Most organizations and their leaders take pride in updating their systems with the latest technology and equipment. They devote significant resources to ensure their employees are using state of the art processes and materials.
Most organizational leaders would agree that without constant upgrades, they would be trying to achieve success with their hands tied behind their backs.
That's why it is so baffling that so many of these leaders and their companies continue to operate their most precious "assets" – their employees – using badly dated thinking, outmoded concepts and really old-school beliefs.
As the data from neuroscience continues to mount, we wonder why this crucial evidence-based information is still being so widely overlooked?
One problem is focus – most business leaders simply aren't focused on this type of information. Some might argue that it is due to a lack of understanding of human dynamics. Many organizational leaders continue to rely on old management philosophies and the mostly discredited theories behind them.
Another thing that keeps old management thinking and systems in place is the persistent belief that psychology is not relevant to business. Certainly our cultural views and policies on mental health reflect a deep seated reluctance to accept the primacy of psychological health in our overall well-being and success.
But in the last fifteen years, there has been unremitting neurological research which reveals fundamental insights about how we humans function. This information is not arbitrary – it's factual. These studies impact everything about how we structure work. They show how brain functions affect perception, emotion and conscious thought.
While the growing body of neuroscience must stand the scrutiny of further research, we can begin to see applications in the workplace. The following are the BIG FIVE. These core ideas have implications for all management practices:
