Why Neuroscience Adds Value To Your Work
The Top 10 reasons for L&D to embrace the neuroscience agenda
Posted on 02-05-2020, Read Time: - Min
Share:
It’s such an exciting time to be in learning and development. The world continually becomes more complex, with engagement, disruption competitive advantage still reigning in organisations. In the middle of this chaotic, inspiring, busy world, we offer the employees or clients we serve almost limitless possibilities through development activities, workshops, training courses and coaching. Yet they are brimming over with noise and stimulation flooding their senses and increasing the load on their brains, so how can we help them to get the most from their learning opportunities?
L&D professionals now have new insights, tools, wisdom and knowledge from neuroscience to help employees and clients take a peek inside their brains and optimise their development. This article explains how.
Neuro-nonsense or Neuro-value?
Every day we are all bombarded with neuro-nonsense in newspapers, blogs, social media and magazines where a research conclusion has been distorted and misinterpreted as the truth. However, also every day across the world, neuroscientists, psychologists and behavioural scientists are on the point of discovering something new about the human brain, new insights that can help us all become more aware and develop further – it’s really helpful!
Neuroscience is now paving the way for deepening the scientific understanding of human behaviour and psychology beyond the clinical setting. The last 20 years have shone an ever-brightening light on this emerging area with scanning technology improvements and has opened up exciting possibilities for all of us interested in the development of self and others.
OK but so what?
As L&D professionals, we have successfully helped our employees for years, seeing them develop new skills, reach their goals, overcome challenges, make valuable changes, become more self-aware, happier, more productive and successful. How does this new layer of neuroscientific knowledge add value to what is already working well? How does it make training an even better experience for both employees and development professionals?
Here are ten reasons to climb on board.
1. Neuroscience tells us that every brain is unique and therefore every person we train is unique. Intellectually we know this, but the science anchors that for us. Learning is not generalised, it is bespoke, individual to each person giving rise to infinitely different conversations, insights and options. Learning about their unique brain can help your people give themselves permission to be their authentic selves and to learn to appreciate their exclusive combination of strengths. Having teams discuss their differences and strengths is a truly powerful conversation for you to facilitate in your L&D work.
2. Humans are innately curious beings and people want to understand what is going on inside their heads. When they understand that their brain can influence their behaviours and actions and they can unpick and learn about the science behind it, then it can open them up, giving any challenges a voice and a space for resolution. Having a physiological explanation can unlock new ideas for working through their goals and options. This in turn, can really help an employee to find both meaning and contribution in their work so adding to their engagement and happiness.
3. Training exposes the brain to learning and opens new pathways. Engaging in workshop discussions can turn on neural pathways for self-reflection and discovery building a new habit for development, experimentation and learning. So the development work you facilitate with your people will be received in a more meaningful, tangible and applicable way.
4. Neuroscience introduces a layer of different, helpful language providing scope for deeper questioning or conversation. Examples include using scientific language: “what can you do now to give yourself a dopamine boost?” or metaphors to paint a new landscape: “tell me why your brain is so full”.
5. Approaching their change work from a scientific rather than a behavioural perspective can help some people to commit more deeply to their personal development. Some people only measure success by tangible, results and fact- based outcomes so an empirical, scientific approach can build more trust in the perceived “soft skills stuff” of some L&D work and therefore energy to engage.
6. Similarly, for some people, working with neuroscience adds substance and credibility to the development process itself. An empirical underpinning can legitimise the work of trainers and coaches, enabling business leaders and employees to give L&D the same respect as they would afford other business programmes.
7. Providing the layer of neuroscience safely opens up a route to surface and discuss emotions. Understanding the evolutionary development of the brain, the importance of emotional, instinctive senses and the huge proportion of neurons in the more ancient subcortical brain regions has added a dimension of relief and permission with a number of my people I have trained. With the growing focus on emotionally intelligent organisations, this is a real beneficial area for L&D professionals to explore.
8. A discussion about the brain helps people to keep an open mind as it broadens the scope of the conversation, rather than narrowing it down. There are multiple contexts in which parts of the brain play a role. Neuroscience therefore keeps people in a questioning mode, continually creating the opportunity for further exploration and discovery. My experience is that their learners continue to talk about neuroscience and explore further beyond the scope of the workshop itself. For trainers, that is a positive result – to catalyse further, self-directed, engaged learning.
9. As L&D professionals, we are in the business of neuroplasticity. Understanding that the brain can re-wire, opening up new access routes, strengthening existing pathways and dampening non-serving ones can be liberating. People realise that not only is change possible but also that there are many potential options to move away from challenges, make progress and achieve goals. This helps employees and teams open the debate about possibilities and alternative courses of action, so enabling innovative solutions and new ways of thinking.
