NEUROLEADERSHIP

Rather than merely looking at rote knowledge or the mythology of iconic public figures, Neuroleadership focuses on the effectiveness of leadership at conscious and subconscious levels. It privileges the anthropology of human development as a tribal species, the sciences of motivation and neurobiology, and modern cultural contexts and expectations.

The NEURO-M Neuroleadership Assessment concerns itself with 2 crucial aspects of leadership:

PRIMAL RESONANCE

This section measures how much someone instinctively looks and feels like a leader to others, based mostly on “natural” attributes and presence. This intuitive judgement is made by others at every level of status, occurring at a subconscious level, partly programmed through DNA, and partly through life experiences and influences. This is the arguably the more compelling aspect of leadership influence but is generally ignored in modern leadership assessments and training programs.

LEADERSHIP PRACTICES

This section measures habits in the practices most reliably and universally proven to engage, inspire and motivate others in modern contexts. It also compares types of individual style preferences, each of which may be situationally appropriate. These are the most “trainable” areas of leadership but, when planning self-development in this area, it is important that changes are authentic for each individual to amplify the resonance and trust they trigger in others, as well as for their own fulfilment and wellbeing.

This assessment can be assessed as a stand-alone guide to current leadership style and likely effectiveness. It also precedes the Neuroleadership Training Module as a baseline for personal development awareness and choices.

Supervisory Management

Supervisory managers are often under the most pressure for 2 reasons. The first is that that they can feel like “the meat in the sandwich”, caught between the demands of superiors and subordinates in largely operational functions. The second is most supervisors do not receive adequate training, so they do their best without a mental “handbook” to refer to.

The NEURO-M Management Assessment explores areas including:

• Empowerment
• Delegation
• Feedback
• Communication style
• Mentoring and correcting

This assessment can be assessed as a stand-alone guide to current management style and likely effectiveness. It also precedes the Empowered Management Training Module as a baseline for personal development choices.

Workplace Culture

Culture is influenced and shaped by many forces, creating a set of behaviours that people adopt in order to survive, or perhaps even thrive, in the social context they find themselves in. Embedded in our DNA and shaped by our experiences and basest motivations, culture is a major subconscious influence that drives what people believe, think and do. In the workplace, workgroup cultures vary, often dramatically, within the same organisation, reflecting dominant physical and social environments

The NEURO-M Workgroup Culture Assessment explores foundations and habits of culture including:

• Perceptions of Safety
• Motivation and Fulfilment
• Workgroup Identity
• Individual vs Collective
• Person vs Cog
• Open vs Closed
• Innovation vs Compliance

And more

This assessment can be assessed as a stand-alone guide to workgroup culture with implications for all activity and outcomes. It also precedes the Leading With Culture Training Module as a baseline for awareness and choices in shaping preferred workgroup cultures.

The methodology of most modern management and industrial relations practices, extrinsic motivation is based in externally imposed rewards and penalties. Extrinsic motivational sources can only be effective of they are linked, however subconsciously, with perceptions of intrinsic fulfilment.

This assessment can be assessed as a stand-alone guide to current motivational influences at front and back of mind. It also precedes NEURO-M Motivation at Work Training as an insight into personal motivational balance for personal development awareness and choices.

MOTIVATION AT WORK

Motivation shapes attitudes, thoughts, efforts, actions and outcomes, yet is almost universally ignored on anything more than a superficial level in the workplace. It is unrivalled as a determinant of individual performance, behaviour and fulfilment at work, and, through leveraging the neuroscience of motivation and NEURO-M motivational guidelines, can be identified, measured and managed for optimal work experiences and outcomes.

The NEURO-M Motivation at Work Assessment measures and compares the 2 sides of motivation:

INTRINSIC MOTIVATION

This is the motivation that is largely programmed through DNA for survival as a complex, interdependent social species. It is purposed with achieving intrinsic fulfilment, the pursuit of which fuels optimal performance and the realisation of which supports optimal wellbeing.

EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION

The methodology of most modern management and industrial relations practices, extrinsic motivation is based in externally imposed rewards and penalties. Extrinsic motivational sources can only be effective of they are linked, however subconsciously, with perceptions of intrinsic fulfilment.

This assessment can be assessed as a stand-alone guide to current motivational influences at front and back of mind. It also precedes NEURO-M Motivation at Work Training as an insight into personal motivational balance for personal development awareness and choices.

