1. © David Rock 2013 www.NeuroLeadership.Com 1
Annual Summit
(& ongoing knowledge sharing)
Journal Post-Graduate & Masters
Degrees in NeuroLeadership
Informing leadership development, coaching, change management, learning.
Self-funding research and education.
The neuroscience of:
• Making decisions & solving problems
• Staying cool under pressure
• Collaborating with others
• Facilitating change
Davis & Rock, 2012
Organization
3. Applied
Studies
2. Summary
Frameworks
1. Laboratory
Studies
Davis & Rock, 2012

2. © David Rock 2013 www.NeuroLeadership.Com 2
Neuroscience of High Performance
Neuroscience of Engagement
Neuroscience of Transitions
Neuroscience of Quality Conversations
Neuroscience of Organizational Change
Assess pilot error in the cockpit based on cognitive load
Impact of mindfulness training on high school students
Teach attentive focus to mine workers to avoid falls
Brain imaging of Korean leaders during apology
Level of
Importance
Individual Line manager Manager of managers Executive
Self & social
awareness
Technical
skills
Capacity for
self & social
awareness
1. We hire & promote goal-focused leaders
2. Being goal-focused switches off people circuits
3. High cognitive load reduces mentalizing

3. © David Rock 2013 www.NeuroLeadership.Com 3
A heightened emotional connection that an employee feels
for his or her organization, that influences him or her to
exert greater discretionary effort to his or her work.
(Conference Board 2006)
A combination of commitment to the organisation and its
values, plus a willingness to help out colleagues
(organisational citizenship). It goes beyond job satisfaction
and is not simply motivation. Engagement is something
the employee has to offer: it cannot be 'required' as part of
the employment contract.
(CIPD, 2008)
1. The neural basis of engagement
2. The drivers that impact engagement
3. Levels of engagement from a neural perspective
4. The effect of engagement on the brain
5. Measuring engagement biologically
6. Insights on improving engagement
Away
Threat
Toward
Reward
Rock (2008)

4. © David Rock 2013 www.NeuroLeadership.Com 4
Away
Threat
Toward
Reward
Rock (2008)
More cognitive resources (Arnsten)
More insights (Jung-Beeman)
More ideas for actions (Frederickson)
Fewer perceptual errors
Wider field of view
• Increased motor functions
• Reduced working memory
• Reduced field of view
• Generalizing of threats
• Erring on the side of pessimism
Friedman & Förster
Small threats have a big impact…"
COGNITIVE NETWORKS: Includes PFC and lateral PFC.
LIMBIC SYSTEM: Includes striatum, amygdala, central/autonomic nervous system.
SOCIAL NETWORK: Self and social circuits including the medial PFC.
SELF-REGULATION NETWORK: Regulating both cognition and emotion, ACC.
LEARNING AND HABIT CIRCUITS: Working memory, memory, basal ganglia.

5. © David Rock 2013 www.NeuroLeadership.Com 5
COGNITIVE NETWORKS: Inattention. Wandering. Mistakes made.
LIMBIC SYSTEM: Highly/low aroused, overactive.
SOCIAL NETWORK: Misconnection.
SELF-REGULATION NETWORK: Dysfunction.
LEARNING AND HABIT CIRCUITS: Distracted, Disrupted.
Overall: less resources available.
COGNITIVE NETWORKS: Focused, not distracted easily.
LIMBIC SYSTEM: Reward state.
SOCIAL NETWORK: Able to read self and others well.
SELF-REGULATION NETWORK: Well resourced, more effective.
LEARNING AND HABIT CIRCUITS: Lots of resources for learning.
Overall: Optimal and flow state.
Away
Threat
Toward
Reward
Actively disengaged Disengaged
Engaged Deeply engaged
Neutral
-100 0 +100
Our best and worst moments are social
Positive social traits trump bad health habits
Why heavy drinkers outlive non drinkers
Collective intelligence is more social than IQ based

6. © David Rock 2013 www.NeuroLeadership.Com 6
Cyberball And then….
Social pain = physical pain
Away
Threat
Toward
Reward
Rock (2008)

7. © David Rock 2013 www.NeuroLeadership.Com 7
1
2
3
4
5
Izuma et al., 2008
Having a good reputation
=
Winning money
The brain is a prediction machine.
Uncertainty arouses the limbic system.

8. © David Rock 2013 www.NeuroLeadership.Com 8
The brain likes to be able to predict
and have a say in the future.
A feeling of having a choice
dramatically impacts stress levels.
Being able to choose
is more rewarding
and activates reward
brain regions.
Leotti & Delgado, 2011
Friend or foe
Trust or distrust
Connect or don’t connect
Foe is the default
Liking people in your
own group (and
disliking people in the
out-group) is reflected
in brain activity.
Van Bavel et al., 2008

9. © David Rock 2013 www.NeuroLeadership.Com 9
Rock & Cox, 2012
Perception
Empathy
Motivations
Brain regions associated with primary
rewards – food, pleasant touch or pleasant
memories, money, a picture of a loved one -
those same regions were active when
people received fair offers, compared to
unfair offers of equal level.
Golnaz Tabibnia, UCLA
Away
Threat
Toward
Reward
Rock (2008)
Away
Threat
Toward
Reward
Rock (2008)

10. © David Rock 2013 www.NeuroLeadership.Com 10
• Engagement
• Leadership practices
• Motivation & incentives
• Managing performance, feedback, coaching
• Teams & collaboration
• Organizational change
Predictive
(Before)
Rock & Cox, 2012
Regulatory
(During)
Explanatory
(After)
Leadership event
How brain research helps
Measure engagement
A: Self report
B: Bio markers:
fMRI
EEG
Cortisol levels
Skin conductance
Heart rate variability
Other
How to increase engagement
Status: Recognize incremental growth, change the comparisons
Certainty: Find the patterns, normalize, over-communicate
Autonomy: Provide choices, give parameters
Relatedness: Connect people together, reduce social threat
Fairness: Be transparent

11. © David Rock 2013 www.NeuroLeadership.Com 11
Neuroscience provides a new theoretical framework for engagement.
Engagement is more than an idea, it has a real biological impact.
More accurate measurement and interventions may be possible.
• 88% increase in engagement
• 96% better prepared to lead change
• 500% increase in coaching effectiveness
• 17:1 return on investment
Learning about your brain can be addictive.
We think it’s a positive addiction.
With similar benefits to mindfulness training.
Resources
NeuroLeadership.org"
• Education up to Masters"
• Summits & Recordings"
• Journals"
NeuroLeadership.com"
• Leadership development programs"
• Coach Certification Programs

12. © David Rock 2013 www.NeuroLeadership.Com 12
Resources
Books: Your Brain at Work
Quiet Leadership
Coaching with the Brain in Mind
Papers: SCARF 2008 & 2012, Neuroscience of Engagement
Managing with the brain in mind
Email: David@NeuroLeadership.org
Twitter: davidrock101
Blogs: PsychologyToday.com, Huffington post, HBR,
DavidRock.net