Organizations are struggling with unparalleled challenges created by the uncertainty and ambiguity of transformational changes. Social neuroscience provides the framework to identify domains that activate reward or threat circuitry in the human brain. So, how can IT professionals leverage established research from Neuroscience to design interactions with stakeholders to promote rapid acceptance and adoption? What are the key behaviors that can improve collaboration and engagement to deliver the greatest business value? This session answers those questions and many more! Key Takeaways • Learn about the anatomy of the brain • Discuss how the brain responds to change • Learn practical ways to utilize this information to engage people

1. INSIGHTS FROM NEUROSCIENCE
TO MOTIVATE BUSINESS
STAKEHOLDERS
Building Business Capability Conference, November 10, 2017
Kay Fudala & Cynthia Siewert
Change Consultants

2. 2
Who we are
At Impact Makers, we are redefining business. Our passion is doing the right thing to
create meaningful change for our clients and our community. We drive change
through our teams of exceptional people, motivated by our mission and guided by
our values. Success with us is a different experience, by design.
Kay Fudala
Lead Consultant
Cynthia Siewert
Lead Consultant

3. Key takeaways for today
 Learn about the anatomy of the brain
 Discuss how the brain responds to change
 Learn practical ways to utilize this
information to engage people
3

4. Who are Stakeholders?
A Stakeholder is any
individual with an interest
in the outcome of an
organizational change.
They maybe targets of the
change, managers, leaders,
project team members or
other interested parties.
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5. Stakeholder Engagement
Stakeholder engagement is the process by which an organization involves people to
move towards a desired future state.This is achieved through the emotional
commitment or involvement stakeholders make and their influence in the change.
Effective stakeholder engagement lowers resistance to change.
• Why is engagement important?
• What do you do today to engage people?
• What do we know about the brain that informs us about how people can be
engaged?
5

6. POP QUIZ: Fact or Myth
4. There are 86 billion neurons in the brain.
2. You only use 10% of your brain.
5. Your brain stops growing new cells in
adulthood.
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3. People are not “right brained” or “left
brained.”
1. The bigger your brain, the smarter the person.
FACT
MYTH
MYTH
FACT
MYTH

7. TheThree Brains
2: Emotional brain
3: Rational Brain
1: Instinctual brain
Source: MacLean, Panksepp 7

8. Insights about the brain
• No two brains are alike
• The brain is a connection machine
• It hardwires everything
• Hardwiring drives perception and
is difficult to override
• The Surprise?The brain constantly
creates new wiring
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9. Do you see what I see?
“It deosn't mttaer in
waht oredr the ltteers in
a wrod are, the olny
iprmoetnt tihng is taht
the frist and lsat ltteer
be at the rghit pclae.
The rset can be a toatl
mses and you can sitll
raed it wouthit
porbelm.”
9

10. Destin rides a bike
10

11. Neuroplasticity
• “Neurons that fire together, wire
together.” ~ Hebb’s rule
• Neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s
ability to restructure itself in response
to the environment through persistent
training or practice.
• “Neurons that fire apart, wire apart.” ~
Corollary to Hebb’s rule
11

12. HOW CAN YOU
OPERATIONALIZE THESE
INSIGHTS?
12

13. THREAT
RESPONSE
Changing the default response
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Inputs
Experiences
REWARD
RESPONSE
Perceptions
Rational
Brain
Emotional
Brain
Instinctual
Brain

14. The SCARF Model
• Brain-based model for collaboration and influence developed by Dr. David Rock and
Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz defines five main domains (S.C.A.R.F.) that drive human
behavior.
• “…the same neural responses that drive us toward food or away from predators are
triggered by our perceptions of the way we are treated by other people” ~David
Rock
TOWARD
Reward
Response
AWAY
Threat
Response
Status
Certainty
Autonomy
Relatedness
Fairness
14

15. Activity: AssessYour Stakeholders
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Identify stakeholders to whom you can apply the SCARF Model.
OBJECTIVE
GUIDELINES
• Start to think about your stakeholder
• Explore what’s going on with them
• Don’t make assumptions

