All the Brains in the Business (eBook)

Preface 6
Acknowledgements 11
About This Book 12
Contents 16
List of Figures 20
1 Brain Sex and Biological Sex 21
The Case for Creating Optimal Brain Conditions 21
The Sex of Your Brain 22
Brain and Biological Sex—Key Differences Between the Male and Female Brain 23
Structural Differences Between the Male and Female Brain 23
Blood Flow and Connectivity Differences Between the Male and Female Brain 24
Hormones 26
A Look at the Impact of Nature on the Developing Brain 27
The Brain in Utero 27
The First Two Years of the Developing Brain—The Beginnings of the Impact of Nurture on Nature 28
Puberty and Brain Development 29
Social Context and Its Influence on Brain Development 30
Getting to Know the Sex of Your Brain 31
Summary: Why Waste Brain Power at Work? 33
References 34
2 Conditions for Optimal Brain Function 36
The Strong Case for Biology as the Basis of Behaviour 36
A Story to Start a Metaphor May Help 37
A Newtonian Moment in Time 38
Brains Emerging into Being Observable Organs 41
Two New Brain-Related Sciences to Take on Board 43
Why We Are Each Unique 45
References 47
3 Survive, Thrive and Flow 48
The Search for Identity as the Basis of What the Differences Are 50
And Now It Gets Emotional 52
References 56
4 Brain Sex-Based Attention and Communication 57
Attention ? Attention ? 57
Tuning in to Faces and Feelings 58
Staying Connected and Seeking Approval 59
Emotional Tones 60
Gut Feelings 61
Mirroring 62
Language—Spoken and Unspoken 62
Empathy—The Magic of Intuition 64
Attention and Communication in the Workplace 64
Case Study—The Deal 64
Summary 66
References 67
5 Power, Politics and Pressure 69
Hierarchy and the Male Brain 69
Competition—The Neurobiology 70
Collaboration—The Neurobiology 71
Case Study—Financial Services Recruitment 72
Matching Behaviours Mistaken for Low Confidence 73
Office Politics—Workplace Culture and the Dominant in Group 74
The Positive Impact of Office Politics 75
Case Study—Going the Extra Mile Behind the Scenes 76
The Neurochemical Double Bind 77
Summary—The Testosterone Conundrum 78
References 79
6 Problem Solvers and Solution Seekers—The Difference Between Intra-compared with Inter-hemispheric Connectivity 81
The Problem-Solving Male Brain 83
The Collaborative Female Brain 84
Going Out for Dinner or Staying at Home! 85
A Woolly Mammoth in the Workplace? 85
Valuing the Difference 86
Powerful Discrimination—A New Concept for Accessing the Best of the Brains in the Business 86
What Underpins the Value in Powerful Discrimination? 87
Woolly Mammoths Are Easy to Spot—A Case Study 88
Accessing the Best of Both Sex Brains—The Gendersmart Solution Spectrum™ 91
Summary 93
References 94
7 The Beginnings of a New Motivational Theory, from the Engendered Brain 95
8 The Business Case for Valuing Brain Sex Difference 103
Embracing Gender Diversity at Work—The Numbers Stack Up 103
Glaciers Do Move—But Slowly 105
Creating Faster Flow—Powerful Discrimination 106
The Fine Line—Alpha Positive Meets Alpha Negative 107
Top Talent: Finding It, Keeping It—The Biggest Kicker Yet the Biggest Challenge 109
Triggering Survive Is Bad for Business! 110
Which Brain Types Are Not Optimising Thrive? 111
Innovation and Agility—The Polymath Brain for the Future 112
Case Study—A Global Institute 112
Summary 113
References 114
9 How to Ignite All the Brains in the Business 115
All the Brains at Work 115
Trust 115
The RICH™ Communication Model 117
R for Recognition 118
Example—RICHTM Communication Model in Action 119
I for Intention 119
Example—RICHTM Communication Model in Action 120
Challenge Plus Solution Generation 120
Example—RICHTM Communication Model in Action 121
H for Hope 121
Example—RICHTM Communication Model in Action 121
In a Nutshell 122
When to Use the RICHTM Communication Model 122
Meetings and the Brain 123
The 4Cs Meetings Model™ 123
C for Connect 124
Case Study 124
For Example: A 4Cs Connect Technique 124
C for Compassion 125
C for Curiosity 126
C for Control 126
Case Study 127
Summary 128
References 129
10 Exhaustion, Energy and Excellence—The Male/Female Differences 130
The 3 Es 130
Synthetic or Authentic? 132
The Burn-Out Risk Comes About This Way 133
References 135
11 Creating the Mind of the Organisation 136
The Courage to Go On 136
There Are n Interlinking Answers, and Some Are Here 138
But We Don’t Really Know What ‘an Organisation’ Is 141
References 143
12 The New Organisational Paradigm 144
Getting Towards the Kind of Organisation Fit for Women and Men Together 144
At Last, a Working Model of the Mind 145
Real Life Mindlessness at Work 147
The Sustainable Organisation of the Twenty-First Century 149
And What Would the Capacity of the Leader Be Like? 150
When Algorithms Take Over from People 151
In Conclusion—All the Brains in the Business 153
Reference 153
Further Reading 154
Index 155