Workplace Culture

Culture is influenced and shaped by many forces, creating a set of behaviours that people adopt in order to survive, or perhaps even thrive, in the social context they find themselves in. Embedded in our DNA and shaped by our experiences and basest motivations, culture is a major subconscious influence that drives what people believe, think and do. In the workplace, workgroup cultures vary, often dramatically, within the same organisation, reflecting dominant physical and social environments

The NEURO-M Workgroup Culture Assessment explores foundations and habits of culture including:

• Perceptions of Safety
• Motivation and Fulfilment
• Workgroup Identity
• Individual vs Collective
• Person vs Cog
• Open vs Closed
• Innovation vs Compliance

And more

This assessment can be assessed as a stand-alone guide to workgroup culture with implications for all activity and outcomes. It also precedes the Leading With Culture Training Module as a baseline for awareness and choices in shaping preferred workgroup cultures.

LEADERSHIP RESILIENCE

Resilience is a conceptually simple function of the brain’s motivation system with an emphasis on the 3rd process of self-regulation. We all have strategies we draw on when under high pressure, with varying levels of effectiveness and qualities of outcome – personally and professionally. IQ has been linked to capacity, but there are many skills and habits that support superior coping and thriving in the face of pressure and adversity. There are two main sides to this:

SOCIO-EMOTIONAL

This area relates to the personal and interactional habits that support continued effort and personal wellbeing. High scores in this area reduces the chances of feeling isolated, unsupported or personally incapable, and therefore being incapable or unwilling to continue.

PRACTICAL

This relates to task-focus and clear thinking under extreme pressure. High scores indicate good habits in good decision making, tenacity and productivity when the pressure is on.

This assessment can be assessed as a stand-alone guide to current leadership resilience habits and likely effectiveness. It also precedes NEURO-M Leadership Resilience Training as awareness for personal development direction and choices.

COMMUNICATION 360

Human communication started a long time before evolution allowed for the ability to control air movement around 500,000 years ago, most likely for humming and basic sound shapes, or the ability control tongue movements and the gene that made grammar possible around 300,000 years later. The modern human brain has areas dedicated to creating and understanding speech and written language, but the parallel, and often more compelling, processing in more primitive regions remains.

The NEURO-M Communication 360 Assessment measures and compares habits and skills in:

EXPLICIT – PRACTICAL INFORMATION SHARING

How, and how often, information is shared, predicting likelihood and effectiveness of mutual understanding of “rational” content

IMPLICIT – SAFETY, ENGAGEMENT & TRUST

The things that help messages resonate and are likely to engage with others at more than a “machine” level. This is the area that the greatest communicators excel in to engage the support and best efforts of others, even if there are gaps in aspects of their positions

This assessment can be assessed as a stand-alone guide to current communication habits and likely effectiveness from a holistic perspective. It also precedes the NEURO-M Communication at Work Training Module as an informative baseline for personal development.

CONFLICT STYLE

People approach interpersonal differences in different ways, according to habits, situation, confidence, importance, power balances and so on. Individually, we have our own common patterns we follow at these times. This is predicted by myelinogenesis in all cases, and sympathetic nervous system activation at times of heightened emotions.

The NEURO-M Conflict Style Assessment compares the prevalence of:

• Assertiveness
• Accommodating
• Avoiding
• Compromising
• Collaborating

This information is a stand alone-resource, and is also often used as a pre-employment candidate assessment resource for roles involving managing others, teamwork or otherwise frequent interactions. It also precedes NEURO-M Conflict Resolution Training as a baseline for personal development.

TEMPERAMENT

Every other temperament assessment, including those that dominate popular thinking, is inherently flawed and unhelpfully misleading, despite “feeling right”.

There is a very simple reason for this:

• Neuroscience dictates that behavioural patterns must be mostly habitual, and therefore predictable, supporting the conceptual validity of temperament typology and allowing us to recognise patterns in ourselves and others that can easily have us feel all that therefore the information must be true.
• Neurobiology dictates that behavioural patterns in and out of stress may be entirely different, debunking the idea that an all-purpose category or spot on a chart, with generic ups and downs, can be reliably accurate. Our research has showed an average shift of 49% in behavioural patterns at times where the person is most likely to have been in a position of distress or anger, supporting this scientific prediction.

Together, these two elements support the concept of temperament-typing as a predictor of behaviour, but not in the non-scientific manner commonly practiced, leading to misinformation and serving very little useful purpose. The NEURO-M Situational Temperament Assessment is unique in the science and, as well as its accuracy, reliability and practical application as a self-development, management and/or recruitment resource. evidence in use that supports it

This assessment can be assessed as a stand-alone insight into behavioural patterns in and out of stress and is an essential element of the NEURO-M Candidate Assessment Suite. It also precedes Mindful Engagement Training as a baseline for awareness and choices in developing and enhancing preferred personal behaviours and reputation.

