Contents
The Nine Habits of the Effective Mind
Coaching
In «Brain-friendly Leadership», the economist Juan Carlos Cubeiro talks about how to take advantage of our inner leader
When we talk about leadership we can refer to several things. We may refer to what is sought so much in companies, to a leadership that involves making ourselves masters, or leadership understood as the impetus that many need to move forward.
What Juan Carlos Cubeiro, Talent Master, and expert in talent, leadership and executive coaching is clear about is that “leadership is within all of us.” Now, together with Silvia Damiano, scientist and specialist in neuroleadership, she publishes «Liderazgo brain-friendly» (Plataforma Editorial), a book in which they explore this concept, and how there are people capable of making the most of their genetic predisposition to lead and make your brain your ally and not your enemy
. We talked at ABC Bienestar with the author about what this type of leadership, what action plan we can follow and, ultimately, how to get the most out of our brain.
What exactly do we call an “efficient mind”?
We call an effective mind that is functioning optimally. The brain is the most fascinating organ in the universe and the mind is the idea that we have given to use consciousness to its full potential. Therefore, a Brain-Friendly, neurosaludable leadership, is the one of the habits of a mind that makes us be healthy and happy.
What, then, is what you call Brain-Friendly leadership?
It is the leadership of the new times, that of people who are responsible for themselves, with a strengthened immune system that starts from a well-used brain. Something essential when, according to research, between 60% and 80% of people can suffer from mental health problems: anxiety, depression, anguish.
Can everyone find a leader within?
Leadership is a type of talent, that of decisively influencing others from credibility and daily example. If he really wants and works, everyone can lead himself from freedom, responsibility, self-knowledge and development.
If we want to begin to treasure that inner leadership, what should be our first steps?
Indeed, inner leadership is a treasure that we must not give up. To do this, you must first practice self-knowledge through reflection: know the nine habits that we talk about in the book, and see in which we have strengths and opportunities for improvement. Then we must take action to maintain strengths and seize opportunities.
What are those nine effective habits of mind?
We can divide them into three groups. We find the habits of direction, which are: activate the purpose, the why and the meaning to inspire ourselves personally and inspire others; choose what we think, one idea at a time; and visualize what we want to achieve, from imagination and expectations.
Secondly, we find the habits of care, which are: relaxing the mind through mindfulness, because negative stress (distress) attacks the brain and destroys it materially; feed the brain well; and practice proper exercise, because sedentary life hurts us considerably.
Finally, there are the development habits, which are: talking with tonic people and getting rid of toxic ones, because toxins vampirize us; get the op
Intelligent timism, since optimism benefits our brain and pessimism harms it. and learning continually, reading frequently, thinking, expanding our knowledge, and building our character.
That they help us in the changes is essential, but what role do we play ourselves, and our inner dialogue, in this transformation?
Our internal dialogue is very important. Let us remember that our attitude and our posture towards life is made up of language, the management of our own and others’ emotions, which is emotional intelligence, and presence, that is: non-verbal communication.
Is the language we use to speak to ourselves important?
Language is never neutral: it either benefits us or it hurts us. We have to be very aware of the language we use. As my good friend Luis Castellanos, a specialist in the science of positive language, insists, what we tell ourselves and how we do it influences health, well-being and happiness.
About the interviewee …
Juan Carlos Cubeiro is an economist and expert in talent, coaching and leadership. Lecturer, essayist and popularizer, he is often defined as the “talent economist.” President of About my Brain Europe, Managing Partner of IDEO and Director of the Human Age Institute. He is the coach with the largest number of CEOs in our country. Honorary President of AECOP, the Spanish Association of Coaching. He is the author of more than fifty books on leadership and management.
With more than two decades of experience as a professor at the University of Deusto, he has taught in ten other business schools and in the Master of Entrepreneurship at the Instituto Pensamiento Positivo. Humanist Leader Award, Leader of Excellence (Bogotá), Brain & Heart to the best teacher, Knight of the Hispanidad de Guadalupe and doctor honoris causa by the HAC Business & Management of the University of New York. A cinephile and an inveterate reader, he reads one book a day and dedicates 40% of his time to learnability.