Our Story: In 2007, David and Lisa Rock and their team had been working in leadership development and executive coaching for ten years, when David coined the term “NeuroLeadership.” They realized that bringing a more concrete, science-based approach to growing soft skills would not just resonate with business leaders but also make any change initiative more effective. That same year, what would become the NeuroLeadership Institute ran its first Summit in Asolo, Italy, convening business practitioners and brain scientists. Since then, Summits have been held across London, Sydney, San Francisco, DC and Boston before settling into its home in New York City. Tens of thousands of people now join the summit each year by live streaming. 2008 also saw the launch of the NeuroLeadership Journal. In its first few years, NLI published the foundational papers in the field, including the first paper on the SCARF ® Model. We initially provided executive education, and then soon started to consult with firms based on demand, eventually helping launch a movement to do performance management without formal ratings. After two and a half years of research, NLI launched the SEEDS Model ® in 2015, and a diversity and inclusion (D&I) practice was born. Soon after, NLI launched a culture and leadership practice, initially working with tech giants Intel, Microsoft, and IBM. It also gained deep expertise in growth mindset and helped many organizations transform culture. Around that same time, NLI introduced the distributed learning solution, a socialized learning methodology that allows large groups of people to learn and retain knowledge with little time commitment. Going into the future, we’re continuing to adapt, evolve, and listen for where people need us next.
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Dr. David Rock shares his insights from this year's Association for Talent Development (ATD) Conference: As AI scales, human skills matter more than ever. To make your learning strategy stick, anchor it in brain science. Start today with NLI's AI Transformation Masterclass for HR Leaders. https://lnkd.in/eGBY5KKG. #AI #AITransformation #ThoughtLeadership #NewWorldofWork #NeuroLeadership
Reflections on designing learning in the AI era
The NeuroLeadership Institute has a variety of ways that we partner with our clients to drive measurable behavior change at scale. Each week, we're highlighting one of these solutions in our "Inside the Solution" series to show you the science, strategy, and impact behind what makes them work. This Week: CONNECT Join us for an interactive demonstration where we'll explore how CONNECT — grounded in 20+ years of neuroscience research into effective workplace interactions — transforms the quality of conversations and creates environments where people and performance thrive. We'll dive into both the science AND how we deliver this solution through our consulting engagements. What You'll Discover: How brain science underpins the quality of everyday workplace conversations What a typical CONNECT engagement looks like from start to finish Real examples of organizations using CONNECT to drive measurable improvements in communication and performance When: June 4th at 1:00pm EST This is a demonstration designed for organizations exploring solutions for culture and/or leadership transformation. Registrations from independent consultancies or coaches may be declined.
Need to improve the quality of leadership in your organization? Your leaders don't need a generic AI that encourages bad ideas, makes them worse at critical thinking, or helps them avoid human interactions. They need an AI that challenges them on the spot, shares important truths, and literally makes them not just smarter, but smarter about humans. That's NILES. In testing, NILES creates breakthrough insights in 8 out of 10 brief conversations. On par with or better than most human coaches, NILES is available the moment a leader needs it, not weeks away when their coach has an opening. NILES isn't built by a tech startup burning through other people's money. It's built by one of the most trusted and respected leadership firms in the world, responsible for driving positive change in 20 million employees and managers over the last decade, across two thirds of the Fortune 100. Your leaders don't need another tool that agrees with everything they say. They need one that makes them genuinely better. Want to see for yourself? #LeadershipDevelopment #FutureOfWork #AIatWork #WorkplaceLearning #LearningAndDevelopment #Neuroscience #Leadership #HumanPerformance #OrganizationalDevelopment #EmployeeExperience #ChangeManagement #PeopleLeadership #LeadershipTraining #Talent
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This past weekend I was back home in Sydney, Australia, deep in a long standing Scrabble battle with my mum. At one point my older sister stopped by and joined in. Yet instead of being an additional player, she sat with my mum and helped her play against me. At a few points in the game, my sister took over the tile rack and started moving tiles around. It was fascinating watching my mother’s reaction when it happened. Firstly, relief. She didn’t have to think. Secondly she would lose the thread of where we were in the game, what the higher order strategy might be, and what the options were. She also lost motivation to continue – it wasn’t really ‘her’ game anymore. My sister now had the whole game mapped in her mind, but my mother was letting her mind wander elsewhere. This was a poignant reminder of what happens when we use GenAI tools a certain way. We stop holding in mind the whole map of the landscape, and just wait to be given the answer. That’s fine in a lot of instances if the issue you are working on is not all that important, and you don’t need to remember much about it, but it also can come with a lot of downstream consequences. A new study by Wharton just came out that provided a lot of insight into this issue. See https://lnkd.in/g5TPFA3u It divided the kinds of signals you could get from an AI either as an “attention signal”, meaning a nudge to pay attention to something, or an “action signal”, a fully-fledged set of steps to take that you would follow. There’s a lot to the study, it’s very cleverly done. The big thing is it very clearly shows the downstream negative effects of following actions decided on by another person, or in this case tool, that’s doing the thinking for you. While you might in the short-term increase your performance, this degrades significantly without the tool. To see this in front of my eyes with my mum was fascinating, and then to read about it the next day brought it all together. It’s all too tempting to use GenAi tools to do the thinking for us. Not having to think creates a delicious reward response in the brain. Yet the effects of this are clear. If we want to maintain a skill, and the motivation to keep using that skill, don’t offload the core work. Use GenAi tools to nudge us, to remind us what to pay more attention to, but we need to be the ones paying the attention. Without that, we can quickly lose both interest in the game we should be focused on.
