Dario Nardi | Brain Savvy Trust | Trust Conference 2014

Brain-Savvy TrustGetting our brains to flow!

September 11, 2014 ; London ; with Dario Nardi, PhD

What is trust?Competence

Ethics / integrity

Predictabilityhomeclassroomworkplacecommunityglobe

What boosts trust?

For real!•Competent or friendly-looking face•Congruent self-presentation (body language and voice tone)•Shared interests/goals •Similar personality•Tangible evidence, including repeat outcomes

For real?•Testimonials by peers and authority figures •Resume, and clearance by hiring personnel•Verbal assurances by the person

How can we leverage

people’s genius to build trust?

I analyze people’s brains as they do various tasks.

This is what I see.

Longer bars = more activity & the colors have meaning too

Here’s a bird’s-eye view of the neocortex, our diverse toolbox.

People’s brain wire differently.

reflecting, linking,seeing, analyzing,

anticipating

initiating, sensing,hearing, empathizing

improvising

When do you “flow”?

What evokes flow?• Tossing around a tennis ball, or two.• Handling a crisis during role-play.• Reviewing the past in detail.• Envisioning the future as it will be.• Listening activity to someone.• Listening to women (but not men) or vice versa.• Listening to a respected authority figure.• Noticing when someone is moving behind/around us.• Playing a musical instrument.• Playing with other people in a band, but not by oneself.• Dancing with a spouse.• Doing an activity for which you have expertise, or imagining that.• Many, many more.

Flow shows in the brain.

When we engage a task for which we have expertise, and are motivated,

and seek to improvise, the brain gets relaxed and very energized with all regions working in synch.

What’s your genius?

This visual by Talent Dynamics is used with permission.

Does knowing a person’s genius lead to better outcomes?

I’m running a lab experiment.• Some users know the genius model (4 kinds of smart) and other

users do not. • Everyone goes through a computer simulation of a 5 week

project with 5 virtual teammates. • Each week, the user as "team manager" receives a report on

each mate's performance, hears requests, and makes decisions. • There is a random element, because life surprises us.• Decisions involve constraints of time and money. • Often, the user has to select appropriate words to motivate. • There is a finale “presentation” and final score.• The computer records the user’s brain activity the whole time.

Here’s Stan. What’s his genius?

Stan is a family man. He’s good-natured and loyal to TechGo, the company he has worked for since college. He is patient with paperwork and careful about government regulations. He makes tasks go as smoothly as possible and doesn’t understand why some people are so disorganized or competitive. Stan often works overtime and believes in the big picture—bettering the human community.

What words motivate Stan?

C) This project will be a lot of fun! And it’s a chance to earn a big reward. Is now the time to act?

D) This project is a must for the company. It will need some careful detail-work. Let’s review what’s needed.

B) This project needs attention to our core values. I value our relationships. How can we share this?

A) This project is cutting-edge stuff. It needs a strategic innovation. How can we build it?

How do you decide with Stan?You’re weekly report shows Stan’s progress for the past week was merely fair (60%).

Stan asks for a day off to care for a family member in another town. This may impact his performance in the coming week. How do you respond?

A) YesB) No

A take-home you can trust!

When we use the trust model, When we shift our words and decisions to meet others' genius,

and give them room to flow, we may spend a little more

in time, money, or brain energy, but performance improves.

And when we are distracted, angry, tired, or constricted,

we may forget to build trust, with consequences.

Each day, or before a regular meeting,

consider 1 action you can take, question to ask, or

flow task you may encourage,to leverage your people’s

personal genius.

Here are [email protected]

www.RadianceHouse.comwww.NeuroPQ.com