Executive Coach, Dr. Taryn Stejskal Harnesses Neuropsychology for Business Leaders in Organizational Settings

In the changing ecosystem of the business world, a basic understanding of neuropsychology has become the order of the day. Neuropsychology is a study of how the nervous system influences a person’s cognition and behaviors. Leaders are beginning to embrace neuropsychology by understanding its significance and applying it to their organizations to enhance productivity, help individuals grow, and achieve success, says executive coach Dr. Taryn Stejskal.  

Previously organizational change focused more on the basic setup rather than focusing on individual behaviors, way of thinking, and also belief systems. Being an expert in neuropsychology, Dr. Taryn Stejskal uses her formal training, extensive research work, and even her personal life experiences to explain why it is important to embrace neuropsychology for the betterment of organizational growth and productivity.  

Dr. Stejskal has an undergraduate degree and a doctorate from the University of Michigan as well as a pre- and post-doctoral fellowship in neuropsychology from Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Medicine. 

Dr. Stejskal explains that the success of an organization usually depends on the leadership influence over changing the employee’s mental perception and their productivity in the work environment. There is a paradigm shift in the corporate world. Be it basic understanding, followership towards a goal, or setting priorities in life, everything has evolved. Pursuing the old practices to understand and motivate employees or market influencers will leave everyone at a disadvantage. One of the most critical strategies business leaders can harness through neuropsychology is to focus on fresh ideas and policies while doing away with old habits and routines that are less efficient. 

 Leaders can, therefore, enhance productivity by incorporating novel ideas through workshops, seminars, etc. Leaders should emphasize on being a cognitive thinker. Most management practices and methods are usually doomed for failure simply because managers, who look at employee behavior based on performance, fail to understand their psychology.  

This fault is due to two significant reasons. One, there are very few higher learning institutions that teach neuropsychology. Two, the management practices are usually flawed since their behavioral perspective is designed by people whose prime focus is to make profits.  

A positive working environment that enhances positive emotions such as happiness, contentment, and joy enables employees to thrive through broadening their reasoning and capabilities. The other way leaders can embrace neuropsychology is through a human asset approach when it comes to cost-benefit analysis. We can implement neuropsychology to understand an employee’s emotional well-being and focus on his/her strengths rather than weaknesses. 

Positivity in the workforce allows employees to have a resource endurance mechanism. Dr. Taryn Stejskal adds that there has to be consistency when it comes to organizational behavioral practices. These include management and operational processes, reporting structures, measuring performances, financial and non-financial rewards, and measurement procedures for setting targets. 

Reinforcement of a company’s rewarding system to adapt new understanding and strategies should be encouraged by the leader and for employees to adopt it fully. Therefore, leaders are encouraged to dedicate their time mentoring their employees to enhance their performance effectively. Dr. Taryn believes that neuroscience can be harnessed to help ensure business leaders and employees are thriving and more efficient towards their organization.