Leadership is a dynamic process in which leaders are called to lead others toward desired results. Successful leaders of today understand that leadership is about inspiring and motivating others to engage in the work, enjoy the process, and celebrate the accomplishments – as individuals and as a team. Leaders of today appreciate current neuroscience finding and put them into practical applications on a daily basis. They lead with the brain in mind. Here are a few of these important points.

We think in mental maps and everyone’s maps are different. This is why we can’t just tell others what to do. They need to think for themselves and make their own connections. Leaders articulate clear expectations and then give people the space to think through how best to accomplish the task or performance. Leaders know that advice is toxic.

The brain hardwires everything it can (It makes habits). It’s hard to break old hardwiring, thus we are better off to create new hardwiring and let the old atrophy.

Focus on improving the quality of thinking. Help others process ideas better as they get clearer on ideas, or find relationships between concepts, or prioritize their thoughts.

Creating new hardwiring takes Time, Attention, Repetition and Positive Feedback (TARP). We stay the course when building new hardwiring.

We can only focus our attention on one task at a time (unless the task can be done in a automatic state).

Perception is driven by hardwiring. We perceive the world based on our own perceptions of the world and on our own experiences. Hold conversations to clarify ideas and create joint perceptions.

Leaders know how to help create new wiring by structuring conversations and situations that provide time for reflections.

What we focus on is what we get. We are much better served to focus on solutions rather than on problems. It is also important to focus on the positive over the negative. People grow from strengths.