{"id":126395,"date":"2025-04-03T08:50:16","date_gmt":"2025-04-03T12:50:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trainingindustry.com\/?post_type=magazine&p=126395"},"modified":"2025-04-03T09:49:57","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T13:49:57","slug":"developing-the-brain-of-a-leader","status":"publish","type":"magazine","link":"https:\/\/trainingindustry.com\/magazine\/spring-2025\/developing-the-brain-of-a-leader\/","title":{"rendered":"Developing the Brain of a Leader"},"author":34,"featured_media":90195,"template":"","tags":[166,14213],"class_list":["post-126395","magazine","type-magazine","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-leadership-development","tag-training-industry-magazine","global_topic_tax-leadership","global_topic_tax-onboarding","magazine_issue_tax-spring-2025","magazine_article_type_tax-building-leaders","magazine_article_type_tax-thought-leader"],"acf":{"sponsored":false,"gated":false,"gated_content_type":"","file_attachment":null,"gated_content":"","form_instruction_header":"To access the full article, please fill out the form below:","pardot_html_embed":"","author_override":true,"author_name":"Sam Shriver and Marshall Goldsmith","author_image":"","author_bio":"Marshall Goldsmith is the world authority in helping successful leaders get even better. Sam Shriver is the executive vice president at The Center for Leadership Studies. Email the authors<\/a>.","excerpt":"The theme for this issue (How the Brain Learns) really got us thinking (no pun intended)! What would you see inside the brain of a proven leader? Did their brain always operate that way? Do they think differently? ","main_content":"The theme for this issue (How the Brain Learns) really got us thinking (no pun intended)! What would you see inside the brain of a proven leader? Did their brain always operate that way? Do they think differently? Or do they simply spend more time thinking?\r\n\r\nAmidst those musings, we were reminded of an exchange we had with a distinguished executive leader. She shared a memory from her early career as a people manager. She had just been promoted into her role and was in her office. There was a knock at her door and one of her direct reports asked if she had a minute.\r\n\r\nOf course she had a minute: She was a new manager who was both enthusiastic and eager to demonstrate responsiveness and build trust. The employee entered and provided an emotional account of his frustration with a colleague from another department who was impeding him from doing his job and hitting his targets. The new manager listened, empathized and was moved to outrage herself. She committed (in the moment) to take care of this situation.\r\n\r\nNot long after, she left her office \u201cwith her hair on fire\u201d and confronted her management counterpart from the other department. She then heard a decidedly different version of the details contributing to the problem which, upon objective review, seemed far more plausible.\r\n\r\nNow, we have both spent a significant portion of our careers talking with leaders from all different walks of life about the art (or science) of leadership. And it seems like just about every one of them has similar tales to tell, which leads us to believe:\r\n