How an Understanding of Neuroscience Helps Create and Sustain a Thriving Workforce Stefanie Nieto Johnson, MSW ACC 2018 NSWM Conference San Diego, California * All information/materials used only with permission by The NeuroLeadership Institute *
Welcome Agenda The Brain 101 Social Threats Perception Regulating Emotions
A Little Bit About the Brain Brain s fundamental purpose = to keep you alive Is the world dangerous or helpful? Sensing danger/threat or reward has a dramatic impact on how and what you think Working memory limited - We can only hold so much information in our minds at one time so when we get too much detail about a topic we literally can t hold another point of view
Six Insights About the Brain Up close no two brains are alike The brain creates millions of new connections each second The brain hardwires everything it can Hardwiring drives perception It s practically impossible to deconstruct our wiring It s easy to create new wiring
- 4-5% volume of the rest of the brain Prefrontal Cortex (PFC) - Not completely developed until 23-25 - Responsible for high level thinking process - Controls working memory - Decision making/problem Solving - rely heavily on it - If consciously thinking = Using it
Call it Goldilocks PFC Limitations Can hold only about 4 pieces of information at any one time Uses a lot of the brains glucose and oxygen resources when active Easily distracted - takes glucose and energy to manage distractions leaving fewer resources for important functions
Limbic System Emotional experience connected to it When overly aroused (real or perceived danger) Executive functions shut down ability to perform habitual behaviors enhanced Limbic responses reduce resources available to PFC - less glucose and oxygen available
Limbic System and PFC Limbic system is regulated by PFC If Limbic system and PFC not adequately communicating - Difficulty getting motivated - Hard time regulating emotions & stress - Poor self regulation Threat response decreases perception cognition creativity collaboration Reduced ability to clearly see issues, solve problems, work with others
Brain s Organizing Principle Minimize Threat Maximize Reward AWAY Threat TOWARD Reward Perception Working Memory Insights Collaboration
S.C.A.R.F Model Dr. David Rock Social Threats \ The purpose of the model is to provide an easy way to remember and act upon social triggers that generate a toward/away state Status Less than or better than Certainty Ability to predict outcomes Autonomy Sense of control Relatedness In group or Out group Fairness Perception of fair exchange
SCARF Order \ What is your SCARF order? How do SCARF domains impact the teams you work with? SCARFSolutions.com
Perception Humans are meaning making machines Brains love connections but it s easier to make connections around things already know/experiences had This is where assumptions are made This is where we can easily be triggered We might interpret something as being one way when that might not be the case
Choose Your Focus 5 levels/places on which we focus whenever we are thinking about or working on an issue or project
We regulate emotion in one of 3 ways Regulating Emotions \ Express Feeling and giving expression to emotion Suppress Hiding your emotional response Cognitive Change Selecting the many meanings you might want to attach to an event. May have only 1-2 seconds once you experience the threat
Options for Regulating Emotions \
Questions? \
De Waal, Franz. TEDTalk - Moral Behavior in Animals. References https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkhad0tyny0 NeuroLeadership Institute. Brain Based Coaching Program Rock, D. (2007) Quiet Leadership: Six Steps to Transforming Performance at Work. Rock, D. (2013) Your Brain At Work.