Benefiting at work from Brain Based Insights

Yesterday I facilitated a symposium on the brain here in Ireland at the Waterford Institute of Technology and one participant asked… “What can we do about the cynic in the workplace?” How would you respond?

My answer … “There’s nothing we can do to change a cynic’s mindset ” … is based on what we know from research about the dangerous mind patterns wired in cynics.

Fortunately,  valuable new information about the brain can bring mind-bending benefits to help us deal with deadly bullets that come from cynics. In addition,  brain based strategies help us to recognize cynicism’s role as thief of innovation. How so?

Awareness and pre-emptive tactics help us to capitalize more on creative talent in any group – talent too often lost in the drain and mental energy lost when a team tries to fight against cynics in its ranks.

To mine the gems of brilliant thinkers in our midst, often requires a shift in attitude about the cynic. Fortunately new information about the human brain shows us how our words and actions wire our brains and rewire patterns as we sleep. What does this have to do with cynicism?

Rather than wonder…Will the cynic add stress to a busy or challenging day?... instead why not look at doable tactics to prevent slowing our brains down  to the speed of a slug.

Successful organizations – such as Wegman’s in New York,  are shifting to cutting edge and brain based strategies to harness energy beyond the cynic’s imposed ruts.

Not surprisingly, tactics that energize leaders and workers’ brains also bring measurable results, rarely offered when cynics are allowed to limit a roundtable. When cynics can no longer sap the teams energy with doom, that either contribute and flow with the waterfall of ideas, or create dying eddies near the bottom, beyond places of influence.

Not that simplistic or canned responses will silence the critic. But in brain based circles, both people capitalize on innovative brain operations – and move innovation forward at full throttle. How so?

In brain based circles, we still see cynics unable or unwilling to use their own multiple intelligences. In spite of their attacks, though, awareness and tactics will help an organization to work smarter for quality results. Current brain research can offer strategies for positive results at work in spite of a cynics attacks. 

It’s a bit of a do or die situation, because the cynics are not going away. Neither do they need to hold progressive organizations back. An increasing number of successful circles, for instance,  realize they can no longer remain stuck on the sidelines, while neuroscience reveals to their competition important information about problem solving for  higher profitability,  with the brain in mind.

What new facts about the human brain, suggest practices improve your workplace, and help creative thinkers to move beyond the cynics patterns for wasted time and talent?

Stay tuned to the next few posts where we'll tackle the mind of the cynic with a response from talent found in successful leaders.... What do you think?