This has become increasingly important when work has become the 5^th cause of death due to stress. And those in a managerial capacity have been found to have a bigger impact on their workforce then their doctors. Leaders whether they realize it or not are in a role of celebrity because the spotlight is always on them. They play a role of quasi-psychologists because they have to mentally manage themselves and their workforce, important especially due to workplace stress. They act in a quasi-sociologist role because they play a key role in team dynamics. Last, they act in the role of quasi-anthropologists because they create the organizational culture.

This is where leaders can use and enable NeuroLeadership, so as to create the type of workplace that today’s workforce is expecting. Neuroleadership applies neuroscience to leading people. David Rock credited with coining the term explains it as helping the leader to focus on how individuals make decisions, problem-solve, regulate emotions, collaborate and influence others, and facilitate organizational change. It grew out of a need to better understand how to be better leaders and more effective at leading others and ourselves while engaging our brains.

This is further supported by research that highlights that our brain needs leaders who communicate well, make understanding them easy, and create fair and transparent processes, so our brains do not waste precious effort in second guessing or trying to understand what to do next. This can lead to improved engagement which has been found to be low around the globe in all types of organizations irrespective of industry.

Organizations of today and the future, even with the increasing presence of AI and technology will need to become more human-centered so as to enable its workforce to fulfill their purpose, achieve happiness, and remain engaged in their work which is what they are expecting from their organizations and leaders. I believe one way to do this is to become in the era of AI, a Human Intelligent (HI) Workplace.

An HI Workplace is defined as one where leaders model effective leadership behaviors by creating an organizational culture where the workers’ experience is one of being engaged while collaborating with their diverse team members.  An organization where the workforce feels psychologically safe when raising different perspectives, taking risks, and being innovative and/or creative. It is a workplace where the workforce feels listened to and understood by their leaders. It is a workplace where the workforce finds fulfillment in the work they do and the organization they work in.

In conclusion, as you read this and reflect on your organization ask yourself the following. Is your organization ready for these changes? Are your leaders ready? What behaviors are they demonstrating? Are they aware of and using NeuroLeadership? How do you know? What might exist in your organization that gives you hope?

Using AI wisely while leaders model effective NeuroLeadership behaviors and create human-centric organizational cultures can in turn lead to a Human Intelligent Workplace. A workplace where most will spend a large portion of their lifetime and in doing so want to ensure it is a healthy and human focused organization.