Tell stories to pass on cultural cues about ideal behaviors and show how inclusion can get misunderstood. Generating empathy helps align people to the company’s goals, without telling people to sacrifice who they are as a person when coming to work. SEE ALSO: 5 Habits for Holding Less-Biased Meetings
This article from Vogue Business focuses on how luxury retailers are working to become more inclusive, including Tiffany & Co., who partnered with NeuroLeadership Institute to develop bias mitigation strategies.
Back in the pre-COVID-19 days, Mitchell Spearman didn’t talk to his staff much about their feelings. As senior director of principal gifts for the University of Texas at Austin, he helped set goals for his team of fundraisers, assisted them in meeting those goals and celebrated their successes when they did. Continue Reading on LA Times
Twin crises have renewed our appreciation for open and honest communication, and especially for those who speak up when it matters most.
Sephora is making concerted efforts to halt discrimination at its stores and within its corporate offices as the retail industry continues to experience a reckoning for a history of racist behavior. Continue Reading
Bias and inclusion may appear together in D&I conversations, but from a scientific standpoint, they are undeniably different.
Priorities aren’t enough to make lasting changes to diversity and inclusion. Leaders must also focus on building the right habits and systems.
Any business leader will tell you the right team is essential for fostering innovation and success. But is talent development an art or a science? Increasingly, it’s appearing the answer can be found in science. And believe it or not, most leaders find that comforting, says Katherine King, CEO of corporate consultancy Invisible Culture, which helps companies develop the skills to compete in fast-changing industries and create cultures that promote healthy work habits. Continue Reading on Boston Globe
As interest in allyship swells, so does the risk for misinterpretation. We’ve combed through the research and presented these myths about allyship.
Treating coronavirus patients in one of the busiest emergency rooms in Manhattan, Dr. Jason Hill wore the same disposable respirator mask for up to four shifts in a row. He’d take the mask home from Columbia University Medical Center, his coffee-flavored breath clinging to its fibers. Then he’d bake it in an oven to kill any viral hitchhikers. A half-hour at 140 degrees. For months as the virus filled hospitals in New York and across the nation, doctors, nurses and other medical workers risked their lives in similar ways – sharing protective gear, reusing masks or going without – simply because there weren’t enough to go around. Continue reading on USA Today
Employees who are empowered to speak up and offer feedback to their superiors are more likely to offer ideas on how to improve the business.
We’ve written before on the importance of creating priorities, habits, and systems (PHS) when it comes to large-scale culture change. But with so many organizations taking a renewed—or perhaps unprecedented—interest in reshaping their D&I efforts to boost inclusion, mitigate bias, and become more human overall, we felt compelled to revisit the model and explain the underlying science. Because when it comes to addressing systemic racism, you can’t do it just by making it a priority.
Recently, our social media feeds have been plastered with companies announcing their support of the Black Lives Matter movement and other racial justice initiatives. Some of those announcements, from companies like Nike and Ben & Jerry’s, have been hailed widely. Others have been met with sharp criticism. What differentiates the two groups is a historic catalog of action and commitment from one group—and an assumed “here one day, gone the next” mentality from the other. “The intent of the messages is appropriate, and yet it needs to be backed up with action, commitment, and sustainability. It’s like a friend who only sends you a message once a year on your birthday; are they really a friend?” said Khalil Smith, NLI’s Vice President of Consulting and Practices, in a recent interview. Because Nike and Ben & Jerry’s have consistently advocated for the cause of racial justice, their statements align with what we know about their brands, and ring true when received by the public at large. Contrast that to companies who are entering the conversation for the first time. As Khalil explains, “If the only time you’re talking about race or equity is when something horrific breaks through the news cycle and you’re sending out a message at the same time as everyone else, that’s when it seems disingenuous.” Now it’s time for companies to back up their commitments with real, sustained action. They need to go beyond just wading into the conversation, and do the work of implementing solutions. They need to be the type of friend who does more than just wish you a happy birthday. To read the full interview with Khalil, click here. [action hash= “828b54ca-f297-476c-82f1-7ac98cbba097”]
At a time when the noise of the world seems to drown out any sense of clarity, Lynne Oldham, Chief People Officer at Zoom, and Tracey Grabowski, CHRO at Procter & Gamble remind us how to follow what’s essential—not just in the services they offer, but in how they’ve cultivated a calming, yet innovative, spirit through intense disruption, and in so doing, set an example for other leaders to follow.
