Leadership Talk: How to use your brain to its full potential
Even though we pride ourselves on being a very creative and artsy gaming company, scientific work is in fact also part of the Goodgame DNA: we use scientific approaches in game development, marketing, and other areas, such as to understand player behavior and optimize our games accordingly. This is why it made a lot of sense for us to invite leadership coach Sebastian Purps-Pardigol, an expert on brain science, leadership, and cultural change. In his talk on “Neuroscience and Leadership – How to Unfold Hidden Potential”, he revealed to us his secrets on “leading with a brain”.
Sebastian Purps-Pardigol shares his fascination for the brain with the Dalai Lama, who wanted to have scientific proof of whether it is possible to change our brain through our way of thinking. This is particularly interesting as changing our brain in a positive way could help us develop more of the potential that is hidden in the 100 billion neurons and 100 trillion connections that make up this incredible organ. It could make us happier, healthier, and more productive – all of which would of course be very beneficial to us personally and professionally.
For a long time, neuroscientists thought that changing an adult brain would not be possible – that it is like a hand or a foot and does not grow anymore. Upon the Dalai Lama’s request, however, a group of scientists observed the brainwaves of a monk who had been meditating for many years and hours, and they discovered that his gamma waves, which appear if one really enjoys doing something, were a lot bigger and longer lasting than those of average human brains. In fact, someone who has many gamma waves in their brain will also have more brilliant ideas. The monk, as well as other monks who were later observed to confirm the findings, was also able to solve specific problems a lot quicker. On top of the increased gamma wave activity, the left part of the monk’s brain was also a lot more active – and this part is responsible for our feeling of wellbeing. These observations tell us that we can change our brains actively and with very positive results. This capacity of our brain to build new neural networks is called neuroplasticity. Unfortunately, it can also lose some of the connections if we do not use certain parts, but we know now that we can train it to utilize its full potential!
Of course, none of us have the time to meditate as much as a monk, but according to Sebastian Purps-Pardigol, only a couple of minutes of mindful practices are needed to change our brains! Mindfulness means being with our mind in the place where our body is, which can be practiced with breathing techniques, for example, or meditation of course. It all goes in line with Sebastian Purps-Pardigol’s slogan: “What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
Throughout his talk, Sebastian Purps-Pardigol explained how people managers and, in the bigger picture, whole companies can develop their brain’s full capacity and help increase both their own potential and that of their employees and teams. There are three factors that help achieve this: if people are connected with one another, if they have the capacity to shape their environment, and if they build strong internal pictures of each other and their purpose. The better these three aspects are implemented, the happier, healthier, and more productive they will be.
If you would like to find out more about Sebastian Purps-Pardigol and his neuroscience and leadership insights, you can take a look here: http://sebastian-purps-pardigol.com/en/
