The overlapping traits of athletes and leadership. In this episode Judith Germain speaks to Dr Randy Brazie and Dr Geoffrey Vanderpal from Neuro Consulting on better decision making with neuroscience. They also discuss self-regulation, polyvagal theory, and their applications in leadership and business.
Key Takeaways
- Polyvagal theory explains how the vagus nerve mediates different physiological states (social engagement, fight-or-flight, shutdown) based on perceived safety/danger
- Being aware of one’s own state and learning self-regulation skills is key for leaders to manage themselves and interact effectively with others
- Poor self-regulation and toxic work environments lead to high costs from turnover, absenteeism, and lost productivity
- Integrating neuroscience with leadership models can provide powerful insights for better decision-making
Topics
Polyvagal Theory
- Developed by Stephen Porges, explains how vagus nerve mediates physiological states
- Three main states: social engagement, fight-or-flight, shutdown/freeze
- Brain automatically evaluates environment for safety/danger and triggers state
- Understanding one’s state is first step to self-regulation
Self-Regulation for Leaders
- Recognising own state and others’ states is critical for effective leadership
- Bringing awareness to reactions and learning regulation skills
- Techniques like mindfulness, breathing, orienting to environment
- Allows better dialogue, decision-making, managing people/situations
Costs of Poor Self-Regulation
- Toxic workplaces lead to high turnover costs (e.g. $35k per employee)
- Lost productivity, absenteeism, harassment/bullying claims
- Short-sighted leadership focused only on revenue, not human costs
- Challenges of remote work removing “community” aspect
Integrating Neuroscience and Leadership
- Randy and Geoffrey’s book “The Steadfast Leader” pioneers this integration
- Provides models, examples, techniques for better self/other awareness
- Helps overcome unconscious biases, past traumas impacting decisions
- Potential for more effective hiring, employee engagement, retention
Overall, the meeting covered some unexpected psychological and neurological concepts and their real-world business applications in a thought-provoking way.
Dr Geoffrey Vanderpal and Dr Randy Brazie combine their expertise in business and psychiatry to help others become better leaders.
Maverick leadership is all about thinking outside the box and challenging the status quo. It’s about having the courage to take risks and the confidence to lead in a way that is authentic and genuine.
But amplifying your influence as a leader isn’t just about having a strong vision or a big personality. It’s also about having the right leadership capability and being able to execute on your ideas and plans.
The consequences of not having the right level of influence as a leader can be significant. Without the ability to inspire and motivate others, you may struggle to achieve your goals and make a real impact.
How Influential Are you? Take the scorecard at amplifyyourinfluence.scoreapp.com and see.
Dr Randy Brazie and Dr Geoffrey Vanderpal can be found on LinkedIn here and here. Their website can be found here.
You can listen to Episode 441 on any of the popular podcast platforms or apps (including Spotify, and Audible). If you prefer to listen to your browser you can do that below. Enjoy!