About 3 weeks ago, the emails started. Companies sent out emails to thousands of subscribers asking for forgiveness and pledging support for Black communities. The emails came suddenly and in spurts. Yet, things still felt the same, but with a cluttered inbox. Are there more strategic ways companies can respond during times of crisis, especially when it comes to diversity issues. What if silence is golden? Where a company or organization can admit they don’t have an answer, and they are open to listening during a time of crisis. Continue Reading on Forbes
I&D initiatives should build upon other each other in meaningful and coherent ways, like movies in a shared universe. We call it the “Marvel Model.”
You wouldn’t expect to find Buzz Lightyear at Monsters University. It just wouldn’t happen. The miniature space explorer and the institution of higher learning for mythical creatures exist in two separate universes.
While many people have started going back into the office, talent leaders should stay mindful of those still at home—and how to cater to both groups.
While employees are returning to workplaces across the country, sadly, a majority of them are still worried they may end up losing their jobs because of the novel coronavirus.
Leaders may understand why inclusion matters, but still fail to put it into practice for their organization. Research from NLI can offer some strategies.
Recently, many organizations have had to make major changes to their operations overnight. Here’s a strategy to sustain the energy of this moment.
A panel of NLI experts, including CEO and Co-Founder Dr. David Rock, VP of Consulting and Research Khalil Smith, and Head of D&I Ester Neznanova, walk us through the science and importance of listening deeply, uniting widely, and acting boldly. Along the way they address challenges leaders have been facing and offer science-based solutions to keep teams feeling heard, included, and empowered to effect change.
Sony Pictures Entertainment Chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra shared with employees today details about the studio’s racial equity and inclusion initiative program, Sony Pictures Action. Continue Reading on Deadline
Growth mindset isn’t just a “nice-to-have.” It’s a business imperative for helping employees thrive through change and disruption.
Leaders have a role to play in helping people sustain the new pace of work and avoid burning out. Research from NLI can help organizations understand the limits of our minds, and how to work within them.
In recent months, over the course of the COVID-19 crisis, I’ve been talking with hundreds of leaders about how they see the road ahead, and how they’re using that vision to build a better normal. This crisis has no doubt saddled us with tremendous challenges and setbacks. But it’s also provided us the rare opportunity to reimagine our organizations and make them fundamentally better.
I have the fortune of knowing and working with incredible people of all backgrounds and ethnicities. And as a black leader who has held senior-level positions, I am frequently being asked about this moment in history. Given what I’m being asked by my non-black friends and peers, and what I’m being told by my black friends and peers, it seems as if we could benefit from making a few things known.
NLI’s research has identified three key business reasons for organizations to start seriously trying to adopt a growth mindset.
Diversity without inclusion can lead to a revolving door of talent, which means leaders should focus on uniting teams around shared goals.
About one-third of Americans have exhibited signs of anxiety or depression in the wake of Covid-19, according to the Census Bureau, and your employees are likely no exception. They’re looking to you as a business leader for guidance. But the context has never been more confusing, and the stakes have never been higher. Looking for a road map, I talked recently with Dr. David Rock, who has a doctoral degree in neuroleadership and who teaches Fortune 100 companies to lead employees according to principles of neuroscience. Continue Reading on Inc.
As Chief Human Resources Officer, it’s Tracy Keogh’s job to take care of people at HP, a firm known and lauded for its culture of innovation and authentic humanity. At HP, they’ve made it their mission to help people stay positive, engaged, and productive in the face of this crisis. More than that, they did it fast and with the brain in mind. Here’s how. Continue Reading on Forbes
With employees working longer hours than usual, leaders may wonder if they should move to a four-day workweek. Here’s what brain science says.
