Co-op managers develop a leadership brain

Citation

(2012), "Co-op managers develop a leadership brain", Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 44 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/ict.2012.03744faa.001

Co-op managers develop a leadership brain

Article Type: Notes and news From: Industrial and Commercial Training, Volume 44, Issue 6

Co-operative Financial Services, part of the Co-operative Group, was looking for training that would equip its leadership team with the tools to manage change more effectively.

After a period of change, including its merger with the Britannia Building Society in 2009, the organization sought a program that was intellectually stimulating, with results for leaders to apply easily.

Blue Edge, a team of occupational psychologists specializing in culture change and management development, designed a range of practical exercises to explore how people react to change and the impact this has on employee motivation and behavior.

“Change at work can leave employees feeling uncertain about the future,” said Gary Luffman, of Blue Edge. “Their position relative to others in the organization may fuel negative expectations of the future as goals, priorities and roles change.

“Ensuring that the brain is not overwhelmed with these threats, and managing the change to accommodate the needs of the brain, can enhance the change experience for staff and increase the chances of a successful transition.”

Drawing on knowledge gained through advances in neuro-science research, Blue Edge developed a series of workshops for Co-operative Financial Services using real-life scenarios to enhance individual moments of insight. The focus throughout the workshops was on applying principles that aid learning and embedding this into routine practice. This was achieved by ensuring that the practical exercises were personal and relevant.

“Allowing delegates the opportunity for self-directed learning through discussion with others and an opportunity to generate their own insights were critical to this,” explained Gary Luffman.

Essentially, the program provided a toolkit of techniques for self-coaching and managing change. Additional peer coaching between group sessions was also encouraged to enable delegates to embed and develop their skills.

The range of tools and techniques practised in the sessions included:

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  making one’s emotions work for oneself;

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  becoming more emotionally intelligent by labelling emotions;

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  creating distance from emotional states;

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  establishing positive emotional states for oneself and others; and

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  avoiding emotional suppression.

Mindfulness, or bringing one’s complete attention, non-judgementally, to the present experience on a moment-to-moment basis, was introduced to help to calm the emotion centres of the brain and allow it the space to think clearly and view problems from different perspectives.

“In order fully to appreciate the benefits of this type of leadership program, time to plan and review actions is necessary,” Gary Luffman continued. “Practice is important for new ways of working and habits to develop. Individual workbook-based learning and coaching following each workshop are an ideal means of facilitating this.”

It is intended that the program will lead to significant improvements in leadership effectiveness and in the management of change, with the ultimate roll-out of “leadership brain” programs throughout the organization.

The leadership-brain academy, offered by Blue Edge, is a leadership program that applies neuro-scientific research to the world of business. It is designed to enlighten leaders with a new approach to perception, thought and behavior in the workplace.

“Developments in neuro-science are deepening our understanding of how the brain works and how to maximize its potential for improving effectiveness at work and building better relationships,” claimed Gary Luffman. “The actual practices applied in a workplace may vary according to the needs of the organization, but the founding principles from brain research remain the same. The leadership-brain academy draws on these developments in neuro-science, using the findings of detailed research in a series of ‘core-circuitry’ workshops.”

Learning from the core circuitry is reinforced through supplementary coaching and e-workbooks, which are designed to enlighten leaders and embed their learning in areas such as optimizing the change environment, using neuro-science to lead others and improving team productivity and efficiency.

“Application of these insights, tools and models will help leaders to maximize their mental resources, bring about more successful change with a reduced cost, improve their ability to sustain peak performance and increase efficiency,” Gary Luffman concluded. “By the end of the core-circuitry workshops, participants will have begun their personal journey in developing their leadership brain.”