16. Our Stakeholder Personas
Status Steve
Certainty Seth
Autonomy Oscar
Relatedness Rene
Fairness Freda
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17. Status Steve
Threat Response #1 – Status: Relative Importance to Others
Desires
• Relative importance, Authority
Behaviors
• Challenging decisions, Correcting others,
Name dropping
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Increase rewards by
• Creating new connections
• Playing down status
• Creating shared goals, “in group” mentality
• Promoting learning and improvement
• Generating positive reinforcement
SCARF

18. Certainty Seth
Threat Response #2 – The ability to predict future
Desires
• Predictability, Stability
Behaviors
• Detail-oriented, Wants to limit scope,
Doesn't have time for things like
brainstorming
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Increase rewards by
• Providing clear plans and strategies
• Establishing clear expectations
• Providing structure in chaos
• Focusing on short term goals
SCARF

19. Autonomy Oscar
Threat Response #3 – Freedom of having choices
Desires
• Freedom to make decisions
Behaviors
• Stays within their silo or frame of reference,
Goes with the team’s plan
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Increase rewards by
• Not micromanaging
• Giving choices, decision making capabilities
• Negotiating norms
• Listening, soliciting opinions
• Providing ownership
SCARF

20. Relatedness Rene
Threat Response #4 –The need for affiliation
Desires
• Wants to be well-liked, Wants to agree with
others and find common ground
Behaviors
• Silence, Lack of contribution to
conversations
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Increase rewards by
• Sharing personal stories
• Creating buddy systems, mentoring or
coaching programs
• Creating tribes or communities of practice
SCARF

21. Fairness Freda
Threat Response #5 – Perception of equitable treatment
Desires
• Wants answers she can understand,Wants
to understand the “why”
Behaviors
• May have history with the organization, Lots
of “scar tissue”
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Increase rewards by
• Providing greater transparency
• Allowing teams to establish rules, initiatives
• Fostering self directed teams
SCARF

22. Activity: AssessYour Stakeholders
22
Identify stakeholders to whom you can apply the SCARF Model.
OBJECTIVE
DISCUSSION
• What did you learn about your stakeholder?
• Write down one thing you are going to do tomorrow

23. Recap
 Discussed the anatomy of the
brain
 Discussed how the brain responds
to change
 Discussed practical ways to utilize
this information to engage people
23

24. “Human beings have
an innate inner drive
to be autonomous,
self-determined, and
connected to one
another. And when
that drive is liberated,
people achieve more
and live richer lives.”
~ Dan Pink, Drive
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25. Resources Summary
• SCARF Model
• YouTubeVideo
• NeuroLeadership Article
• Social Pain, Naomi Eisenberger
• The puzzle of motivation,TedTalk by Dan Pink
• Quiet Leadership, David Rock
• Your Brain atWork, David Rock
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26. Additional Resources
• Thinking Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman
• FOCUS:The Hidden Driver of Excellence, Daniel Goleman
• The Mind and the Brain, Jeffrey Schwartz
• The BrainThat Changes Itself, Norman Doidge
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27. Change Consultant/Speaker Biographies
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Cynthia Siewert
Lead Consultant
Cynthia Siewert is currently an IT Management and Strategy Consultant with Impact
Makers. She transitioned into her first BusinessAnalysis role in 2004 and has been
connected to the profession ever since. After several years of project-level business
analysis work eliciting, documenting and managing requirements, she began leading
BusinessAnalysis teams and mentoring other BusinessAnalysts. She has taken the
skills she has learned in the field of BusinessAnalysis and utilized them in other
positions such as Program and Portfolio Management, Organizational Change
Management and now into her current role as a consultant.Cynthia is serving as the
President of the CentralVA Chapter of the IIBA. She is passionate about the value
BusinessAnalysts can bring to an organization, both at a tactical and a strategic level
and loves being part of the BA Community.
Kay Fudala
Lead Consultant
Kay is currently the Organizational Change Management Lead in the Management
and IT Consulting Practice at Impact Makers. She gravitated to IT from her roots in
the natural sciences.Throughout her career, she has been focused on driving user
adoption of technology and process changes within organizations, as a Business
SystemsAnalyst, Process Consultant and in her current role as a Change Consultant.
Kay combines her scientific background and IT experience with a deep interest in
human behavior to create positive and impactful results in organizations. A certified
transition coach, Kay is committed to leveraging latest research from social
neuroscience and behavioral economics to help change agents at all levels thrive
amidst uncertainty.