10. Finally, neuroscience helps us as L&D professionals to remain authentic, true to ourselves, affording us additional self-awareness of our own unique strengths and allowing us to surface blind spots. As learners ourselves, we know there is no room for complacency, we can model the way of continual learning to the people we train and coach in our work.
As there is so much yet to discover in the fascinating area of neuroscience, we will continue to question, learn, explore and grow long into the future.
Neuroscience is now paving the way for deepening the scientific understanding of human behaviour and psychology beyond the clinical setting. The last 20 years have shone an ever-brightening light on this emerging area with scanning technology improvements and has opened up exciting possibilities for all of us interested in the development of self and others.
OK but so what?
As L&D professionals, we have successfully helped our employees for years, seeing them develop new skills, reach their goals, overcome challenges, make valuable changes, become more self-aware, happier, more productive and successful. How does this new layer of neuroscientific knowledge add value to what is already working well? How does it make training an even better experience for both employees and development professionals?
Here are ten reasons to climb on board.
1. Neuroscience tells us that every brain is unique and therefore every person we train is unique. Intellectually we know this, but the science anchors that for us. Learning is not generalised, it is bespoke, individual to each person giving rise to infinitely different conversations, insights and options. Learning about their unique brain can help your people give themselves permission to be their authentic selves and to learn to appreciate their exclusive combination of strengths. Having teams discuss their differences and strengths is a truly powerful conversation for you to facilitate in your L&D work.
2. Humans are innately curious beings and people want to understand what is going on inside their heads. When they understand that their brain can influence their behaviours and actions and they can unpick and learn about the science behind it, then it can open them up, giving any challenges a voice and a space for resolution. Having a physiological explanation can unlock new ideas for working through their goals and options. This in turn, can really help an employee to find both meaning and contribution in their work so adding to their engagement and happiness.
3. Training exposes the brain to learning and opens new pathways. Engaging in workshop discussions can turn on neural pathways for self-reflection and discovery building a new habit for development, experimentation and learning. So the development work you facilitate with your people will be received in a more meaningful, tangible and applicable way.
4. Neuroscience introduces a layer of different, helpful language providing scope for deeper questioning or conversation. Examples include using scientific language: “what can you do now to give yourself a dopamine boost?” or metaphors to paint a new landscape: “tell me why your brain is so full”.
5. Approaching their change work from a scientific rather than a behavioural perspective can help some people to commit more deeply to their personal development. Some people only measure success by tangible, results and fact- based outcomes so an empirical, scientific approach can build more trust in the perceived “soft skills stuff” of some L&D work and therefore energy to engage.
6. Similarly, for some people, working with neuroscience adds substance and credibility to the development process itself. An empirical underpinning can legitimise the work of trainers and coaches, enabling business leaders and employees to give L&D the same respect as they would afford other business programmes.
7. Providing the layer of neuroscience safely opens up a route to surface and discuss emotions. Understanding the evolutionary development of the brain, the importance of emotional, instinctive senses and the huge proportion of neurons in the more ancient subcortical brain regions has added a dimension of relief and permission with a number of my people I have trained. With the growing focus on emotionally intelligent organisations, this is a real beneficial area for L&D professionals to explore.
8. A discussion about the brain helps people to keep an open mind as it broadens the scope of the conversation, rather than narrowing it down. There are multiple contexts in which parts of the brain play a role. Neuroscience therefore keeps people in a questioning mode, continually creating the opportunity for further exploration and discovery. My experience is that their learners continue to talk about neuroscience and explore further beyond the scope of the workshop itself. For trainers, that is a positive result – to catalyse further, self-directed, engaged learning.
9. As L&D professionals, we are in the business of neuroplasticity. Understanding that the brain can re-wire, opening up new access routes, strengthening existing pathways and dampening non-serving ones can be liberating. People realise that not only is change possible but also that there are many potential options to move away from challenges, make progress and achieve goals. This helps employees and teams open the debate about possibilities and alternative courses of action, so enabling innovative solutions and new ways of thinking.
10. Finally, neuroscience helps us as L&D professionals to remain authentic, true to ourselves, affording us additional self-awareness of our own unique strengths and allowing us to surface blind spots. As learners ourselves, we know there is no room for complacency, we can model the way of continual learning to the people we train and coach in our work.
As there is so much yet to discover in the fascinating area of neuroscience, we will continue to question, learn, explore and grow long into the future.
Author Bio
| Gill McKay is a Human Resources (HR) professional with extensive experience gained from a varied career focusing on helping individuals, teams, business leaders and HR functions enhance performance, build capability and implement transformation initiatives. She has proven leadership, management and field experience with a record of achievement in coaching, learning and development, HR consultancy, change management and communications, describing herself to be “all about building capability and confidence”. Visit Gill McKay Connect Gill McKay |
Error: No such template "/CustomCode/topleader/category"!
