Training Industry Magazine - March/April 2017 - 11

SCIENCE OF LEARNING
SRINI PILLAY, M.D.

COACHING A CULTURE OF

EMERGENCE
Beth Comstock, vice chair at GE, recently
emphasized that we live in an emergent
era. The emergent organization is one in
which culture, social relationships and
decision-making processes are constantly
in evolution. And recent research
demonstrates that organizational culture
is central to "readiness to change."
"Readiness to change" requires a specific
mindset, one that alternates between
intense focus and "letting go." Sometimes,
these processes are indistinguishable
and require an emergent mindset.
Luckily, we are endowed with a brain to
boot. Let's examine how brain-based
coaching conversations can help leaders
develop a culture of emergence within
their organizations.

Process #1: Neuroplasticity
Although the brain is resistant to
change, it is wired for it: a phenomenon
called neuroplasticity. In the face of
constant change, the brain will often
default to a fight, flight or freeze mode,
when in fact, you want to engage it in
"flow." The first step is recognizing that
you are wired to do this expertly.

Cultural Conversation Tool #1:
When constructing vision and mission
statements, develop a "culture of
neuroplasticity." Tell employees that
their performance and profits require
resisting the temptation to freeze. Help
them to understand the distinction
between stability and stagnation, and
how all living systems must change.

Process #2: Self-connection and intuition
The deeper you connect with yourself
and your intuition, the more likely

you are to connect with others. That is
because the same circuit in your brain
allows you to connect more deeply with
yourself and others as well.

Cultural Conversation Tool #2:
When talking with teams, emphasize that
they function both as a collection (one
system) and a connection (different parts
that make up a whole). Help employees
understand that this dual state mimics
how the brain functions, and that when
you are deeply connected with yourself,
you also enhance your intuition and
your perspectives of others as well. In
an emergent organization, intuition and
self-connection are stabilizing forces.

Process #3: Thinking circuits in the brain fail
when exhausted by continuous focus
Being able to stabilize yourself in the
context of continuous change requires
constant self-regulation. However, studies
demonstrate that when your brain is
exhausted by continuous focus, it causes
self-regulation depletion. This in turn
leads to people being less helpful, and it
can lead to emotional overreactions due
to overstimulation of the amygdala, the
brain's emotional processor. In fact, during
acute stress, the brain demands an extra
12 percent of energy. This, on top of the
20 percent of the body's energy it already
uses, is quite an energy budget for an
organ that just occupies two percent of
body volume!

Cultural Conversation Tool #3:
An emergent culture is one that knows
how to conserve energy to thrive.
Learning how to build "un-focus" into
your day to enhance productivity
is key. Help employees understand

that the brain conserves energy by
constantly rejuvenating its attentional
networks, and that they must build
this rejuvenation time into their days.
Physical exercise, 10-minute naps, and
many other factors can be implemented
to satisfy the energy budget of the
emergent brain.

SELF-CONNECTION
HELPS ENHANCE
YOUR INTUITION AND
PERSPECTIVES.
Brain science is a very effective way to
engage people in an understanding of
themselves, their body's demands, and
their connections. By allowing people
to understand how the changing brain
adapts to its own demands, leaders can
inspire their teams to "own" and leverage
their intrinsic capacities to build an
emergent culture.
As William Arthur Ward said, "Gratitude
can transform common days into
thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into
joy, and change ordinary opportunities
into blessings." Every day we can wake
up, and feel so grateful that we have
been endowed with the brains we have
to succeed.
Dr. Srini Pillay is the CEO of NeuroBusiness
Group. He is also assistant professor (parttime) at Harvard Medical School and
teaches in the executive education programs
at Harvard Business School and Duke CE.
Email Srini.

T R A I N I N G I N DUSTR Y MA GAZ INE - COACHING AND CULTURE 2 0 1 7 I WWW. T RAI NINGINDU S T RY . C OM/ MAGAZ I NE

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https://www.medium.com/emergent-era/welcome-to-the-emergent-era-d3d7afb81fca#.3ipg7zupm https://www.medium.com/emergent-era/welcome-to-the-emergent-era-d3d7afb81fca#.3ipg7zupm http://web.a.ebscohost.com/abstract?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=09725814&AN=120088655&h=xmcBL49IQIsE6C%2fhbShno7b8IvGgOLwyUIRReQp3KEYxthWuLvtbN%2feFkTMNrnXJ7azvrrmpSqc4a7BsiHds3g%3d%3d&crl=c&resultNs=AdminWebAuth&resultLocal=ErrCrlNotAuth&crlhashurl=login.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26profile%3dehost%26scope%3dsite%26authtype%3dcrawler%26jrnl%3d09725814%26AN%3d120088655 http://authors.library.caltech.edu/22559/ http://authors.library.caltech.edu/22559/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2896818/ http://www.trainingindustry.com/ezine.aspx

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