Not a Born Leader? Get a Brain Workout

Phase one: Identify brain’s neural pathways linked to leadership skills.

Phase two: Concoct brain exercise machine to tone up, sculpt and strengthen those leadership skills.

Phase three: Execute leadership maneuvers.

A plot of one second of human brain (EEG) activity

Building off decades of research in the neurosciences, information technologist Pierre Balthazard, an associate professor at the W.P. Carey School of Business, and a team of researchers are using EEG testing to measure, record and map the qualities associated with leadership in the brain. The existence of these leadership analytics, as he calls them, are the start of what will one day lead to devices that we can use to boost our leadership skills.

If in fact, you don't have a profile that's conducive to being a good leader, but you really want to be a good leader; well, you now have the potential through this brain plasticity to adopt a new set of neural pathways in your brain. Not necessarily to magically become the leader that you're not, but certainly to get one of the necessary conditions for you to improve your leadership skills.

At some point, sooner rather than later, my project will move into a phase where we're going to be developing software based on the analysis that will provide a set of exercises. Neuroscientists call this neural feedback; kind of like on the same concept of biofeedback. If you go to the gym, and you lift weights with your right arm, eventually you're going to have a well-toned right arm. Same thing. If we do exercises with the brain, you can change the profile. It is used every day.

I can’t wait for the late night infomercials: Not a born leader? No sweat! Get the Ultimate Leadership Capabilitizer.

[Knowledge W.P. Carey, via IBTimes]

[Photo: Flickr/Zeno]

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