Why People Behave the Way They Do and How to Manage Them

Dr. Ellen Weber is the author of Know More Media’s Brain Based Business blog. I am happy to be one of her blogging colleagues at Know More Media (I write Marketing Blurb for the network). Dr. Weber not only writes about how to benefit at work by using brain-based insights, but she is also the director of MITA International Brain Based Center in New York. Her credentials are impressive to say the least.

Recently, Dr. Weber was interviewed for an article that was featured on the cover of the March issue of HR Magazine, which is published by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM - the world’s largest professional organization dedicated to human resource management).

In the article entitled “The Brain at Work: Science is Shedding Light on Why People Behave the Way They Do and How to Better Manage Them”, Dr. Weber provides a number of quotes to help readers understand the brain’s effect on work performance. I particularly like Dr. Weber’s perspective in the following snippet from the article:

“Employees need to have some ownership in changes to better accept them. Neuroscientists have found that the brain doesn’t build connections when told what to do. It only changes patterns by being involved in the process.

“Because of brain-imaging technologies, we know that we use only 3 percent to 5 percent of our brains,” Weber says. “If you send me to your staff meeting and sit me there and talk to me, I use 3 percent of my brain, and that is the reason I hate being there and why I’m disengaged.” However, “If you stir up my environment meaningfully so that I can teach the person next to me something that I [just learned], I will use 90 percent of my brain,” suggests Weber.”

If you manage people or if you want to gain a better understanding of how your brain can influence your own work, take some time to read “The Brain at Work”. It’s an insightful and interesting article about neuroscience and human resource management.

Tags: HR Magazine, Ellen Weber, Know More Media, BrainBasedBusiness.com, Brain Based Business, human resources, SHRM, neuroscience, women in business, businesswomen, women on business