In his latest Fast Company article, Dr. David Rock warns that combining executive overwhelm with sycophantic AI chatbots is creating a "perfect storm" for toxic, self-absorbed leadership, and discusses how organizations can steer clear. ⛈️ https://lnkd.in/eSvnEJ7C #toxicleadership #aiandleadership #ai #leadership
In today’s rapidly shifting workplace, where leaders are navigating both human complexity and the rise of AI, rigid management models won’t hold up. To drive sustained high performance under pressure, leaders need a fluid framework that is simple, scalable, and highly adaptable. Join us for the next edition of Your Brain at Work Live, where NLI’s Senior Director of Research, Dr. Emma Sarro and Director of Research Design, Dr. Brigid Lynn will share NLI’s framework for high performance, built on a foundation of Growth Mindset, Psychological Safety, and Accountability – or GPA. These aren’t just corporate buzzwords – they’re the critical human requirements your team needs to thrive, innovate, and complement technological shifts. In this session, Emma and Brigid will not only explore the latest neuroscience research for each pillar of the GPA framework, but they’ll also share the latest data collected from our GPA Assessment. See first hand how today’s leaders are creating the environment for their teams to thrive, and walk away with actionable strategies to build a resilient, future-ready team. #Leadership #HighPerformance #FutureOfWork #Neuroscience #GrowthMindset #PsychologicalSafety #Accountability #LeadershipDevelopment #HumanCenteredLeadership #WorkplaceCulture #AI #neuroleadership
Last week in NYC kicked off our World Tour of the AI Transformation Mini Summit for HR Leaders. We learned so much from our speakers and from those in the room. For HR leaders driving AI transformation, a consistent message was that we need to take into account the human factors, including the threats involved, the cognitive capacity limits we have, and the habits we need to build. We were surprised by how early in the process most companies are, how few employees today are “AI Fluent”, and how many companies want to understand where everyone else is in their organizational AI Adoption. Beyond the tech hype, change is slower than it seems. Whether this is good or bad for employees and their organizations remains to be seen. The big ideas from our presenters included: Amy Liedke, LexisNexis: "Keep it safe; make it clear". This means ensuring AI development is not initially tied to performance management, while providing clarity on what AI-related functions look like. Brent Vader, Verizon: Transformation hinges on psychological safety, creating a space where people feel safe to share mistakes. Rebecca O'Toole, Apollo Global Management, Inc.: Success requires a company-wide shared goal and "tinker time" for experimentation to foster a growth mindset. Want to join the conversation? We have upcoming Mini Summits in: 🇦🇺Sydney - May 28: https://lnkd.in/eTqd2M-i 🇸🇬Singapore - June 4: https://lnkd.in/egnuQ5Ye 🇬🇧London - June 12: https://lnkd.in/exD4ynSu 🇺🇸Chicago - June 24: https://lnkd.in/e8WUdCJ9 🇺🇸San Francisco - September 10: https://lnkd.in/exkvTexW Register at the links above. #AIinHR #HRTransformation #FutureofWork #GrowthMindset #PsychologicalSafety
Are you an NLI or Results Coaching Systems-trained coach in North America? If so, you’re invited to a webinar: “Integrating NILES into your Coaching Practice”, led by Dr. David Rock, tomorrow, May 20, at 4 pm ET. NILES, trained in NLI’s coaching methodology and content, is producing amazing results. There are tremendous benefits to integrating NILES into your practice, both in the quality of coaching and the impact you’ll have with clients. Dr. Rock will share insights and resources on how to maximize the benefits of NILES. Register to attend: https://lnkd.in/edhsVHHj #ai #coaching #coaches #NILES
Stop by the NLI booth at the #ATD2026 expo in Los Angeles, May 17–20. 💡 Don’t miss Dr. David Rock this afternoon at 3 pm PT as he presents "The Neuroscience of Learning in the AI Era". In this session, David will bridge 26 years of brain research with the rapid shift toward AI. You’ll walk away with evidence-based practices to navigate the challenges and opportunities for HR and L&D. 👋 Visit us at Booth #1345. We’d love to show you how we’re helping organizations evolve their leadership and performance through science. Say "hi" to our staff on site: Brandon Dill, Chelsea Holmes, Morgan Carroll, and Chad Vamos. #atd #learningconferences #AIinHR #NILES #NLI
In the rapidly evolving workplace, leaders need fluid frameworks to drive high performance. Ones that are adaptable, simple, scalable, and grounded in science. Join our upcoming Science webinar, led by Drs. Emma Sarro and Brigid Lynn. They’ll dive into the science of high performance, enabled by NLI’s GPA Framework. GPA stands for Growth Mindset, Psychological Safety, and Accountability. Minimum requirements that help leaders thrive under pressure. You’ll hear the latest research and get an exclusive first look at our GPA Assessment, and hear case studies where leaders are engaged in these critical drivers of success. Drs. Sarro and Lynn will connect biology to behavior and share actionable, brain-friendly strategies. Don't miss this opportunity to get the latest data and a blueprint for building a team that’s resilient, innovative, and primed for high performance. #BehaviorChange #LearningAndDevelopment #OrganizationalDevelopment #PeopleLeadership #TeamPerformance #EmployeeExperience #HumanPerformance