Using Your Brain To Build A Successful Team

In the new world of work, the ability to inspire and gain the confidence of the teams we lead is paramount. Today’s leaders need to understand how the brain works to regulate our emotions and reactions. It is essential in creating the right environment so that people can do and be their best.

Two Significant Changes In Leadership

I was fortunate to interview Skander Malcolm, former CEO GE Capital in Australia & GE Healthcare in Turkey for my upcoming 2018 documentary Make Me A Leader. He believes, successful leaders must demonstrate two key attributes. The first is speed. Everything now happens quickly and information must be shared fast. Secondly, because employees at all levels have to experience and interpret rapid change, leaders must become much more empathetic.

In his own career, Malcolm told me that he was fortunate to work for good companies with great leaders. He understood that change was inevitable. He saw his job as a leader to interpret the change and help people accept it and retrain if needed.

Your Brain Is Your Friend. Time To Train It!

Understanding how your brain works is essential if you are going to be a successful leader. You must figure out how to handle change yourself and then help others to better-use their own brains to adapt.

Leadership development can help to train your brain. Any training designed to build the leaders we need to deal with today's complex challenges must also include brain optimisation. We now need lead with the brain in mind.

“I think leadership development is crucial to any ambitious company.”

Skander Malcolm

Leaders Must Be Learners

Few companies have been successful over the long-term without serious investment in leadership training. Leaders must be learners, especially with today’s technological advances. Agility and collaboration are critical to problem solving and the sharing of ideas. Above all of this, empathy is critical in helping team members to adapt in workforces where expectations are changing rapidly.

There Are Many Different Roles On A Successful Team

Leaders must recognise the interplay between people and have the courage to intervene when things are not working. Tough conversations and decisions must be faced! Being aware of the value of a wide variety of roles and personalities helps ensure a well-rounded, happy team. The engineer is critical, but so too is the person who is the social butterfly who keeps people engaged and excited.