Six Concepts for Brain-Friendly Leadership: Leading Your Organization Smart and Easy

Abstract

Employees often comment that they work many hours a day but see little beneficial impact. These people possess adequate intelligence and work diligently, often to the point of losing sleep in favor of additional work time. Researchers have long known that sleep is vital to mood maintenance and body wellness. Does this brain-centered issue have implications for work efficiency, and do we as leaders need to know this to better lead? Recent improvements in technology have provided additional knowledge on how the brain functions. These discoveries enable researchers to see how a person processes information and which factors––sleep, for example––influence how well that processing occurs. However, it seems that these beneficial efforts in cognitive psychology and neuroscience are not applied effectively among the work force. Hence, this paper will connect six foundational concepts, from neuroscience and cognitive psychology (i.e., positive environment, movement, rest, non-monetary reward, repetition, and using gut feelings) to the field of leadership in effort to augment the emphasis of this burgeoning science on that field of study. These six concepts are not at all difficult to achieve in the workplace. Smart leaders are encouraged to take these small steps toward fostering a brain friendly workplace.