A Leader's Brain

"We're coming up with the genome--the brain map--of the leader," says Pierre Balthazard, an Arizona State University management professor.

Mr. Balthazard is among a growing number of researchers looking inside the brain for business insights.  The surge in interest among researchers is fueled by more powerful diagnostic tools and an improved understanding of how the brain influences character, personality and behavior.

Executive coaches and researchers are increasingly tapping neuroscience tidbits to bolster their management theories.  Scientists at Gallup Organization, for example, say brain research helps managers understand why praise works: it boosts levels of dopamine, a chemical linked to joy.

Advances in electroencephalogram (EEG) technology make it easier to "map" a brain's electrical activity.  But it isn't clear that leaders exhibit defined brain-wave patterns, or that changing such patterns automatically alters behavior.  Not all brains function the same way, neuroscientists say.  Nor do people with similar brain patterns necessarily act in similar ways.

Robert Thatcher, a neuroscientist who's worked on EEGs and behavior for 35 years, says preliminary analysis of 50 brain maps shows some big differences in activity between managers who rate high on a psychological test of visionary leadership, and those who rate low.  The visionary leaders had more efficient left brains, which deal with logic and reasoning, and better connected right brains, which are responsible for social skills.

Mr. Thatcher hopes to find more patterns as more brains are scanned.  The patterns could indicate brain activity associated with specific qualities like charisma, or something common to all good leaders.  The patterns could just reflect "faster brains--more processing, more power," he says, adding that once the patterns are found, "you can move people" to them.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, September 20, 2007