Shawna Erdmann, SVP of Learning at Comcast, and Melanie Davis, CLO at Ford, work for companies that have embraced growth mindset over the past few months, shifting from one set of expectations and roles, into brand-new operations. Their stories show how keeping an open mind benefits not just individuals as they work to adapt, but entire organizations looking to transform.
In moments of disruption, there’s an opportunity to shift our mindset to find deeper meaning in our work. Brain science can show us how.
The idea of a four-day workweek received a boost from New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern last week, when she encouraged companies to try it out as a way of stimulating domestic tourism over longer weekends. A shortened workweek in a post-COVID-19 world raises some interesting points. Like pretty much all companies, the social media app Buffer has been struggling with higher than usual stress and anxiety among its employees over the last several months. Continue Reading on Marketplace
As the world limps toward recovery, many news headlines seem to suggest we should accept this reality as our “new normal,” as if the story is all bad and out of our control. The truth is, while the pandemic and resulting economic impact are certainly outside our grasp, how we respond to crisis isn’t—especially at the level of each organization, and what we decide to do next. Continue Reading on Forbes
Change is hard, especially for large-scale transformation efforts. NLI wants to hear from you about your experience with change and disruption.
Jyoti Mehra, CHRO of Gilead Sciences, and Doug Shupinski, Head of Leadership Development at Merck are today’s guests. The discussion focuses on how Gilead is creating a culture of empathy, through leadership forums and developing a common language, and how Merck is meeting people where they are to keep learning and development going strong.
Mindset dictates the way we think about goals and determines how we interpret successes and failures. A growth mindset can help us thrive through crisis.
Coronavirus poses an extraordinary threat to our sense of control. The solution is to give employees autonomy wherever possible.
Bob Johansen, distinguished fellow at the Institute for the Future, and Amy Edmondson, Harvard professor and expert on psychological safety discuss what we can do today—for ourselves and for others—so that tomorrow, and the days after that, we’ll all be in the best position to stay healthy and successful.
We’re all trying to keep up with big changes. Here’s how Morningstar’s approach to crisis management is keeping its workforce engaged, happy, and healthy.
It feels like we’ve weathered an enormous storm in recent weeks. Seemingly without warning, forces beyond our control displaced us from our offices and cut us off from our colleagues, friends, and families. Now we find ourselves in an unfamiliar landscape, stripped of its familiar guideposts and riddled with new obstacles. With no clear vision of the road ahead, many organizations have had to forge their own paths. Continue Reading on Forbes
Brian Kropp, Group Vice President at Gartner, and Deb Bubb, Head of Leadership, Learning, and Inclusion at IBM, discuss the growing importance of inclusive habits at work: respecting people’s capacity to get things done, the challenges of playing multiple roles, and helping teams see that they really are in this together.
If you haven’t already seen the letter from CEO Brian Chesky to his team at Airbnb, addressing the impending layoffs, you likely will very soon. It’s already starting to be shared broadly, and based on my time studying and working with businesses, I would forecast that it will become either a bar for how layoffs are measured in the time of COVID-19, or, more hopefully, a blueprint. Continue Reading on Forbes
Social interaction significantly contributes to mental health—taking it away jeopardizes our stability. To stay connected, we to need bring back the personal.
When global companies centralize their global HR function, members of the HR team are asked to improve employee experience, rather than improve processes.
Amy Schultz, Director of Organizational Effectiveness & Learning at DTE Energy, and Rebecca Port, VP of Talent at Netflix, represent two essential services during a crisis—perhaps in their own way. In this episode, Amy and Rebecca touch on their approach to giving employees a sense of certainty, autonomy, and relatedness in the way leaders focus their teams.
Science tells us that people need simple, easy-to-use tools to think and work effectively. Here’s how that science can guide behavior change at your organization.
Diversity & inclusion isn’t a “nice to have” during a crisis. It’s how organizations ensure the best ideas help solve the most pressing problems.
Learn the essential habits for leading inclusive virtual meetings and keep your team engaged, collaborative, and innovative in the process.
Tracy Keogh, CHRO at HP, and Dean Carter, Head of Finance, Legal, and HR at Patagonia, are dealing with different challenges at their organizations these days. But what you’ll hear from each leader echoes the same point: During a crisis, it’s people—not business goals or numbers—that need to come first.
