Business
assumptions regarding their relationships with followers. They seek to build strong chains of mutual influence with their followers, aligning personal goals of those led with those of the organization. They support their followers and harvest a similar endorsement in return. They take the time to pay attention to details, both in regards to their followers, as well as themselves. They light the way, rather than sending their followers ahead into the darkness. They tolerate mistakes (Rigsbee, 1996), earnestly made by followers, in the pursuit of excellence. Any employee can become a leader when it is understood that leadership is an acquired skill demanding a great deal of time, effort and practice.
We argue that everyone in the organization should strive to become a leader within the context of the demands of their job. By choosing a leadership role, each of us becomes a pebble tossed into a pond, causing ripples to ultimately spread throughout the entire organization that inspire measurable results, in terms of significant performance improvement, creative approaches to problem solving, and many other benefits
Leadership is hard work because it means stepping forward and taking the time to motivate each follower on a personal basis, according to the principles of the model of expectancy theory. But if we are unwilling to expend this effort, we are really denying those around us the benefits of potential contributions arising from our use of influence to achieve the outcomes of the vision, and in the long run, we are choosing to forego our own opportunities to grow. In so doing, we sadly short-change ourselves and all others we work with, by failing to create the future everyone seeks.
A new neuroscience of leadership: bringing out more of the best in people
To be effective in today's complex and changing world, managers need new insights and skills that up-end conventional thinking about human potential, trust, energy, initiative, and commitment. Neuroscience holds the key to accomplishing this goal. The old belief was that all sensory input went directly to the brain, where a behavioral response was shaped. The new findings show that the gut brain and the heart brain are involved first. It is shown how accessing all three brains can improve leader effectiveness.
As scientific investigations began, a handful of business thinkers and leaders were using newly discovered fundamentals of neuroscience to help them build inventive and enduring organizations.
"The brain is a wonderful thing," wrote the poet Robert Frost. "It starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get to work." He was more right than he knew.¡ªRobert Frost
Keep tapping all of your sources of wisdom and insight, not just one. Each time you face an important moment during the day, ask: what does my gut say about this? My heart? My head? Then listen more clearly to each of those three streams of intelligence as you decide how to act or interact. With practice, this will not slow your ability to make on-the-spot decisions; rather, it will [next page]