Ask an Expert: How Do We Learn Best?

For the past few years, Microsoft has been embarking on a journey to diversify its workforce and increase feelings of inclusion company-wide.

Celebrating differences in teams may sound well-intentioned, but research shows it pays to build inclusion through celebrating similarities.

One of the most well-established psychological concepts, growth mindset, has exploded among leadership. But how do you cultivate growth mindset culture?

In honor of Brain Awareness Week, we wanted to highlight a few of our favorite facts – and myths – about this complex, intriguing organ.

Reframing a common question around transformation may help leaders reduce the sense of threat often provoked by major change.

Employees that have their social needs met are more likely to feel engaged in their jobs and less likely to look for greener pastures elsewhere.

When we’ve invested time and effort into a project, it’s hard to let go — even if continuing will create more losses.

Performance conversations are a critical moment for leaders to help their team members feel supported and keep engagement steady.

Science tells us that people need simple, easy-to-use tools to think and work effectively. Here's how that science can guide behavior change at your organization.

It's hard to know when we've assembled just the right people for just the right jobs. That's where the idea of "thoughtful exclusion" comes into play.

Build Efficient Teams by Practicing ‘Thoughtful Exclusion’

The CDO-CHRO alliance is a force to be reckoned with. The SHIELD model shifts the conversation from a technical concern to a core business and ethical imperative.

While the idea of what empathy looks like at work keeps evolving, here's some of what we learned this year.

What brain science says about how to set yourself up for success when you’re starting a new job.

By prioritizing these capabilities, energy and utilities leaders can ensure their organizations remain resilient in the face of relentless change.

NLI’s “Ask an Expert” debut dives into those aha eureka moments — and the neuroscience behind them.

Diversity training can feel performative, and elicit groans from those asked to attend. But it absolutely can be impactful, and that’s through a mix of both delivery and measurement.

There are many benefits to giving workers more autonomy. But you must plan carefully, or things can backfire.

The growing wisdom to "kill performance ratings" actually follows from an even larger observation about traditional performance management.

Turn mistakes into opportunities by forgiving yourself first.

Due to the effects of bias, managers may be conducting performance reviews in such a way that sets employees on unwanted career paths for years.

What Pilots and Nurses Can Teach Organizations About Decision-Making

If you have a brain, you have bias. Some biases create bigger blind spots for decision-making, however. We’re seeing that a lot now as organizations try to redefine work and the employer-employee relationship.

Shorter virtual lessons can help organizations change in a matter of weeks instead of years.

IBM’s CLO Says Skills Could Be the Currency of the AI Revolution

Microsoft's culture change journey has been marked by a persistent focus on going simple and establishing its essential leadership principles.

As organizations strive to become more human-centric, leaders will need to confront their own abilities to share organizational truths through storytelling.

The Biggest Myth About Growth Mindset

What does the neuroscience of running have in common with being a leader in conflict? A lot more than you think, according to five-time Olympian Nick Willis.

Forming quality connections in the workplace — in other words, practicing the three habits of empathy — creates a culture in which everyone wants to bring their best effort.

We're busier than ever, but less able to get our own work done. Here's how science says we can make the most of our days.

At the 2019 NeuroLeadership Summit, we caught up with psychologist Dr. Valerie Purdie Greenaway to discuss what it looks like to scale social learning.

What Our New Pop-Up Survey Reveals About Growth Mindset

It's one of the most common missteps leaders make in expanding their talent pool: creating diversity without inclusion. Here's why both matter.

Meet NILES, the world’s first AI coach designed exclusively for leaders.

Three ways organizations can foster social connections despite the obstacles presented by remote operations.

It can be helpful to reassess situations to regulate our emotions. But when we’re quite stressed, that reassessment could turn malevolent.

Brain science can help organizations make the most of their investment in current and future leaders.

The 2 Biggest Obstacles to Organizational Growth Mindset — and How to Overcome Them

At our May 2025 event, leaders will become the test subjects to start embedding crucial habits.

For the last few years, Microsoft has been on a transformational feedback journey in which people stop giving feedback and instead start asking for it.

Some of the world’s brightest science and business leaders convened to share solutions to major workplace challenges, including the RTO debate, DEI, AI disruption, and reskilling.

Establishing the right priorities are important to create long-lasting change, but leaders also need to implement the right habits and systems.

By understanding and employing the science of spacing, we can tweak programs to make a dramatic difference in the impact of learning.

Decades of research show that feigning positive emotions at work can have a positive impact on a person's career aspirations. But beneath the veneer of positivity, what dangers lurk for organizations who only see what's on the surface for their employees?

Groupthink is what happens when team members stop thinking independently, don't speak up, and race toward consensus. But leaders can still avoid it.

Organizations often justify a toxic environment and masculinity contest culture with the mentality of "how we do business here."

Providing clarity and offsetting negative feelings are essential for helping frazzled employees regain composure.

Diversity without inclusion can lead to a revolving door of talent, which means leaders should focus on uniting teams around shared goals.