Dr. David Rock (Co-founder and CEO of NeuroLeadership Institute) provides CNBC Magazine with 3 simple ways to combat stress during a challenging time.
With a large number of employees working remotely due to the coronavirus outbreak, many are having trouble adjusting to the new reality, especially when there is uncertainty around the duration of the crisis. The pandemic has spawned a mental health crisis that business leaders need to reconcile with. Dr. David Rock, founder and CEO of NeuroLeadership Institute, a science-based leadership development company, has studied the way our brains react to trauma, and his team is working with several businesses to develop strategies that support employees. Continue Reading on Forbes
If the saying goes that first we make our habits, and then our habits make us, in times of crisis we had better make sure we form the right habits as early as possible. Our organizations and the livelihoods of our employees could be at stake if we don’t. Continue Reading on ATD
Consider a different perspective on current events: By “befriending the naysayer,” we can better navigate the pandemic, personally and professionally.
As we learn what change initiatives actually look and feel like, we want to share the themes and questions from our research to help you work through them.
California-based electric scooter rental company Bird recently laid off 30% of its workforce at once over a live Zoom conference call, due to the financial impact of the coronavirus on the business. It is reportedly the fastest start-up to have achieved a $1 billion valuation, also known as “unicorn” status, but its business has been ground to a halt by lockdown measures due to the pandemic. Continue Reading on CNBC
Performance conversations are a critical moment for leaders to help their team members feel supported and keep engagement steady.
Continue Reading on Forbes
High levels of stress and anxiety can affect your ability to focus. Science shows us how you can manage the threat, maintain focus, and stay productive.
With many employees working from home full-time, developing these five habits to mitigate distance bias is critical to good decision-making.
On this week’s episode of Rough Translation, Dr. David Rock (Co-founder and CEO of NeuroLeadership Institute) explains distance bias and provides some solutions to keep people connected.
Continue Reading on Forbes
Amid the CV-19 crisis, work relationships can be complex. The science of social threat and reward can help us understand and fulfill our partners’ needs.
Continue Reading on Quartz
Science can help us understand what leaders should do to navigate the uncertainty surrounding the corona virus crisis. Join Dr. David Rock to learn how.
Continue Reading on Forbes
Science can help us understand the data about the corona virus, what leaders should do to address the threat, and how to navigate these uncertain times.
Toxic cultures don’t stem from a lack of ping pong tables or free snacks. They stem from a poor set of priorities, habits, and systems.
Working remotely may be the new normal for the foreseeable future. Learn how you can make working remotely more brain-friendly, productive, and inclusive.
The NeuroLeadership Institute is looking to interview people who have led organizational change efforts within their companies for an upcoming project.
We can learn a lot from the failed speaking-up moments from ill-fated flights like the Challenger. Learn how to help your team speak up when it matters.
Leaders who offer flexible work arrangements increase the diversity of their hiring pool, new data suggest. They may also build greater inclusion.
Continue Reading on Forbes
Range is critical for not only individuals, but teams too. Learn how cultivating collective range can help your team defeat groupthink.
A distance bias occurs when we prioritize what’s closer in space or time than what’s farther away. Here’s how to mitigate the bias to prioritize better.
The culmination of the NFL season gives us a good opportunity to think about what great coaches can teach us about great leadership.
Continue Reading on Forbes
Ann Schulte is encouraging mindset and learning agility at Procter & Gamble to tackle challenges and disruption.
A major theme at the 2019 NeuroLeadership Summit, regenerative leadership is a set of practices that uplift employees, rather than deplete or sustain them.
Speaking up does more than just elevate new voices. It creates a richer, more creative network of ideas within an organization.
Building a leadership model is a bit like building a house. Both require coherence, the structural integrity that holds elements together.
Individual contributors all the way up to CEOs are curious where to start when it comes to diversity and inclusion. Here’s the brain-based answer.
At the 2019 NeuroLeadership Summit, we caught up with psychologist Dr. Valerie Purdie Greenaway to discuss what it looks like to scale social learning.
