Discover how neuroscience reveals the power of upper brain leadership to boost team performance, enhance innovation, and create thriving workplaces.
Explore the ScienceImagine a leadership approach that could boost team performance, enhance innovation, and create workplaces where people genuinely thrive. This isn't another management fad—it's a neuroscience-backed revolution that's transforming how we understand leadership effectiveness. Research now reveals that an individual leader's behavior is the most important predictor of a team's success 1 5 . At the heart of this revolution lies a simple but powerful concept: "Leading from Your Upper Brain."
The concept, pioneered by thought leaders like Michael E. Frisina, PhD, and Robert W. Frisina, explores the tension between our human performance brain (upper brain) and our human survival brain (lower brain) 1 7 . When leaders understand how to engage their own upper brains and those of their team members, they unlock unprecedented levels of performance, creativity, and problem-solving capability. In this article, we'll explore the neuroscience behind this approach, examine key scientific evidence, and provide practical tools to help you harness the power of upper brain leadership.
To grasp the concept of upper brain leadership, we must first understand the basic neural geography involved:
This refers to regions like the prefrontal cortex, responsible for critical reasoning, judgment, and creativity 4 5 . When leaders and team members are operating from their upper brains, they're capable of strategic thinking, innovation, and complex problem-solving.
This includes more primitive regions like the amygdala, which governs fear and survival behaviors 4 5 . When triggered, it leads to reactive responses—fight, flight, or freeze—that undermine effective teamwork and performance.
Upper Brain
Critical reasoning, judgment, creativity
Lower Brain
Fear response, survival behaviors
The critical insight for leaders is that their behavior directly influences whether team members access their upper-brain resources or retreat into lower-brain reactivity 5 . A positive connection with their leader builds trust, instills hope, and activates team members' upper brains, creating a neurochemical environment conducive to high performance 5 .
The neuroscience behind upper brain leadership reveals an even more profound principle: thoughts are physical entities that literally reshape our brains. As noted in the International Journal of Academic Medicine, "Thoughts are real, physical things that occupy mental real estate. Moment by moment, every day, you are changing the structure of your brain through your thinking" 1 7 .
"Thoughts are real, physical things that occupy mental real estate. Moment by moment, every day, you are changing the structure of your brain through your thinking."
This neuroplasticity means that when we think positively and productively, we physically alter our brains in ways that support higher cognitive functioning. Rudolph Tanzi, PhD, identifies four roles we can practice daily to take control of our brain's functioning:
A compelling study published in Cognitive Processing provides scientific evidence for the value of upper brain functioning in leadership. Titled "Higher mind-brain development in successful leaders: testing a unified theory of performance," this research explored the mind-brain characteristics of successful leaders 6 .
The study compared 20 Norwegian top-level managers against 20 low-level managers, carefully matched for age, gender, education, and organization type. Researchers measured three key variables:
Assessing how well different brain regions work together
Evaluating levels of moral reasoning
Recording frequency of flow states or optimal experiences 6
This rigorous approach allowed researchers to isolate the neural and cognitive factors that distinguish exceptional leaders, moving beyond anecdotal evidence to solid scientific data.
The findings revealed striking differences between the two groups of managers. The data in the tables below illustrate these contrasts:
| Measurement Area | Top-Level Managers | Low-Level Managers |
|---|---|---|
| Brain Integration Scale | Higher scores | Lower scores |
| Moral Reasoning Level | Higher levels | Lower levels |
| Frequency of Peak Experiences | More frequent | Less frequent |
Table 1: Comparative Scores Between Top-Level and Low-Level Managers
| Leadership Dimension | Upper Brain Leadership Impact | Lower Brain Leadership Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Problem-Solving | Creative, strategic solutions | Reactive, short-term fixes |
| Team Dynamics | Trust, psychological safety | Fear,自我保护, competition |
| Decision-Making | Principles-based, ethical | Expedient, potentially compromised |
| Innovation Capacity | Higher, sustained innovation | Lower, incremental thinking |
Table 2: Practical Implications of Enhanced Brain Integration in Leadership
| Development Stage | Key Focus Areas | Expected Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
| Awareness | Recognizing thinking patterns | Understanding of personal bias |
| Skill Building | Mental habits, emotional regulation | Improved response flexibility |
| Integration | Embodied leadership, consistent practice | Sustainable performance under stress |
| Mastery | Automatic upper brain engagement | Consistent inspiration of teams |
Table 3: Brain Integration Development Pathway
The researchers concluded that these multilevel measures could be valuable tools in selecting and developing potential managers, as well as assessing leadership education programs 6 . The study supports the idea that successful leaders don't just have different skills—they have measurably different brain functioning patterns that enable higher-order cognitive and emotional capacities.
Leadership is not just an art but a science—it's about creating a neurochemical cocktail in the brains of other people so they'll behave in ways that produce results 5 . Based on the neuroscience research, here are practical strategies to foster upper brain functioning in your teams:
Trust is a neural facilitator that reduces threat responses and enables higher cognitive functioning. Be consistent, transparent, and reliable in your actions.
Hope is one of the most powerful forces in the universe 5 . Regularly share a compelling vision and highlight progress toward goals.
Help team members discover meaning, value, and purpose in their work 5 . Connect their contributions to larger organizational missions and human impact.
Critically examine your current behaviors and develop deeper self-awareness as a foundation for self-management 5 . Your own upper brain functioning is the starting point for influencing others.
Just as important as promoting upper brain functioning is avoiding triggers that activate lower brain reactions in your team:
By creating a psychologically safe environment with clear expectations, you minimize lower brain activation and create the conditions for upper brain excellence.
The neuroscience of leadership offers a transformative perspective: leadership effectiveness has less to do with personality traits and everything to do with behaviors and actions that influence both our own brains and those of our team members 5 . By understanding the distinction between upper and lower brain functioning, and deliberately applying strategies to promote upper brain engagement, we can fundamentally transform both individual and organizational performance.
This approach represents a paradigm shift from traditional leadership development—moving beyond merely acquiring technical skills to fundamentally rewiring our brains for better leadership. As the research shows, we have the capacity to literally reshape our brains through our thinking patterns, responses to events, and daily mental habits 1 7 .
The invitation for leaders is clear: Take control of your inner dialogue and program your brain for success 5 . By leading from your upper brain, you not only enhance your own effectiveness but create the conditions for your entire team to access their full cognitive and creative resources. In an increasingly complex and fast-changing world, there has never been a more valuable leadership capability.
The journey to upper brain leadership begins with a single step: the decision to take responsibility for your own brain's functioning, and consequently, your impact on those you lead.