My guest this week is Dr. David Rock, who coined the term NeuroLeadership and is the Co-Founder and CEO of the NeuroLeadership Institute, which has worked with over 50% of the Fortune 100 companies, to make organisations better for humans through science.

David has authored four successful books, including Your Brain At Work, a business best seller and has written for and been quoted in hundreds of articles about leadership, organisational effectiveness and the brain.

The centrepiece of my discussion with David is his SCARF Model, which is based on neuroscience and is designed to help us work more effectively with others.

When I came across the model a few years ago, it helped me better understand myself and change the way I interact in social situations. The SCARF Model is comprised of five key domains that influence our behaviour in social and work situations. Firstly, Status - our relative importance to others. Secondly, Certainty - our ability to predict the future. Third, Autonomy - our sense of control over events. Fourth, Relatedness - how safe we feel with others. And finally fifth, Fairness - how fair we perceive the exchanges between people to be. As David explains in our discussion, these five domains activate the same threat and reward responses in our brain that we rely on for physical survival. This explains why ourselves and others will sometimes have strong emotional reactions in social situations, both at home and at work. It is a fascinating topic and one, I know, that listeners will enjoy.

In our conversation, David and I discuss

How the SCARF Model has grown in relevance during the pandemic
The window of opportunity companies and leaders have to solve for autonomy and build a better post pandemic normal
The role of leaders in enabling their organisations to be truly diverse, equitable and inclusive
How companies should approach Performance Management in the future

This episode is a must listen for anyone interested or involved in Neuroscience and its role in Leadership, collaboration, culture and performance. So that is Business Leaders, Chief People Officers and anyone in a Behavioural Science, People Analytics or HR Business Partner role.

Support for this podcast is brought to you by Quantum Workplace. To learn more, visit www.quantumworkplace.com/digitalhr.

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