Continue Reading on Forbes
Even the most memorable leadership models won’t lead to behavior change if employees don’t find the model to be meaningful and relevant to their job.
While the Net Promoter Score is a widely touted figure in learning and development, a more useful measurement focuses on actual behavior change.
Let’s Start a Conversation Read the Full Case Study KEY INDUSTRY Financial Services PRACTICE AREA Culture & Leadership PRODUCT Trusted as the Bias Mitigation Partner To Some of the World’s Most Impactful Organizations Case Studies by Practice Area Across industries, we make organizations more human and higher performing through science. These case studies show the change we can co-create. Diversity, Equity & InclusionTake inspiration from firms that mitigate bias and create equitable cultures.Accelerate Inclusion Culture & LeadershipExplore how organizations transform their culture, and shift mindsets at scale.Transform Leadership Talent & PerformanceLearn how companies harness feedback to improve employee retention, engagement and development.Optimize Performance Want to Find the best solution for you today? Commit to Change Connect with NeuroLeadership experts to explore how you can transform your organization at impact, speed, and scale. Scroll To Top
The NeuroLeadership Institute’s new “Idea Report” highlights the importance of leadership models being “sticky” in the brain. Now think: Is yours?
How do you bring your organization’s purpose to life? By relying on the science of memory and motivation to go essential, rather than exhaustive.
Where most companies’ leadership models are exhaustive, Microsoft’s leadership principles contain just six words, split into three phrases.
Change will always feel slightly uncomfortable. The trick is using your mindset to interpret the change as an opportunity to grow.
The NeuroLeadership Institute’s latest Idea Report, “Building Brain-Friendly Leadership Models,” finds every effective model satisfies three key criteria.
As organizations strive to become more human-centric, leaders will need to confront their own abilities to share organizational truths through storytelling.
To create a culture of empathy, leaders should recognize that empathy isnt a single trait. Its a suite of skills to practice over time.
A major concept discussed at this year’s NeuroLeadership Summit was growth mindset, a critical tool for boosting teams’ performance.
Cigna, a global leader in healthcare services, has embraced growth mindset to transform both its agility and its approach to performance management.
Day 2 at the 2019 NeuroLeadership Summit focuses on the capacity of the human brain, how to humanize performance management, and scaling learning.
The opening session of the 2019 NeuroLeadership Summit focuses on the human: how to recognize the need for humanity and building cultures that value humans.
For the past few years, Microsoft has been embarking on a journey to diversify its workforce and increase feelings of inclusion company-wide.
Arianna Huffington, Founder and CEO of Thrive Global, explains on the Your Brain at Work podcast what “thrive time” is all about.
Modern working life is overrun with distractions, obligations, and burnout. Arianna Huffington, author and CEO of Thrive Global, has made it her mission to infuse more humanity into how work gets done. In this week’s episode, Arianna sits down with Dr. David Rock, NLI Co-Founder and CEO, to explore the problem of being “always on” and offer leaders strategies to make their own organizations more human.
Microsoft’s growth mindset has helped the organization develop into one of the most valuable companies in the world. Here’s how they did it.
It’s one of the most common missteps leaders make in expanding their talent pool: creating diversity without inclusion. Here’s why both matter.
Powerful people are revered for their visionary thinking and ability to inspire. But research also reveals the more dangerous, negative effects of power.
Dr. Mona Weiss studies why some people speak up at work, and others keep quiet. Here she presents leaders with some advice to raise quiet voices.
The most dangerous sound in any organization is silence. And yet, for many of us, speaking up is one of the hardest things to do at work. In this week’s episode, Assistant Professor of Management and Diversity at the Free University of Berlin Dr. Mona Weiss discusses her research around “employee voice.” She explains why personality alone can’t explain why some people keep quiet and why others make themselves heard, and offers research-backed tips to get everyone more engaged.
As detailed in our new white paper, “Growth Mindset: Case Study Collection,” the Telenor case study illustrates how companies of any age and size can adapt.
Diversity goes far beyond the mere notion of quotas. It’s how modern teams raise their collective intelligence and make smarter decisions.
Performance management can drum up some pretty intense emotions. Fortunately, leaders can use neuroscience to make it more effective.
