Seeking Insight

I was fortunate enough to recently hear David Rock, Director and CEO of the NeuroLeadership Institute, speak about insight – something most of us would like more of!

David noted that as you become more anxious and stressed, you have fewer and fewer insights. He explained that insight is “like a quiet phone ringing at a loud party”, so to achieve greater insight you need to be quiet. When we actively try to solve a problem our instinct is to talk, but this creates too much noise. Instead, we need to quieten our brains and let our minds wander. Ensuring there is enough quiet time in your life should in turn lead to greater insight.

Given the opportunity for questions, I asked David if effective leaders do this instinctively…? His response was that “effective leaders instinctively grow their people to generate insight”. This fits perfectly with my own belief that good leadership is all about The Art of Growing People.