Neuroleadership

Under neuroleadership refers to the transfer of knowledge of neuroscience known management theories . The neuroleadership thus represents a new management approach that builds on other approaches. The term was coined by management consultant David Rock and neuroscientist Jeffrey Schwartz and first published in an article in "Strategy + Business".

Approach according to Rock / Schwartz

In an article in "Strategy + Business" with the title "The neuroscience of leadership", David Rock and Jeffrey Schwartz formulate six theses that form the basis of their further considerations:

"Change is pain": Change means pain in the form of physiological exertion through the restructuring of networks in the brain.
“Behaviorism doesn't work”: The behavioristic approach of punishing and rewarding does not improve employee motivation in the long term.
"Humanism is overrated": The humanistic approach to motivate employees to solve problems independently through questions and empathy is overrated.
“Focus is power”: Active attention causes chemical and physiological changes in the brain.
“Expectation shapes reality”: Personal expectations change the perception of reality.
"Attention density shapes identity": The active directing of attention leads to a development of the personality .

Active attention to internal and external processes plays an essential role in the considerations of Rock and Schwartz. They point out that actively directing one's attention in a hectic and disruptive work environment is becoming an ever greater challenge.

Elger approach

In the German-speaking countries, Christian E. Elger , Director of the Clinic for Epileptology at the University Hospital Bonn , published the first publication on the subject of neuroleadership in 2009. He states that neuroleadership is not just a matter of change management , but that this approach is intended to generate a new understanding of processes and activities in the work area of managers. Elger identifies four essential systems of the brain that are relevant for neuroleadership. These are the reward system , the emotional system, the memory system, and the decision system . According to Elger, there are numerous scientific findings on these four systems that are helpful in typical everyday management situations. It also describes the transfer of these findings to five key areas of responsibility for managers:

Assess and decide
Negotiate and communicate
Assess and reward
Promote and motivate
Change and build

His approach differs from that formulated by Rock and Schwartz in that he incorporates basic humanistic and behavioristic assumptions into his considerations. He emphasizes the importance of the reward system, which releases dopamine when expectations are exceeded , for the motivation of an employee. In addition, he formulates seven basic rules of neuroleadership:

The reward system is the central control point.
The ultimatum game applies everywhere.
Prior information influences expectations and behavior.
Every brain is different.
There are no facts without emotions.
Experience determines behavior.
Situations can develop an unpredictable momentum of their own.

Approach according to Peters / Ghadiri

Theo Peters and Argang Ghadiri published the first scientific publication in German-speaking countries on neuroleadership in 2011. The basis of their conceptual understanding is the consistency theory of Klaus Grawe with the four neuroscientific basic needs for attachment, orientation and control, self-enhancement and protection as well as pleasure and avoidance of pain. They define neuroleadership as leadership that meets basic neuroscientific needs through organizational and human resources measures and thus contributes to the activation of the reward system (in the so-called nucleus accumbens ).

Furthermore, they also provide two approaches for the implementation of neuroleadership. The organizational orientation takes place with the ACTIVE model and with the following steps:

Analysis: Analysis of employees according to the characteristics of their four basic neuroscientific needs
Consistency profile: Creation of an actual profile of the current need fulfillment and a target profile of the desired needs
Transformation: Classification of the employee into types based on the consistency profile
Avoidance of inconsistencies: Identification and determination of (organizational) measures to avoid inconsistency
Agreement: Agreement between manager and employee on the new measures with operationalized goals

The behavior of the executives should be based on the PERFEKT scheme and serve the personnel-oriented implementation of neuroleadership. Here, too, the four basic neuroscientific needs form the basis, which are met by observing the following points:

Support and promote the development of the employee's potential
Encouragement of employees for new solutions and ways
Give feedback
Grant freedom
Emotional leadership
Communication at eye level
Transparent action

Empirical research on "neuroleadership"

In his "Information Portal: Neuroleadership", Rüdiger Reinhardt presents the results of the first comprehensive test of the assumptions of David Rock ("SCARF model") and that of Klaus Grawe ("Consistency theory"). A general aim of the research project was to examine what influence the five dimensions of the SCARF model and the five dimensions of the consistency theory have on job-related performance and health. In summary, it became clear that the personal characteristics developed on the basis of the consistency theory (in particular the motivational schemes as indicators of the experience of consistency according to Grawe) have a stronger influence on performance and health than the five variables of the SCARF model, which are the basis of the operationalization of the organizational variables (Leadership, processes, activity).