Mastercard CIO Randall Tucker knows how to talk about diversity and inclusion so that people will listen. And it starts with a focus on business strategy.
No one wants to be told they need fixing, and yet this is the impression so many diversity and inclusion programs leave on employees. According to Randall Tucker, Chief Inclusion Officer at Mastercard, the smarter way to gain people’s buy-in is to frame D&I as an extension of an organization’s business goals. That way, Randall says, leaders can help people see D&I as a tool for building their skills, not correcting their flaws.
Growth mindset comes alive in a number of organizations, and a new NLI white paper showcases four of those success stories.
Leaders who cultivate an organizational growth mindset can focus their attention in a number of areas, all of them beneficial for overall team health.
For the last few years, Microsoft has been on a transformational feedback journey in which people stop giving feedback and instead start asking for it.
Whenever we learn something new, our instincts may lead us to internalize dangerous myths and mistakes. Continue reading on Thrive Global
This year’s NeuroLeadership Summit takes place November 19-20, but consider this your early opportunity to meet the Summit scientists today.
It’s among the most heart-stopping questions a person can receive at work: Can I give you some feedback? But research shows it doesn’t have to be so dread-inducing. Done right, feedback can spark transformation. On this week’s episode, Liz Friedman, Senior Director of Global Performance & Development at Microsoft, shares how America’s most valuable company is learning to make self-improvement an active effort through smarter feedback.
Performance management has been in flux for the last decade, and now NLI wants to hear from you about your experiences with the PM process.
In order to create more diverse and inclusive cultures, leaders need to learn how to change behaviors, rather than focus on changing beliefs.
Lynda Gratton, Professor of Management at the London School of Business, says everyone should ask themselves two questions related to the work they do.
Lynda Gratton believes the human experience is fundamentally shifting. It’s moving away from the three-stage life of education, career, and retirement, and instead moving into what she calls a “multi-stage life,” whereby people learn, work, and relax over many decades, well into old age. On this episode, discover how Lynda sees the future playing out in discussion with NLI’s Co-Founder and CEO, Dr. David Rock.
The question of how to launch a transformation can seem too big to tackle, but with a brain-friendly approach, there are a few first principles to follow.
It’s hard to know when we’ve assembled just the right people for just the right jobs. That’s where the idea of “thoughtful exclusion” comes into play.
Award-winning journalist Soledad O’Brien discusses the power of storytelling in helping leaders build inclusion throughout their teams.
The growing wisdom to “kill performance ratings” actually follows from an even larger observation about traditional performance management.
No one likes to feel like a number. And yet, so many organizations use rigid, ratings-based approaches for tracking employees’ performance. Rob Ollander-Krane, Director of Talent Planning and Performance at Gap Inc., has for years decided to take his teams in a different direction — namely, by killing performance ratings. In this episode, discover how Rob’s bold decision has ushered in a brand-new world of work.
More than 200 CEOs have agreed to put societal values ahead of profits. Here’s why brain science says this is a move in the right direction.
Deb Bubb, IBM’s Chief Leadership and Learning Officer, believes the AI revolution doesn’t necessarily mean job loss, just a great need for reskilling.
To help employees learn new skills, IBM knows those people need to feel connected to their work. Which is why for the past few years, Deb Bubb, IBM’s Chief Leadership and Learning Officer, has sought to create more tight-knit communities within the company. That means more women. More people of color. And more cohesion overall. Listen in as Deb shares her progress and philosophies in adapting to this reskilling revolution.
Dean Carter, CHRO at Patagonia, discusses how taking a “regenerative” approach to performance management truly gets the best out of people.
Whether it’s sharing an idea or challenging someone else’s behavior, speaking up at work is fraught with feelings of threat.
For thousands of years, humans have used storytelling to share their truths and connect with others. And yet, as so many of today’s organizations continue to diversify, leaders still struggle to include a range of perspectives, even for critical decisions. Award-winning journalist Soledad O’Brien shares her thoughts on our collective need to get a bit more personal.
