What We're Reading: Your Brain at Work by Dr. David Rock
Approximately every six weeks, the Agile Leadership Journey Guide Community hosts a book club where we discuss a book – some new, some classic – that is relevant to our individual and collective work, lives, and leadership journeys.
Our most recent selection? We revisited David Rock’s Your Brain at Work. Here are just several of our Guides’ key takeaways.
The SCARF® Model
Co-facilitated by ALJ Founder and CEO Pete Behrens and ALJ Guide Pascal Gugenberger, our discussion kept coming back to, “It’s so much more than SCARF®!”
Your Brain at Work looks at how our brains work (and sometimes don’t) in the context of the modern workplace. It follows two fictional characters through some common workplace challenges, but it also dives into the neuroscience behind how our brains process information, make decisions, and handle various tasks at work.
Yes, the SCARF® model – Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, and Fairness – is a large part of the book and those who have attended one of our Agility in Leadership™ workshops are well familiar with it. Dr. Rock uses the acronym to explain how understanding these factors can improve our productivity, collaboration, and overall job satisfaction as the SCARF® Model assesses the differences in people’s social motivation. Some people are more sensitive to status threats and rewards, others to relatedness or fairness. Leaders who understand SCARF® can help drive inspiration, engagement, and retention among their teams.
Prioritize Prioritizing
The book also offers some practical strategies and techniques for optimizing brain function at work – most of them are simple and can be enacted immediately. For example, if you’re losing focus, “Remind yourself of both the negative consequences and potential positive outcomes of what you’re doing. It really helps you get back on track.”
The group also talked about how our ability to stick to our task list or plan goes down as the day goes on. Setting aside time for our most important tasks earlier in the day can help us accomplish what needs to be done, or in other words, “We need to prioritize prioritizing!”
We discussed Rock’s ARIA framework – awareness, reflection, insight, and action – which helps readers understand and apply the aspects of neuroscience that can improve their effectiveness in the workplace. Attention refers to the brain's ability to focus on a specific task or information. Regardless of whether we work at home or in an office, distractions can derail productivity. Rock recommends that people minimize interruptions and optimize their workspace to stay focused. Relevance means that we should make our work meaningful to us; if it is, our brain is more likely to stay engaged with our tasks and retain important information. Next, insight is what our brains crave; anything you can do to foster a culture of creative problem-solving and innovation will improve effectiveness. Finally, action is about translating intentions into actionable steps. Think of how satisfying it is to cross off items on a to-do list. Our brains are wired to respond positively to progress!
Our Next Book
We look forward to discussing our next book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D., in November 2023, which is foundational to our Developing a Growth Mindset course.
See the complete list of ALJ-recommended reads on our Bookshelf.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to this lively conversation: Pete Behrens, Christina Carlson, Rashmi Fernandes, Josh Forman, Pascal Gugenberger, Betsy Piland, Brad Swanson, Jim Wang, and Tracey Wilson.
