Gender Parity – International Women’s Day
NeuroTip #11 | 31st March 2024
Don’t you love it when you meet a group of new people who are so interesting and welcoming! This was how I felt when the inspiring Carys Williams invited me to give the keynote talk at the East Sussex Healthcare NHS inaugural Women’s Network event. The event was in front of dedicated medical people so to say that I was experiencing Imposter Syndrome in talking about the role of our brains in creating neutral gender environments and leaders in evidenced neuroscience, would be an understatement!
On the panel hosted by Carys were Dawn Whittaker KFSM, Tania Cubison and Scarlett McNally women of such integrity and talent. I learnt so much from these women on the frontline of leadership:
Don’t escalate things up. If you hear or see something that is not acceptable sit down with the person, share what you heard or saw and explain why that behaviour is not okay from your perspective. Most people aren’t aware of the offence they cause, it helps them to understand their perspective and to find common acceptable ground.
How to safely intervene when calling out negative behaviour – Direct, distract, delegate and delay.
Know your values. Be inclusive. Know what you believe in, what behaviours that elicit and the importance of respecting and trusting others.
And from me, I’m not an Imposter, it was just respect and my mind playing tricks!
In the words of Jodie Foster “Men need to learn how to speak women”, and I would add “Women need to learn how to speak men.”
More than happy to deliver this talk that jettisons the female/male brain myth to your group or organisation as it can’t be underestimated how important and misplaced perceptions still are, and how much societal conditioning needs to move forward.
EI and AI
Human emotional intelligence, or ‘EI’ has four main parts: emotional self-awareness, emotional regulation, empathy and social skills. Whilst AI has sets of algorithms that engineer’s program into a learning machine, the most popularnbsp;have only learnt information up to April 2023. As humans, our brains are constantly learning and adjusting. We don’t wait for data updates we are the mission-critical experts!nbsp;
People have emotions, and so can be self-aware and use that awareness to handle their rocky feelings and foster positive ones.
“But an AI program has no emotions; it’s neither upset nor elated. So how could it be emotionally self-aware?” Daniel Goleman 2024
Do you trust AI? Survey from Krista Software https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2023/06/05/in-ai-we-do-not-trust-survey/?sh=4fd946861794
Neuro Myth of the Month
“Individuals learn better when they receive information in their preferred learning style (VAK). (e.g., auditory, visual, kinaesthetic)?”.
However, a systematic review published in 2021 of Neuromyths in Neuroeducation provided evidence against this belief. The kernel of truth came from the oversimplification of research that identified the different parts of the brain that processed visual, auditory and kinaesthetic information (Ansari, 2008). The lack of evidence for VAK learning styles has been established (Pashler et al., 2008; Willingham et al., 2015) but is still widely considered a fact. Interesting when backed up by science but I believe myself to understand things better if I can see the picture. I suspect this is embedded in habit and bias, so I’m sticking with what I feel happy with. I also suspect that by using mixed media in presentations etc. our brains enjoy it because it activates the reward system and creates interest which our brains love!
Brainy Podcasts
As we get Series 2 ready why not listen to Series 1 bonus episodes that we've just put together at www.brainycasts.com
“It can be easy to think of ourselves as either creative or not, but what I love about this podcast is that it explores the multiple ways we can all be creative through storytelling and then underpins it with science. A winning combo and truly thought-starting listen!” Thoughts from a Happy Listener If you’ve enjoyed, please leave a review.
Imagine if you could inspire growth by tapping into all the creative & innovative diversity in your organisation. Interested? Get in touch for a free Scope Out Session to explore your needs: Hello@Brainycasts.com
Brains Inspiring Businesses for Leaders is now on Kindle!
In fond and respectful memory of Dr. Paul Brown who encouraged and mentored me and my fellow authors to contribute to the book. You are so very missed.
“Brains Inspiring Businesses for Leaders looks at behaviours and leadership practices from the lens of applied neuroscience. Dr Paul Brown and 13 authors share their best knowledge and lived experience with practical examples, cases and deep research.”
The chapters in the book are varied but all will expand your knowledge of working with the diversity of the human mind and the rewards it can bring to yours and others lives and health. Follow this link to order: https://ideasforleaders.com/product/brains-inspiring-businesses-for-leaders-and-executives. Or https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brains-Inspiring-Businesses-Leaders-Brown/dp/1915529093 and don’t forget to leave a review!
NEWS SPOT
World Happiness Report 2024
Finland remains the top country for happiness for the past 6 years. The USA drops out of the top 20 to 23rd followed by Germany at 24th. The UK moves from 19th to 20th.
Positive emotions are still more than twice as frequent as negative emotions even during the years since COVID.
https://wellbeing.hmc.ox.ac.uk/news/world-happiness-report-2024/
Oxford Research Centre & Deloitte Mental Health Report 2022 https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/uk/Documents/consultancy/deloitte-uk-mental-health-report-2022.pdf
Mental Wellbeing and Resilience is a no-brainer – On average people spend 90,000 hours at work (McKinsey) so promoting people’s health is paramount. The ROI for tackling poor mental health averages £5.30 for every £1. Plus, organisations with a focus on positive affect and productivity perform higher on the stock market and engagement. And suppose you want to avoid a competitive talent grab? In that case, they also enjoy lower turnover, better retention and attraction of top talent important given that workplace flexibility is on the rise with 42% of workers saying they would look for a new job if hybrid working was taken away (Owl Labs). Add to that, Gen Z professionals are looking for flexibility, a clear career path, commitment to mental and physical health and an alignment with personal values (Korn Ferry), much like previous generations. This is so obvious as our research and studies have shown that stress disrupts the immune, nervous and endocrine systems’ communication leading to increased risk of cardiovascular disease, poor brain function and depression, regardless of genetic predisposition. Resilient Mental Health and Wellbeing are complex areas of not just physical but psychological areas of human behaviour and care which are being brought into the public debate. If you are interested in discovering how including an evidenced brain-based behavioural approach can complement your in-house well-being programme drop us an email mailto:soraya@soraya-shaw.com?subject=Wellbeing