These seven essential activities will help produce a more alert, creative, and resilient mind.

Welcome to Your Brain at Work!

Four takeaways for fostering a less toxic workplace.

Here’s a small sampling of insights from more than 20 virtual sessions.

Leaders who practice optimal inclusion—that is, deploying the right people for the right jobs—can create more efficient, effective teams.

One soft skill has a place on the battlefield, the boardroom, the breakroom, and the Zoom room. Immerse yourself in stories that illustrate the benefits of compassion in any setting.

AI is as biased as the humans who created it. So, it’s up to us to detect and mitigate those biases.

Performance management can drum up some pretty intense emotions. Fortunately, leaders can use neuroscience to make it more effective.

Leaders can spend a slew of time and money on organizational change initiatives. But many of them often fail. Here’s why and how to get them right.

Create a more engaged, resilient workforce by approaching challenges with careful communication, a growth mindset, and empathy.

Mindset dictates the way we think about goals and determines how we interpret successes and failures. A growth mindset can help us thrive through crisis.

NLI's research has identified three key business reasons for organizations to start seriously trying to adopt a growth mindset.

The second day of the 2024 NeuroLeadership Summit featured discussions about AI, civility, burnout, and much more.

Insights to help build a productive, collaborative, and connected hybrid workforce.

If you think your brain has become more foggy in the past year, you're not alone. Research shows the pandemic has given us all a bit more cog fog. Here's how to conquer it.

Your Brain At Work LIVE – S6:E06 – Understanding the Limits of Cognitive Capacity to Transform How We Work

At NLI we believe that now is perfect time to build a more flexible, continuous, and people-focused performance management system. Here's how.

Only about a third of US employees qualify as "engaged." It's up to management to create the habits that can boost that figure.

Quality connections are key for building an empathetic workplace.

Comedian Ben Gleib offers approaches for making mundane work feel a little less stuffy through humor.

For years, there’s been one mainstream way of understanding implicit bias. Now researchers have discovered something unexpected in how our brains react to biases.

What three scientific elements should we focus on to create more inclusive Australian workplaces for the differently-abled?

Colleges play an important role in bringing diverse groups together. As such, they should make it a priority to create a sense of allyship on campus.

Leaders everywhere are thinking about artificial intelligence, leadership development, and building cultures of high performance.

As talent becomes increasingly global 18 months into the pandemic, more and more teams are having to achieve goals without ever having the pleasure of meeting in-person. How does that all work?

In this infographic, we dive into how the brain reacts to unfairness and why systems must be overhauled to achieve true equity.

Inclusion is proven to be good for business, but it's also been shown to afford employees a host of psychological and physical benefits.

Meaningful learning can’t occur when our brains are flooded with information. That's why creating coherence in corporate learning content is so important.

Janet M. Stovall and Michaela Simpson discuss how genuine allies can examine their intentions and use their privilege to advocate for change.

Cigna, a global leader in healthcare services, has embraced growth mindset to transform both its agility and its approach to performance management.

Building a leadership model is a bit like building a house. Both require coherence, the structural integrity that holds elements together.

A 125-year-old medical technology company adapted quickly to help diagnose, vaccinate, and treat COVID-19.

Add these episodes to your playlist for the best brain-friendly advice for today’s leadership challenges.

We think of data as being unbiased, but it depends on how people choose to collect, analyze, and interpret the results.

By understanding our minds' limits, we can use science-backed strategies to embed habits that are easy to recall and apply.

Adapt to a new normal or embrace persistent agility? Here’s why a learning agile culture may be the way to equip organizations for continuous innovation and growth.

For over two years, Microsoft has been on a journey of cultivating allyship in its leaders and employees, and CDO Lindsay-Rae McIntyre has led the charge.

Here are some of our greatest hits – no pun intended – on threat, de-escalation, and the skills we need to get along.

Don’t miss out on the many upsides of candidates with “portfolio careers.”

What’s the best way to make new habits stick? To shed light on this complex question, we turned to Elliot Berkman, a psychologist at the University of Oregon and the associate managing director of the Center for Translational Neuroscience.

How you can leverage AI to improve skills and drive innovation.

Understanding how stress impacts cognitive capacity can help you manage it.

The Dangers of Misunderstanding Burnout

For innovation to happen, you first need to increase the quantity and quality of your insights.

Leaders can use insights derived from science to manage their teams' cognitive capacity, ultimately making them smarter, happier, and more effective.

5 Habits for Holding Less-Biased Meetings

Our newest product, FLEX, is designed to help executive leaders and front-line managers thrive in a hybrid world, and create a world of fairness and autonomy for their teams. Here's some of the origin story.

Contrary to popular belief, AI might soon become a better leader than humans. We need to plan for that future now.

Unlocking the power of a diverse organization requires creating a sense of inclusion. These three action-oriented ideas can help offer a roadmap.

The current narrative of hybrid work gives leaders little to work with. Really, all arguments against hybrid work boils down to these four main myths.