Patagonia, the clothing company beloved for its mountain-ready apparel, has a vision for changing not just everything about human resources, but about how we do business — and it might just save us all. Dean Carter, Patagonia’s CHRO, joins us to discuss the fascinating crossovers between agriculture and human-centered management.
In organizations around the world, leaders face urgent issues: a crisis in employee engagement, the need to make workforces more diverse, and the challenge of making workplaces feel human in an era of increasing dependence on technology. At the NeuroLeadership Institute, we believe brain science can help provide solutions.
FD Wilder, recently retired after 38 years as the Global Head of Innovation at P&G, believes the fastest learner prevails in the end. In this episode, FD shares the approach Procter & Gamble has taken in this new fight for consumer dollars to develop the products that millions of people use every day.
Getting feedback doesn’t have to feel like an attack on your performance. With a growth mindset, feedback can become the useful tool it’s meant to be.
By using growth mindset, we can give performance reviews that are more accurate, less threatening, and support our team members to develop and succeed.
This year’s NeuroLeadership Summit will feature scientists doing research around teamwork, learning, motivation, and more.
A keynote session at this year’s NeuroLeadership Summit explores the social domains that can either motivate us to perform or cause us to recede in threat.
A recent poll suggests that HR leaders may see manager capabilities as a major obstacle in performance management, but they say the solution lies elsewhere.
Author and speaker Douglas Rushkoff will give the opening keynote address at this year’s NeuroLeadership Summit, speaking on why we should keep teams human.
Research has shown that leaders can improve multiple aspects of performance management by helping their teams to build a growth mindset.
Meaningful learning can’t occur when our brains are flooded with information. That’s why creating coherence in corporate learning content is so important.
The theme of this year’s NeuroLeadership Summit is “A More Human Organization.” Read more to learn what makes a refocus on people so vital.
Research suggests there are three key components that help teams achieve lasting behavior change: priorities, habits, and systems.
Growth mindset is instrumental for creating the right performance management, as it builds resilience in people and helps them embrace challenges.
Microsoft’s culture change journey has been marked by a persistent focus on going simple and establishing its essential leadership principles.
When leaders create the “conditions for insight,” as NLI calls them, they’re able to unlock the greatest creative potential from their teams.
There are two key habits leaders can build in their cultures to promote speaking up: minimizing a threat state in speakers and those being spoken to.
Continue Reading on strategy+business
Leadership models tend to be exhaustive, rather than essential, which makes them harder to put to use. Research suggests three key habits to focus on.
Reframing a common question around transformation may help leaders reduce the sense of threat often provoked by major change.
When the right people come together, teams can think and act more efficiently. At NLI, we call this balance “optimal inclusion.”
In many organizations, performance management conversations happen maybe four times a year. NLI knows how to make them a regular part of work life.
A key aspect of organizational transformation involves leaders getting buy-in from their teams. But leadership doesn’t come without followership.
The AGES Model helps organizations take a new approach to learning efforts, turning mandatory events into meaningful experiences.
Humans may instinctively resist change, since it threatens our current stability, but research suggests there are ways to reframe change as a positive.
Here’s how leaders create an environment in which both extroverts and introverts feel comfortable sharing their ideas in meetings.
Transformation is on just about every leader’s mind, but not every organization is equipped to handle major change. Science can help.
Every meeting contains some mixture of extroverts and introverts — people who speak up and those who keep quiet. Here’s how to raise quiet voices.
Scientific research suggests there are three key habits around quality conversations that leaders can build to improve employee engagement and retention.
As part of a research project, NLI wants to hear from talent leaders about the leadership models they’ve helped build in their organization.
Emails, texts, chats, and spur-of-the-moment conversations are all common distractions at work. Research suggests it’s hurting organizations’ bottom lines.
Join millions of employees in creating culture change at scale by reaching out today.
In 2007, David and Lisa Rock and their team had been working in leadership development and executive coaching for ten years, when David coined the term “NeuroLeadership.”ef
North America
Africa
South America
Asia
Europe
Australia
© NeuroLeadership Institute 2025. All Rights Reserved
This site uses cookies to provide you with a personalized browsing experience. By using this site you agree to our use of cookies as explained in our Privacy Policy. Please read our Privacy Policy for more information.