Even experienced leaders have no road map to help them navigate the current landscape. Find out what research can tell us about the leadership behaviors that are most important during this time of disruption.

1. Leading the Way Forward in
Unprecedented Times
Tricia Naddaff | President, MRG | May 2020

2. Host
Lucy Sullivan
Head of Marketing, MRG
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√ Slides
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3. A Brief Introduction
Tricia Naddaff
President, MRG
Management Research Group is a global leader in designing
assessments that foster a deep self-awareness and impact
people in profound and meaningful ways with solutions for
Leadership, Personal Development, Sales and Service.
MRG conducts extensive research on effective leadership
behavior, leveraging a database of more than 1.2 million
assessment participants.

4. Today’s Agenda
1.The brain in crisis: what
our brains are
experiencing now and
how to help
2.Leaders who effectively
handle uncertainty
3.Looking ahead:
reshaping leadership for
an uncertain future

5. [Footer text to come] Page No 5
The Brain in Crisis:
What our Minds are
Experiencing Now

6. “Knowing yourself is the
beginning of all wisdom.”
- Aristotle

7. Keep Us Safe

8. Conserve Energy

9. Threat Sensitive

10. Lazy

11. Older Parts of the Brain Control:
• Emotions
• Fight, Flight, Freeze Response
• Habits

12. Prefrontal Cortex (PFC) Controls:
• Higher reasoning/Abstract thought
• Working memory/focus
• Inhibition/willpower
• Planning/organizing
• Flexible decision making
• Empathy and moral conscience
• Patience and hope
• Metacognition: Insight and judgement
Amy F. T. Arnsten, Ph.D.
Yale Medical School

13. The Brain Under Stress
Older Brain
Prefrontal Cortex

14. The brain is in a
heightened,
threat-
sensitive
state
The brain’s
preference for
habitual
patterns
intensifies
Higher order
brain
functions
are limited
We feel fear,
anger & anxiety;
we are more
distracted &
less focused
What
happens
to the
brain in
crisis?

15. You can’t serve from an empty vessel.

16. Leading
from the
Inside Out
Taking care of…
Mind
Emotions
Spirit
Body

17. Evidence-Based Ways to Calm
and Center Ourselves:
What Helps
Sleeping
Healthy eating
Exercise
Spending time
outdoors
Meditation
Breathing exercises
Journaling
Music
Tapping (EFT)
Gratitude Practices
Humor
A reasonable
schedule
Helping others
Connecting

18. Evidence-Based Ways to Calm
and Center Ourselves:
What Hurts
The news
Overindulgence
Not maintaining boundaries
Trying to be perfect
Focusing on things you can’t control

19. Poll:
How are you doing in maintaining your own well-
being?
1. Great! I’ve figured out how to take really good care of
myself.
2. Pretty good. I’m starting to get into the right rhythm.
3. Some days are ok…other days are not so ok.
4. I’ve not been doing much to take care of myself.

20. How Employees
are Feeling
What Employees
Need from Leaders
Afraid
Distracted
Anxious
Uncertain
Overwhelmed
Scattered
Alone
Transparency
Communication
Support
Connection
Prioritization
Certainty
where possible
Small Goals
Acknowledgment
Flexibility

21. [Footer text to come] Page No 23
Leading Effectively in
Uncertain Times
A research study

22. 22 Leadership Behaviors
Specific, discrete,
observable actions
Example:
Feedback – Providing specific and
direct reaction to others’
thoughts, ideas, actions and
performance
Where do the data come from?
LEA 360™: the Leadership Effectiveness Analysis
A multi-rater leadership assessment used in more than 40 countries, with more than 1 million total participants from
around the world.
31 Leadership
Competencies
A set of several behaviors used
effectively in combination to
deliver a certain outcome
Example:
Ability to develop people (i.e., allows
room for mistakes, stimulates growth,
challenges positively, delegates
authority)

