Neuroscience and ΔM

“Managing change with the whole person in mind”

Ute DiversiCanberra Change Management Community of Practice

5 February 2014

“I am an experimentalist and I think in images. Since I started working with x-ray in the late 1990’s, I am constantly amazed with how little I know.” —Hugh Turvey

Photograph by Hugh Turvey

What’s on my mind?

Associations and LinkedIn groups

Models

Multi Brain

Mindfulness

Neuroplasticity

PRISM Brain Mapping

SCARF by David Rock

Are your interactions brainless?

• Create a calm atmosphere• Minimise threat• Maximise reward• One idea at a time• Chunk the amount of content• Summarise and re-cap• Be patient with emotional

people or violent reactions• Don’t judge• Give people time to digests• Be mindful of your own

emotional state• Use humour• Beware of quick sugar fixes and

too much caffeine

The human brain

Okay, so here is some brain anatomy…

Cerebral cortex

Brainstem

Cerebellum

Frontal lobe

Parietal lobe

Spinal cord

Occipital lobe

Temporal lobe

Neo-cortex

Only humans have a neo cortex

Homunculus

… that translates into…

… and should not beconfused with:

“The three-pound universe”

“Neurons that fire together,wire together.”

Michael Merzenich

3 key players of the limbic system

Amygdalacontrols emotions,

activates ‘fight or flight response

Hippocampusinvolved mainly with memory

Basal Gangliainvolved in forming habits

Olfactory bulbs

2 ‘happy chemicals’

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopaminergic_pathways

The “Amygdala Hijack”

Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence, 1996

The Executive brain

home of our working memoryadjust actions and reactions

analytical thinkingcreate strategiesproblem solvingplanning aheadfocus thoughts

The injured brain can’t heal itself

The brain’s hardwiring cannot be changed

Aging in the brain is inevitable and irreversible

The brain loses millions of cells a day and those lost cells can’t be replaced

Fear, anger, aggression overrule the higher brain

Multitasking

Brain hemisphere dominance

Some myths busted

Some principles

• Wired to minimise danger and maximise reward!

• The software writes the hardware

• The human brain is an intensely social organ

• Brain is wired to default to foe

• NO 2 brains are the same

• Emotions R contagious

Some models

Competency Frameworks

Effective Recruitment

Customer Sales & Service

Effective Coaching

Team BuildingLeadership

Development

Change Management

Emotional Intelligence

Performance Appraisal

PRISM Brain Mapping

• Unique way of identifyingbehaviour preferences based on brain activity.

• We are at our bestwhen we use ournatural preferences.

• Recognises thatbehaviour can vary.

PBMA Copyright 2012 info@PBMA.com.au

Example: Role alignment

A large government department had undergone a significant change program. As part of the program a

particular role had changed. The organisation wanted gain greater clarity of what was the ‘old’ role and what

was the ‘new’ role…

The organisation found that the ‘old’ role was unclear and varied from region to region…

This led the organisation to a new question as to whether the ‘new’ was in fact what was strategically required by

the organisation at this time…

Source (text shortened): PBMA Copyright 2012 info@PBMA.com.au

Example cont’

Pre change role variance

PBMA Copyright 2012 info@PBMA.com.au

Agreed role

Multi brain model

Cephalic brain

• HEAD

• cognition

• strategising

• making sense

Enteric brain

• GUT

• identity

• self protection

• activation

Cardiac brain

• HEART

• emoting

• values

• relationships

Source: YouTube presentation by Marvin Oka, www.opendoorcoaching.com.au

http://youtube/E0Hh2eT-ulE

Mindfulness“Paying attention on purpose in the present moment

without making judgements.”Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn

Neuroplasticity

The softwarewrites the hardware!

Sentis YouTube animation:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELpfYCZa87g&sns=em

Starcraft 2

• Korean professional

• 300 APM – actions per minute = 5 per second!!

“noob APM=0-120 intermediate APM=121-199

pro APM=200-399 gosu APM=400-800

These are the average APMs and it has to be consistent throughout the whole game. Only one person got to 800 apm tho... JulyZerg got there, but it wasn’t his average.

My average apm is 200”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yfMoIVTilo

SCARF

away from… towards…

David Rock on YouTube:http://youtu.be/isiSOeMVJQk

SCARFStatus “Will I lose my influence, high

paying job, team, corner office, sexy job title?”

• ask their opinion and seek their exert advice• listen• include and appreciate• ask for help and include them• avoid jargon

Certainty “What exactly does that mean for me and my team?”

• eat the elephant bit by bit• refocus people on what is certain• be open about what you are uncertain about• set goals and expectations and stick to them• communicate often and with transparency

Autonomy “Do I lose the amount of control I have over what I do?”

• delegate clearly and co-decide on tasks• encourage self-directed learning• allow team to make their own decisions• encourage people to find answers proactively• pay attention to when directive is needed

Relatedness “Does my role change or do I lose my job and therefore all my mates at work?”

• find things you have in common• set up a buddy system• get to know what motivates them• encourage everybody’s input and team cohesion• listen, coach and mentor

Fairness “How is that supposed to be fair?”

• ensure everybody has access to information• increase positive culture and sense of ‘I have a say’• acknowledge emotions, show empathy• understand that fair does not mean equal• don’t shy away from behavioural issuesBased on Tips Sheet by Sue Langley

Look after your brain

Top 8 brain foods

Some quotes

“Happiness depends more on the inward dispositionof the mind than on outward circumstances.”Benjamin Frankl

“Carrot and stick approachdoes not work with the knowledge worker!” Kristen Hansen

“Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.” Albert Einstein

Some associations

• International Brain Research Organization (1960)

• European Brain and Behaviour Society (1968)

• Society for Neuroscience (1969)

• Australasian Neuroscience Society (1971)

On LinkedIn:

• Neuroscience

• NeuroLeadership

• Brain Savvy Facilitators

Some reading

• www.your-brain-at-work.com/files/NLJ_SCARFUS.pdf

Kindle e-books:

• Your Brain at Work – David Rock

• Super Brain – Deepak Chopra and Rudolph E. Tanzi

• Brain Matters in Business – Jonathan Jordan

• The Leadership Catalyst – Kevin Zachery

• How Successful People Think Smart – Dr Jill Ammon-Wexler

• Beyond Cynical: Transcend Your Mammalian Negativity –Loretta Breuning

• Meet your Happy Chemicals – Loretta Breuning

Some web links

• http://www.pbma.com.au/

• http://www.neuroleadership.org

• http://www.langleygroup.com.au/

• http://www.anneriches.com.au/

• http://www.edbatista.com/2010/03/scarf.html

How the brain workshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UukcdU258A&feature=youtu.be

Brain friendly discussion

Humour and good company for happy hormones…

…and a classy plastic cup of wine…

…some nuts and blueberries to

nibble on…

Please drive safely!