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I just reviewed Neuroscience for Leaders by Nikolaos Dimitriadis; Alexandros Psychogios. #NeuroscienceforLeaders #NetGalley. Its a great read with a ton of useful information. Its a book that I refer to as a "heavy" read. The type of book you devour chapter at a time and come back to it.

A really engaging and interesting read. The field of neuroscience has exploded in recent years and this book is a valuable addition to the research.

How the brain works will continue to fascinate us, even as we continue to learn more about it. What this book will give you is the grounding and knowledge of what we currently know about the brain and how this knowledge can help you in life.

Highly recommended.

I received a copy of Neuroscience for Leaders from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. This is a very well researched book that summarizes some of the advances in neuroscience that the authors believe can improve leadership by understanding how we respond personally and collectively in a work environment. The authors term their approach-- "brain adaptive leadership" which will not win a viral marketing award for best new leadership slogan that will become the next big leadership fad. If you can detect a hint of world weariness in my review, I have come to believe that you can't learn leadership from reading a book. You can pick up a few nuggets and insights that can help you approach a difficult situation which is certainly helpful but unfortunately
'leadership," is an applied "soft" science. Lab and neuroimaging studies are too simplistic to account for the myriad of variables that account for success. What works in one company, may not work in another, especially with multinational companies, different cultures, different industries, etc. That said, the authors write clearly for a lay audience and do a good job translating some of the research findings into practical leadership suggestions.

Additionally, the authors do a nice job of not inflicting neuromania upon the reader by trying to pinpoint each anatomical brain structure and synapse with a specific behavior. If many of our traits our polygenetic--meaning that there are various genes and environmental influences that impact a human trait--certainly thinking that understanding one aspect of the brain will lead to an evidence-based specific business solution to a problem would be grossly naive. The authors point of stating that we have a "triune brain"--the old/reptilian brain; the emotional/affective/limbic system brain; and the rational/thinking/neocortex brain"--highlights the need to manage and communicate with logic and emotion while being able to motivate various individuals into a collective whole. They also formulate four "pillars" of their approach that derive from understanding how the triune brain works that are as follows: thinking will become more robust, we will recognize the importance of emotions in decision-making, understanding basic neuroscience can help us improve our business relations and that those relations will "become stronger and more motivating." The authors also use case studies and practical tips to use these principles in a business setting. These are reasonable but hardly game-changing.

In conclusion, I recommend this book if you have an interest in understanding how the brain works in conjunction with other behavior-influencing bodily functions like hormones in explaining how this leads to different behaviors and how to potentially use this knowledge to be a more effective leader. It can also lead to some self-awareness in leaders if they find themselves reacting in an ineffective way under certain conditions.

I really struggled with this one.
The book sounds interesting and worth your time. I think that I will have to give it a second try before deciding if it’s worth suggesting to others because I struggled with it.
It felt more like a boring, plain text book than something I could really enjoy learning from.

This book was a great ready to improve leadership skills with a take on neuroscience. However, the book does get a little advanced on my knowledge of neuroscience. I was still able to take some tidbits of information from it to improve my leadership skills.

Thanks to Kogan Page Ltd and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review!

I received an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review

I loved this book- was able to put some of these science-based management skills to use at work right away! Definitely recommended for first time managers and anyone feeling stuck