Slides from Professor Katherine Boshkoff's for the Hult Management Psychology Club's March 23, 2012 event Management Rewired: What brain science teaches us about engaging and influencing others.
2. Why is Brain Science so “hot” in business?
“Secret decoder” for behavior
Scientific data to support insight
Building blocks for understanding what works
Offers the promise of lasting change
Relevant at the C-Level
6. Our history…
~ 4+ billion years of earth
3.5 billion years of life
650 million years of multi-celled organisms
600 million years of nervous system
~ 200 million years of mammals
~ 60 million years of primates
~ 6 million years ago: last common ancestor with chimpanzees, our closest
relative among the “great apes” (gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees,
bonobos, humans)
2.5 million years of tool-making (starting with brains 1/3 our size)
~ 150,000 years of homo sapiens
~ 50,000 years of modern humans
~ 5000 years of blue, green, hazel eyes
7. The Three Part Brain
Brain Stem
Limbic
Prefrontal Cortex
( PFC)
9. Negativity Bias
“Sticks” - Predators, natural hazards, social
aggression, pain (physical and psychological)
“Carrots” - Food, sex, shelter, social support,
pleasure (physical and psychological)
During evolution, avoiding “sticks” usually had more
effects on survival than approaching “carrots.”
Urgency - Usually, sticks must be dealt with
immediately, while carrots allow a longer
approach.
Impact - Sticks usually determine mortality, carrots
not; fail to avoid a stick today, no carrots tomorrow!
12. The Lizzard is fast…
• Every interaction is based on how a person
perceives danger and reward – processed in about
1/20 of a second
• We make these decisions biologically. 90% of our
brain processing operation is unconscious and not
known to us
• The limbic brain reaches a conclusion faster than
the PFC and the PFC catches up with the logic
13. Decoding the Lizard Brain
The limbic system is aroused by emotions
Makes toward or away decisions
Hot spots are patterns of experience stored in your
limbic system and tagged as dangerous
An overly aroused limbic system impairs your
cognitive functioning and dramatically reduces
resources to the prefrontal cortex (PFC)
Once aroused, trying to suppress it only makes it
worse and is very expensive on resource
14. Executive Presence Practice
1-2 min restores O2 and
stops fight or flight
response
Creativity research
shows that extended
meditation practice
increases abilities for
creativity and insight
15. Physical effects of Meditation
Strengthens anterior (frontal) cingulate cortex.
Results improve attention, empathy and
compassion
Increases activation of left frontal regions which lifts
mood
Increases power and reach of gamma-range brain
waves
Decreases stress-related cortisol
Stronger immune system
Source: Dr. Rick Hanson, Self-directed Neuroplasticity, Mindfulness, and
Meditation – UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 2011
16. SCARF Model of Social Threats and Rewards
Consulting & Innovation January 24, 2012
Module B 2011-2012
17. Change puts people in “pain”
Change=Uncertainty
• In times of change increase the sense of relatedness
and fairness
• When threatening one area balance out with others
• Some events produce a really strong SCARF response
i.e. “English is now our global language” creates threat
in all 5 areas
• There are strong cultural differences in SCARF.
Beginning to identify series of genes that makes
relatedness more important in some cultures.
18. SCARF
With a partner:
Think about the last time you were in a SCARF event
when someone triggered you:
What happened to set you off?
How might you handle the event differently next time?
19. You are the corporate athlete
The brain consumes 25% of our
daily calories
A well rested and fueled brain
has ONLY about 3 hours of very
high capacity resource per day
Ultradian cycles are unique to
each person - 90 minute cycles
Ruthlessly manage your
schedule and work in 90 minute
cycles with breaks
Prioritize processing tasks for the
limited times of high processing
capabilities
Fuel
20. You are the corporate athlete
Sleep is essential
Research shows:
Cognitive function decreased
to that of legally intoxicated
after only 5 nights of severe
sleep deprivation (4 hrs. per
night)
Long term sleep deprivation
(less than 7 hours per night)
inhibits memory
2 Rem Cycles needed for
maximum memory retention
10-30 minute nap shown to
sustain cognitive performance
90 minute nap restores memory
and enables cell repair
21. Getting Ideas to Stick - AGES
Attention
Generative
Emotional
Spacing
Source: Davachi, L., Maril, A. and Wagner, A.D. (2001). When keeping in mind supports
later bringing to mind: neural markers of phonological rehearsal predict subsequent
remembering. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 13:1059-1070.
22. Attention – get focused
Research shows that the
brain is single processor
capable of fast switching
on up to 7 tasks
However, multi-tasking
reduces time to
complete tasks by 25%
and overall IQ by 15 %
Practice – eliminate
distractions (devices, music,
interruptions)
23. Generative – use it!
Practice:
Ask questions
Engage in discussion
Do something that
works the concepts into
the brain – assignment,
survey
Be active
25. Spacing (and repetition)
7 repetitions to lay
down a new network
1000s to hard wire
Practice: space over
time, best if one night
of sleep in between
intervals – repetition!
MIT: Magnetic Resonance
Mathematical Model – Neuro-
networks of the Neo Cortex,
2008
26. Managing the brain; maximizing impact
SCARF for quelling the Lizard
AGES for impact, retention and memory
Corporate Athlete practices for surviving and
thriving as a busy student!
29. Skill development for Building Trust
Show Acknowledge
Rephrase Inquire
Empathy Feelings
30. Skill Development: Active Listening
• Use non-verbal cues - nod
Show Empathy:
70% of • “OK”
Communication is • “I got that…”
Non-verbal • Use open body language
• “Just to play back…”
Rephrase
• “What I hear you saying is…”
Acknowledge • “I hear you saying that…”
Feelings •
Inquire: • “Can you say more about…?”
Ask Open
Questions (How, • “Help me understand….”
What) • “What are the issues with…?
Notes de l'éditeur
Using recent research in brain science, Professor Boshkoff will discuss how to engage more effectively with others and maximize our impact by deploying brain – savvy techniques. She will provide insight on the processes of influence and will talk about the ways in which certain subtle behaviors attract or inhibit others with whom we engage.
Engaging: Everybody wants the “secret decoder” for why people (and they themselves) do what they do.Not Fluffy: Leadership behaviors backed by scientific explanations cease to be “nice to haves” and become mandates.Empowering: An understanding of biological programming provides the building blocks to design leadership practices that produce results.Normalizing: We are often privately ashamed of normal human reactions. Understanding our programming gives us compassion for ourselves and others.Relevant: Clients explore concepts, learn new tools and generate specific actions to address their most pressing issues.Staying Power: Leadership fads come and go. Our brains haven’t changed in 10,000 years.
~ 4+ billion years of earth! 3.5 billion years of life! 650 million years of multi-celled organisms! 600 million years of nervous system! ~ 200 million years of mammals! ~ 60 million years of primates! ~ 6 million years ago: last common ancestor with chimpanzees,our closest relative among the “great apes” (gorillas,orangutans, chimpanzees, bonobos, humans)! 2.5 million years of tool-making (starting with brains 1/3 our size)! ~ 150,000 years of homo sapiens! ~ 50,000 years of modern humans! ~ 5000 years of blue, green, hazel eyes
Well, according to the Rock and Schwartz article on the Neuroscience of Leadership, we have our brains to blame.Their article explains that change can be painful because it causes sensations of physiological discomfort. It requires the basal ganglia (which is this routine –loving portion of the brain right here) to hand over the keys and let the hard-working, attention intensive pre-frontal cortex to take over-- and it may cause the fear inducing amygdala to fire.To add insult to injury, organizational change is often introduced in routinely ineffective waysBefore we get past the first page of their article, Rock and Schwartz have thrown out two of the leading approaches to change managementBehaviorism, Change efforts based on incentive and threat (the carrot and the stick) , this, they say, rarely succeeds in the long run. and Humanism, the empathic approach of connection and persuasion doesn’t sufficiently engage people and this empathic approach can come off as persuasion which the brain pushes back against—again, it’s the basal ganglia fighting for homeostasis. What the brain wants, if it is to change and make new patterns, is to create that connection—solve that problem—themselves. I think we all prize that feeling we get when something “clicks”.
