Benefiting at work from Brain Based Insights

When troops return from war ... fellow workers can often help them to readjust … far more than many realize. It’s rarely easy ... as violence literally changes a soldier’s brain … yet armed with a few brain based tactics … a colleague’s care goes a long way.

Peers can help vets to rewire their brains beyond battlefields ... and settle back into their workplace routines ... in 5 key areas:

1. Invite soldiers into small project gatherings where friendship is extended with new people and help them to wire for trusting strangers again.  War likely taught returning soldiers to distrust most everybody new they encountered ... and interactive gatherings will rejuvenate interpersonal intelligence … and help restore a healthy reliance on humans.

2. Expect signs of crankiness from lack of sleep. Share ideas for deep rest during sleep – since soldiers often tend to sleep light for months on end – and to awaken ready for battle at any notice. Suggest how brain chemicals can work in their favor, as they offer any new contribution at work.

3. Encourage stories and listen attentively. Rather than support venting though, ask a meaningful question, instead. For instance, you may ask how a soldier … “How would have handled the situation differently? Well framed questions can nudge people in respectful ways to contribute solutions rather than to dwell on problems faced during wars.

4. Offer new ideas for social gatherings –that will replace a soldier’s painful memories with insights for beauty, hope and courage. A musical concert can shift brain waves into a healthier balance .. that enables soldiers to adjust back at work, for instance. Or suggest a movie such as The Great Debaters where Denzel Washington plays the true story of an African American team who won the debate against Harvard – after winning over adversity.

5. Encourage soldiers to follow their faith, share with leaders, and take time out to restore their mind soul and body. Rejuvenation often comes best when people add a few new intelligences into the mix. Work with soldiers to survey their strengths and then invite them into projects that best use and develop new strengths they identify.

The key is to help soldiers let go of war’s mental scars as they rebuild their business acumen … one intelligence at a time. Remember, each time vets act on one peaceful or non confrontational task – they rewire their brain’s plasticity for more of the same.

Not surprisingly … by rewiring dendrite brain cells past war zones …  business intelligence tends to trump horrors lived on the battlefield. When fellow workers support soldiers in the readjustment they also create a caring and peaceful work environment to sustain peace.