When an ASU business professor discovered his personal interest in the human brain, a new purpose for harnessing neuroscience technology was born.
W. P. Carey School of Business professor Pierre Balthazard plans to break into the multibillion-dollar leadership improvement industry by showing that a combination of measuring electrical activity caused by neurons and psychometric tests can detect how individuals rank as leaders.
Balthazard’s interest in the topic sparked more than 10 years ago, and over the past five years he has been working with a team of professionals to collect data to create a more accurate system of helping people improve their potential as effective leaders.
The current methods used to help people improve their leadership qualities aren’t entirely valid since assessments are typically based on third-party evaluations, Balthazard said.
“There are techniques that neuroscientists use that are more accurate than a fingerprint that [can] tell you what’s going on in the gray matter between your ears,” he said.
To map out an individual’s cognitive and emotional responses to leadership-related situations, electrodes are attached to the individual’s head to measure neuron-generated electrical activity, which is then further analyzed.
Balthazard developed a team to help spearhead this new application of neuroscience technology including business professor David Waldman and executive director of the Center for Cognitive Enhancement Jeffrey Fannin.
“We can isolate areas in the brain and activity in the brain that will have a signature for people who are seen by others as better leaders,” Waldman said.
One of the main aspects of this research is the measurement of psychological capital, which includes optimism, hope, confidence and resilience, Fannin said. Then the brain is trained to improve those traits that are indicative of leaders.
“It’s important to be on the cutting edge of this,” Fannin said. “We live in the time of science, where we can measure this and actually change the brain, something that’s never been done before.”
After there is a clear understanding of the science and a pattern of stronger leaders is recognized, more accomplishments can be made by taking the technology and applying it to business decisions.
“Once you have the understanding that it is possible to reshape the brain, then the actual wiring can be changed,” Waldman said. “There is the potential that people can increase their leadership abilities to what we’re finding out.”
The brain — like many muscles in the body — is something you can train and make stronger, Balthazard said.
“You might not become Mr. Atlas, but you can get very fit,” Balthazard said. “You can make your brain do things that it would not do
naturally.”
Although the application of this technology is “game-changing,” Balthazard said, there are limits to what it will be capable of achieving.
“You can’t just take someone off of the street, hook them up to a machine and then a month later they become a CEO,” he said. “That’s not how it works.”
Individuals who have a desire to improve themselves must have the necessary background and maturity to be effective leaders in their fields.
Aspiring leaders are given techniques so they can use the management skills they already have more efficiently, Balthazard said.
There is emphasis on helping those in the military, police force, or fire and rescue teams to be better prepared in crisis situations, he said.
“We’re not creating people out of thin air,” Balthazard said. “We’re taking the God-given talents of individuals and priming them for better leadership behavior.”
Reach the reporter at slsnyder@asu.edu.
