Consultant Dan
26 October 2010
Can neuroleadership help transform to a clean energy economy?
I have joined a small and relatively new leadership organisation, called the NeuroLeadership Institute. It was started by David Rock, a Sydney friend of mine, to use insights in brain science to improve how we understand and practice leadership.
The Institute is hosting a Boston Summit this week.
Anyone with an interest in the human sciences would be aware of Norman Doige’s blockbuster The Brain that Changes Itself. This book popularised the plasticity revolution in neuroscience.
At stake in this revolution is our model of the human brain and its potential. Neuroplasticity rejects the traditional model that sees the brain like a static, computer-like device with specific functions delivered by localised areas, or neural maps.
The neuroplastic model says that neural maps can change far more than we previously realised. This means that the human brain can relearn lost processing abilities, adapt to injury and structurally transform itself as a result of mental stimulus. It seems that that the ghost can re-program the machine, by the power of thought alone.
I joined the NeuroLeadership Institute for two reasons. On one hand, I am fascinated by neuroplasticity and want to know more about it and think that David is a very interesting thinker. I did my Honours Thesis at the University of Melbourne about another scientific revolutionary idea and its adoption because I am fascinated by these episodes in the history of ideas.
On the other hand, I want to explore how insights from neuroscience can help my consulting clients in the energy, environment and other sectors. I have been part of the climate debate for almost 20 years and know the magnitude of leadership failure it reveals.
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