4 minute read
Leadership & social influence
RACHEL NYARADZO ADAMS
Rachel is a leadership practitioner and an ontological and personality coach that works with individuals and teams. She holds an honours degree in social science degree from UCT as well as a masters degree in African Studies from the University of Oxford.
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If you want to cultivate exceptional leadership and social influence, then I ask you to engage in only one task: spend time understanding the human brain.
While leadership is, at a basic level, your ability to influence inter-relational dynamics, most leaders spend little to no time learning about the workings of neuroscience behind leadership, teams, and individuals. Our brains are at the core of all the human issues we face at work: conflict, mistrust, communication challenges, misalignment in work practices, mental health challenges, strategic sabotage and so on. Below are some key neuroscience-based skills that will help you master leadership and social influence in a way that is truly human and relevant.
Create an enabling environment for the brain to thrive
You can’t effectively lead and influence people whose brains are not thriving. In a world that glorifies overworking, the most radical form of leadership and influence is making sure that your team is empowered to take care of the basic drivers of the brain. Make sure that they are getting quality sleep (which means stop sending emails at midnight!). Provide opportunities for movement or exercise during the day. Encourage healthy eating habits and practices that help to silence the mind through wellness programmes. Modern research is showing us that leaders who create an enabling environment for the brain to thrive, find themselves facing less resistance from the people they lead. Teams become more creative, better problemsolvers and can deliver the right energy to the work they are doing. It is a simple formula for the brain-smart leader.
Understand different personality types.
One size fits all has never and will never work. Different human beings process energy and information differently. Some need lots of information to feel empowered to make a decision, some do not. Some organise their project management in a linear fashion and some in a zig-zag. To try and influence these different categories of people in the same way is a grave error. Most importantly, understanding your own personality style and how you best lead and influence is non-negotiable. It allows you to gain clarity on your own leadership strengths and how to leverage them and lets you know what supporting acts you need to make up for your weaknesses. There are dozens of personality assessments on the market that can help you understand personalities better. Use them.
Understand that conflict is a natural and critical aspect of teaming
Of all the stages of a team, there is none more feared than conflict. Yet the more senior you become in an organisation, the more you will have to lead and influence through the management of conflict. So, it is vital that you learn to understand and embrace conflict early in your career. The first mindset shift is accepting that conflict is not only inevitable, but necessary. It reveals to you the true state of the team and the organisation and can be a source of great insight. When conflict arises, influence by celebrating it and creating a safe space for courageous conversations.
See the human side of people
When the going gets tough and you feel like people are not stepping up, do not address the adult in them. Speak to the part of them that is reluctant to take risks or to work harder. Speak to the part of them that is resistant. Speak to the values that they have cultivated over a lifetime. A lot of our reactions to the world are driven by memories of what scares or excites us or by what we deeply value. With other words, people’s reactions seldom have anything to do with what is happening in that moment. The best (and most difficult) way to do this is to take the time to understand the earlier influences of the people you lead and how those may manifest in the present day. If you do not attempt this, you will struggle to influence them deeply. Make the time to get to know people and deeply listen to what matters most to them.
Learn to tell good stories
Research done by McKinsey shows that influential leadership starts with a compelling story. Learn the art of storytelling, starting with learning how to tell your story. What inspires you? What compels you to lead? Why should anyone be led by you? Build on this story all through your career. It will help you to tell other stories that are more directly linked to the projects or the people you are leading.
