Neuro-leadership is about engagement

“One doesn’t have to operate with great malice to do great harm. The absence of empathy and understanding are sufficient” (Charles M Blow)

Don’t we all love ‘position’ — a title, a promotion, status? Yes, even neuroscience affirms that status is a need that we all have, not in the sense of greedy ambition, but rather knowing and feeling secure with our place in the world. Dr David Rock’s SCARF model suggests that the human being’s brain responds biologically in a positive way towards reward and negatively to threats, driving defence mechanisms to counter any disruption to, or perceived attacks on, a person’s Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, and Fairness (SCARF). SCARF is defined as follows:

  • Status — your perceived importance in relation to others. Is the job you are doing creating value? Have you found your niche where you feel you can best contribute? Do others appreciate your involvement, participation, and contribution?

At work, or in any other organisation, when you feel left out, overlooked, or neglected, your brain perceives this as a threat and immediately you become distracted and anxious. You think less clearly, view work and colleagues as hostile and these result in reduced memory, poorer performance and a weakened immune system. When you feel accepted, included, and valued, however, you experience your role as rewarding, which translates into feeling positive or more optimistic, becoming more focused and engaged, innovative and creative, more able to learn, more willing to collaborate and get involved — all of which produce better results and increased resilience.

This is important information for the leader (manager/supervisor) in communication that takes place with employees. Instead of focusing on self (self-importance) and playing positioning games (climbing the corporate ladder), the leader should be asking the following questions in relation to expressing empathy and achieving understanding with employees:

  • Status — how can I show respect and appreciation? Am I recognising the achievements of team members and praising discretionary effort?

Neuro-leadership is about engagement. Leaders need to communicate with understanding and empathy to all employees to achieve collaboration, participation and meaningful contribution from team members. Leadership is not about personal status and self-importance, but rather enhancing the growth of others.

Free To Grow offers the programme, Engaging Leadership, to provide leaders with the skills and will to engage meaningfully with employees. For more information, contact me on jonathan@ftgsa.co.za

Originally published at https://www.stretchforgrowth.com on February 5, 2023.

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Jonathan has spent over 30 years focusing his efforts on developing people throughout the world. He believes that people have the most impact when stretched.

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Jonathan Mills

Jonathan has spent over 30 years focusing his efforts on developing people throughout the world. He believes that people have the most impact when stretched.