ACC primary monitor of attention. Helps integrate thinking and feeling Amygdala sportlightswhatsrelavant.Epinephrine increases heart rate to move more bloodNorepineprine shunts blood to large muscle groupsCortisol suppresses the immune system to reduce inflamation from woundsDigestion decreasesYour emotions intensitfy organizing the brain for action…your Amugldal which is hardwired to focus on negative info and to react intensly. Consequetnly when you feel stressed you feel fer and anger.Executive control and PFC decline. Like being in a car with a runaway accelleratorPFC pushes toward negative appraisals, attributions.Now the driver of the car thinks everyone else is an idiot. Consider your appraisal of situation when you are upset versus when you are calmer.Seth Grodin
Introduce the triune brain – PFC, Lizard (limbic) and brain stem. Show with a hand the three parts.Fondly called the amygdala hijack by pros in the business.
I’ll fill this in if you like the idea of a tool for the PFC as well as a tool for the LizardThis is the tool that integrates brain rules 4,5,6,7We are using these techniques in Elluminate sessions too!Davachi, L. (2004) The ensemble that plays together, stays together, Hippocampus, 14:1-3. Davachi, L., Mitchell, J.P. and Wagner, A.D. (2003). Multiple learning mechanisms: distinct medial temporal processes build item and source memories. PNAS, 100(4): 2157-2162 Davachi, L. and Wagner, A.D. (2002). Hippocampal contributions to episodic encoding: insights from relational and item-based learning. Journal of Neurophysiology, 88: 982-990. Davachi, L., Maril, A. and Wagner, A.D. (2001). When keeping in mind supports later bringing to mind: neural markers of phonological rehearsal predict subsequent remembering. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 13:1059-1070. Wagner, A.D. and Davachi, L. (2001). Cognitive neuroscience: forgetting of things past. Current Biology, 11: R964-967. Davachi, L. and Goldman-Rakic, P.S. (2001). Primate rhinal cortex participates in both visual recognition and working memory tasks: functional mapping with 2-DG. Journal of Neurophysiology, 85: 2590-2601. Sybirska, E., Davachi, L. and Goldman-Rakic, P.S. (2000). Prominence of direct entorhinal-CA1 pathway activation by cognitive tasks revealed by 2-DG functional mapping in the nonhuman primate. Journal of Neuroscience, 20: 5827-5834. Levy, R., Friedman, H.R., Davachi, L. and Goldman-Rakic, P.S. (1997). Differential activation of the caudate nucleus in primates performing spatial and nonspatial working memory tasks. Journal of Neuroscience, 17: 3870-3882. Rangarajan, A., Chui, H., Mjolsness, E., Pappu, S., Davachi, L., Goldman-Rakic P.S. and Duncan, J. (1996/7). A robust point-matching algorithm for autoradiographic alignment. Medical Image Analysis, 1: 379-398. Carden, S.E., Davachi, L. and Hofer, M.A. (1994). U50-488 increases ultrasonic vocalizations in 3-, 10-, and 18-day old rat pups in isolation and the home cage. Developmental Psychobiology, 27: 65-83.
Engaging: Everybody wants the “secret decoder” for why people (and they themselves) do what they do.Not Fluffy: Leadership behaviors backed by scientific explanations cease to be “nice to haves” and become mandates.Empowering: An understanding of biological programming provides the building blocks to design leadership practices that produce results.Normalizing: We are often privately ashamed of normal human reactions. Understanding our programming gives us compassion for ourselves and others.Relevant: Clients explore concepts, learn new tools and generate specific actions to address their most pressing issues.Staying Power: Leadership fads come and go. Our brains haven’t changed in 10,000 years.
Using recent research in brain science, Professor Boshkoff will discuss how to engage more effectively with others and maximize our impact by deploying brain – savvy techniques. She will provide insight on the processes of influence and will talk about the ways in which certain subtle behaviors attract or inhibit others with whom we engage.