TEMPERAMENT & POSITIVITY

The NEURO-M Situational Temperament and Assessment is unique in reliably differentiating behavioural patterns in and out of stress. Unlike other predictive behavioural assessments, it is grounded in neuroscience, neurobiology and extensive use and research. It is most useful for predicting how candidates will most commonly behave, despite representations and impressions they make in interviews, or the comments of their hand-picked referees.

The inclusion of positivity allows for judgements around:

• The likely prevalence of positive or negative behaviours, subject to people, environments and unexpected stresses
• Likely “attitude”, including problem- or solution-orientation, with implications for culture, risk, innovation, quality and achievement

The NEURO-M Situational Temperament Assessment is unique in the science that supports it, as well as in its accuracy, reliability and practical application as a recruitment and management resource.

PREFERENCES, RISK & INTEGRITY

This Assessment firstly compares preferences in and between workplace preferences. It compares:

• Appetite for Career Growth vs Stability
• Assertiveness vs Aversion to Conflict
• Compliance vs Innovation
• Workable Outcomes vs Attention to Detail
• Existing Knowledge vs Openness to Learning
• Flexibility
• Working alone vs with Others
• Verbal vs Written Communication

This assessment also measures attitude and potential influences toward risk. “Ideal scores” in both sections necessarily vary according to the role, coming together to indicate aspects of attitude and how someone feels they would like to work and be managed.

The final and often most compelling finding of this assessment relates to integrity in responses. It is always a challenge for employers to reliably estimate the honesty of applicants, and this assessment is designed to show up where participants have chosen answers they might feel are “correct”, or what you want to see. This can be reliably useful as a guide to likely reliability of other representations made by the applicant, as well as a predictor of likely honesty when there is something to be gained or lost during employment.

In valuing honesty in addition to other insights, the NEURO-M Preferences, Risk and Integrity Assessment is unique in that it simply doesn’t assume that the answers provided by applicants are true. This is a fundamental flaw in other pre-employment assessments, making this assessment a unique and invaluable candidate evaluation resource.

MOTIVATION AT WORK

The NEURO-M Motivation at Work Assessment measures and compares the 2 sides of motivation in job applicants:

INTRINSIC MOTIVATION

This is the type of motivation that supports engagement, discretionary effort and fulfilment at work. If there is a mismatch between motivation levels and experienced fulfilment, it instead fuels disengagement, poor behaviours and resignation. A good match is vital for performance and a positive work attitude. The are 4 main categories of work motivation, 2 being mostly socio-emotional, and 2 being more related to achievements and tasks.

EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION

This is the type of motivation that focuses on tangible outcomes, such as hours, pay, conditions, benefits and so on. It is the essence of the traditional workplace transaction and hierarchical structures.

Extrinsic rewards alone cannot address more than minimum work requirements but through simplicity and replicability are often an effective and transparent resource for managers.

Exposing the extents and balances in and between intrinsic and extrinsic motivators provides hiring managers with a good guide as to whether a candidate is likely to become engaged, fulfilled and stable in a role. It also provides managers with a strong indication of what a candidate is most looking for in their work, and for decisions to be made about how compatible that is to

CONFLICT STYLE

People approach interpersonal differences in different ways, according to habits, situation, confidence, importance, power balances and so on. This is predicted by myelinogenesis in all cases, and sympathetic nervous system activation at times of pressure and distress. Being able to predict the common habits of applicants helps employers understand what they can expect and make choices about how acceptable that is for preferred workplace culture and goals.

The NEURO-M Conflict Style Assessment compares the prevalence of:

• Assertiveness
• Accommodating
• Avoiding
• Compromising
• Collaborating

This assessment is used as a predictor of interpersonal interactions where there are likely differences, minor or major, to be dealt with. It is recommended for roles involving managing others, teamwork or otherwise frequent interactions.

LEADERSHIP RESILIENCE

Resilience is a key predictor of continued effort and likely success in the face of challenges and setbacks. It involves socio-emotional skills and habits, as well as those relating directly to practical elements of focus, clear thinking and problem-solving. High scores in both predict enhanced capacity, cooperation and wellbeing for a leader and their team.

The NEURO-M Leadership Resilience Assessment is essential as a recruitment resource for anyone in a leadership role where challenges and setbacks are likely to exist. It is also useful for highly independent roles, where, although the challenges themselves may not be as complex, there is a need to draw on internal focus, energy and problem-solving. The balance between independent and team-based approaches is one of the findings in this assessment.