23. LEA Behaviors
CREATING A VISION
Conservative
Innovative
Technical
Self
Strategic
DEVELOPING
FOLLOWERSHIP
Persuasive
Outgoing
Excitement
Restraint
IMPLEMENTING
Tactical
Structuring
Communication
Delegation
FOLLOWING THROUGH
Control
Feedback
ACHIEVING RESULTS
Management Focus
Dominant
Production
TEAM PLAYING
Cooperation
Consensual
Authority
Empathy

24. About the Study

25. About the Study

26. Defining Effective Leadership in Uncertainty:
Key Competencies
Connected with People
Capacity to get people enthusiastic and involved
Willingness to listen
Straightforward, open communicator
Insight into people
Promotes employee engagement
1

27. Defining Effective Leadership in Uncertainty:
Key Competencies
Credibility/Instills Confidence
Credibility with management
Credibility with peers and direct reports
Overall effectiveness as a leader/manager
Ability to make effective decisions
Conflict management
Self-confidence
Shows resilience
2

28. Defining Effective Leadership in Uncertainty:
Key Competencies
Intellectually Sharp
Capacity for effective thinking
Fast Learner
Displays self-awareness
Tolerance for ambiguity
3

29. Poll:
Think of the leaders you are working with. What
aspect of leadership is currently most challenging
for them ?
1. Connecting with people
2. Demonstrating confidence/building credibility
3. Being intellectually sharp

30. Relative Importance: Connected with People

31. Relative Importance: Credibility/Instills Confidence

32. Relative Importance: Intellectually Sharp

33. Leading in Unprecedented
Times:
Turn up the Volume on…
Your Thinking
Think Strategically
Bring your expertise into play
Explore innovative ideas

34. Leading in Unprecedented
Times:
Turn up the Volume on…
Your Voice
Be compelling and persuasive
when you can
Balance enthusiasm with calm
Be clear and constant

35. Leading in Unprecedented
Times:
Turn up the Volume on…
Your Engagement
Be compassionate (to yourself
and to others)
Offer and ask for help
Invite input
Take initiative to lead

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Pause before Moving
Forward

37. Pause to Lead with the End in Mind
Observe
Diagnose
Engage
Reflect
Adjust

38. You can’t serve from an empty vessel…
…and you can’t do it all alone.

39. Even before now,
leadership demands had
become too complex for
any individual to master.

40. The heroic leader who
can do it all is a myth.

41. It’s time to move to
models and methods of
shared leadership.

42. 1. Co-Leadership
2. Thinking Partnerships
3. Running units like micro-organizations
4. Peer mentors and/or peer coaches
5. Peer advisory groups
6. A less hierarchical definition of leadership
6 Shared Leadership Methodologies

43. Take care of yourself.
Focus your approach to leadership on
only the things that matter most right
now.
Don’t go it alone. Create shared
leadership relationships.

44. Let’s not rush to go back to normal
before we decide what parts of
normal are worth going back to.

45. On the Way….
 Slides
 Recording
 Blog: Webinar Wrap-Up plus Q&A
 Resources
 Our Brain’s Response to the Pandemic
 Tedx Talk: Pausing to Access Wisdom
 Webinar: Shared Leadership
 Webinar: Compassionate Leadership

46. Questions
& Comments

47. Upcoming Events with MRG
CertificationsWebinars
LEA 360™
Starts June 3
IDI™
Starts June 9
Personal Directions®
Starts June 30
Employee Engagement: Practical Approaches to
Building and Sustaining Higher Levels of
Performance and Commitment
May 20
Motivation and Bias: Strategies for Developing
Greater Self-Awareness and Observational Skills
June 6
A Life Well-Lived? The Science of Satisfaction
June 10
Workshop
Using LEA™ and IDI™ for
Selection
May 27
*prerequisite: certification in
the IDI™ & LEA™

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Thank you.
Stay in touch.
research@mrg.com