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The Neuroscience of Leadership

Article · September 2018

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Manu Melwin Joy

Cochin University of Science and Technology
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 TRENDING

There is a lot more to

Dr. Manu Melwin Joy
THE NEUROSCIENCE OF
underlying processes
of leadership. A whole
set of inter-neural
connections deep
within the brain and
how those connections

LEADERSHIP
can be harnessed in
the service of better
leadership hold the key
to a radical approach
to a reengineering
of leadership and
leadership styles.

O
rganisations across the
world are continually
looking for superior
ways to lead, engage,
connect, and engage
with others. Breakthroughs in the
neurosciences are helping to connect
the dots between human interaction
and effective leadership practices.
Although the developments are still
nascent, new technologies have
helped researchers to develop an in-
depth understanding of the complex
nature of the brain and human
behaviour. As studies about the
human brain show, we can expect
great revelations about the ways
in the grey and white mass
operates and how leaders
can use this information to
best lead individuals and
institutions.

Conventional
wisdom forces
leaders to
achieve better
results by
implementing
management
practices that,
in effect, lower morale
and reduce employee trust
and motivation. A better
understanding about

September 2018 . Pallikkutam . 57

 TRENDING
neuroscience has helped us to
improve leadership behaviours at a
lower cost to workers, and in turn, at
a lower cost to the firm. For example,
while we are nowhere close to being
able to scan a leader’s brain while s/
he runs a meeting, we can explore
some of the fundamentals of what
leaders do when making a decision,
solving a problem, conducting a
negotiation, or persuading others to
do something. There are been some
big surprises in the research. Here
are just a few:
THE PATHWAYS TO
LEADERSHIP
When exploring the intricate
processes involved with leadership,
many investigators study coherence.
Coherencecapturesthesynchronised
activity of various parts of the brain
in order to determine inter-neural
connections. Researches done on
the right frontal area of the brain
is significant to interpersonal
communication and relationships.
Coherence in this area of the brain is
58. Pallikkutam . September 2018
important for social skills, emotional
regulation, and self-awareness.
Studies have shown that leaders
who profusely used social language in
their vision and mission statements
were more likely to have greater
coherence in the right frontal part
of the brain than leaders with more
self-language. Leaders who employ
Resonant leaders
trigger attention,
social consciousness,
and positive
connections in their
employees, while
dissonant leaders
activate negative
emotions, disrespect,
restricted attention,
and reduced social
consciousness.
more social language were also
seen by workforce as being more
motivating and appealing in their
leadership styles. In effect, workers
viewed leaders who had more right
frontal coherence as being more
powerful leaders due to the volume
of social language they used.
SOCIAL ISSUES ARE PRIMARY
Before the advent of extensive
research in neuroscience, social
pain, like feeling insulted in front of
others or treated dishonourably, was
just something to ‘get over’. Studies
carried out by Naomi Eisenberger, a
psychologist and professor known
for her research in social psychology,
have shown that the brain considers
social pain much like physical pain.
One study revealed that Tylenol, a
pain reliever and a fever reducer,
brought down social pain more than
a placebo.
The human brain occasionally
regards social rewards like physical
rewards. For example, giving
affirmative feedback or treating
someone fairly can stimulate reward
centres in the same way or even
more than financial dividends
can do. There seem to be five
social rewards and threats that
are extremely vital to the brain:
status, certainty, independence,
relatedness, and equality. This
clarifies why giving feedback is
tough: Individuals treat feedback as
an attack on their ‘status’, which to
the brain is observed like a physical
attack. The brain counters these
attacks with the help of different
defensive strategies. This model
elucidates the incredible number
of conflicts, misinterpretations,
and tensions that one encounters in
everyday work-life, and points to
ways of ameliorating these.
RESONANT LEADERSHIP
Current research done at Case
Western Reserve University in
the U.S. identified an association
between resonance and effective
 leadership. Resonant style signifies
the compassionate nature of
the leader and his high levels
of emotional quotient. Being
dissonant, on the other hand, is more
dictatorial and objective. Using fMRI
scans, scientists asked managers to
reflect on their experiences when a
leader was resonant or dissonant.
Fourteen areas of the brain reacted
when they contemplated resonant
leaders as opposed to only six when
the subjects thought of dissonant
leaders.
In fact, as many as 11 areas were
disengaged when the subjects
thought of dissonant leaders.
What this signifies is that resonant
leaders trigger attention, social
consciousness, and positive
connections in their employees,
while dissonant leaders activate
negative emotions, disrespect,
restricted attention, and reduced
social consciousness. Resonant
leadership styles also help in
developing trust through the
discharge of oxytocin in their brains
and in the brains of their audience.
Oxytocin is a hormone that also acts
as a neurotransmitter in the brain
and is involved in social recognition
and bonding, leading to formation
of trust, generosity, and general
psychological stability.
RETHINK EMOTIONAL
REGULATION
Even though studies have shown
that stress affects performance,
recent updates look into the brain
to know why our emotional control
strategies worked. Research by
Matt Lieberman, a Professor and
Social Cognitive Neuroscience Lab
Director at UCLA Department
of Psychology, Psychiatry and
Biobehavioural Sciences (US), has
proved that the brain has just one
central ‘braking system’, situated
behind the left and right temples,
which is employed for all kinds
of braking, be it psychological,
physical, or emotional. The bad
news is this system has limited
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capacity and tires easily with use.
The good news is this system is
trainable, which explains why
many leadership initiatives consist
Studies have shown of individuals overcoming tough
that leaders who emotional events, giving them
an opportunity to develop their
profusely used social braking system. Leaders, who deal
language in their with extreme emotions all day,
vision and mission could do well to cultivate processes
or mechanisms that truly keep them
statements were cool under pressure.
more likely to have
THE ART OF
greater coherence NEUROFEEDBACK
in the right frontal Due to the elastic nature of the
part of the brain brain, neurofeedback can help
than leaders with the brain to build new pathways
that become involuntary in due
more self-language. course. This produces new habits
Leaders who employ and behaviours. So, neurofeedback
more social language can help leaders establish new
behavioural patterns and become
were also seen by better leaders. For instance,
workforce as being investigators asked a manager to
contribute to neurofeedback after
more motivating and he revealed anger management
appealing in their issues. With the knowledge
leadership styles. about the regions in the brain
that help anger management, the
neurofeedback analyst was able
to assist the manager stimulate
those parts of the brain resulting
in better emotional regulation.
After many meetings, he was able
to ‘rearrange’ his brain to generate
robust pathways in those parts of
his brain known to aid emotional
regulation. Neurofeedback has also
facilitated individuals in enhancing
their focus and react better to stress.
In light of contemporary
research, leadership training
could become a private brain-
based approach, aiding individuals
identify their problems and unravel
their true potential. While there
is still a lot of missing links in the
area as to how the brain can make
us better leaders, present and clear
evidence show that the brain is
the foundation on which effective
leadership is built.
(The writer is an Assistant Professor at
School of Management Studies, CUSAT.) 
September 2018 . Pallikkutam . 59