An initial reflection
The path of Bioliderazgo begins with a deep reflection on ourselves as representatives of the human species and on our evolutionary responsibility, here and now, both in our individual and collective dimensions.
We are the only essential factor in any organization, and yet we also tend to produce the greatest number of conflicts and inefficiencies. Experience shows that many of these difficulties arise from ignoring how we work, leading to failures in training, communication, and task design.
For example, if we were in charge of operating any machinery, part of our basic responsibilities would include knowing the user manual thoroughly and becoming familiar with its practical application. But few people reason the same way when it comes to operating their own biological machinery or guiding the activities of others toward a goal. Human beings leave the factory without a manual and we learn to use it thanks to the primitive trial-and-error method.
The time seems to have come to change course.
In search of lost information
Since Taylor and Ford's "Scientific Management" at the beginning of the last century, knowledge of (still) so-called "human resource management" has always been in the hands of an elite that has not proven competent to use it wisely. We have not been able to realize that humans "are not resources" and the technological explosion of the last two decades has not made us react to this situation either, quite the contrary.
With few exceptions, for its part, medical science in all its branches has been fundamentally dedicated to alleviating pathologies and we do not know of serious and systematic initiatives that are aimed at teaching people how to conduct themselves optimally to achieve their goals, that is, how to correctly use the incredibly sophisticated biological system of which we are all precarious occupants. And formal education, which would be a natural environment for this to happen, has always been more concerned with content than with processes, which also disqualifies it as a possible solution to our current problems.
The culture of Bioliderazgo
As a way to compensate, Bioliderazgo proposes that we all become aware of this situation and the need to enter scientific disciplines outside our own fields of knowledge, to use them to our advantage. It promotes the dissemination of specialized knowledge that today is accessible to all people, to be applied to improve their competence as managers of their psychophysical resources and, in this way, the organizational and personal results they pursue.
Experience shows that the pertinent aspects of this knowledge can be quickly understood and applied to their performance by people who lack scientific training. As a consequence, a common vocabulary and a methodology shared by all team members is generated - and not only by their leaders.
The result is a culture of excellence that works as the best immune system for any organization, because it helps prevent and resolve a good part of the conflicts that plague us today.
Breaking down the barriers of knowledge
These contributions come from areas such as physics, neuroscience, anthropology, general systems theory, linguistics, biology, and many others that, even though they seem distant from business management, have proven essential in put it into practice.
The Bioliderazgo condenses this knowledge in a unified, interdisciplinary and systemic perspective, whose vocation is to continually renew itself as science reveals more discoveries about how we operate. This information can no longer be left in the hands of a few for their exclusive benefit.
Why "Bioliderazgo"
The term Bioliderazgo alludes to the fact that, when developing any human activity, we are always "leading biological systems" and, therefore, "influencing them":
• when we do it individually, we manage the psycho-physical resources that are under our conscious control -which constitute a tiny part of the total-, while the subconscious -which are the vast majority- can only be "influenced" by them;
• When we lead people, what we can directly control and manage is limited to "our own behavior and attitude," which "infect" others subconsciously through "mirror neurons" (a special class of brain neurons discovered in 1995) and, in this way, manages to "influence" the members of our teams in the same way.
We are always influencing our subjective world and that of those around us, whether we know it or not, whether we want it or not. Therefore, Bioliderazgo teaches how we can educate our attitude so that this influence is positive for us and for our teams, within an ethical framework that removes any manipulative tactic.
First of all, define goals
In any voluntary activity that we analyze, both individuals and organizations pursue goals. The clearer and more concrete they are, the more likely we are to achieve them, because:
• individual goals that are precisely defined and remain continuously in the focus of our conscious attention, predispose our entire psychophysical system to achieve them, that is, direct the joint effort of all our personal resources -conscious and non-conscious- in pursuit of success;
• collective goals whose benefits can be easily perceived by each team member, generate the motivation to pursue and achieve them when they can be usefully associated with their own personal goals.
The Bioliderazgo explains what characteristics should meet these goals, according to the teachings provided by the neurosciences, to maximize the probability of success.
Then you need to "plan"
Appropriate activities to achieve goals are conditioned by our strengths and weaknesses, both in the individual and in the collective setting. For this reason, it is necessary to know oneself and to know the team members as well as possible, and then design actions that are based on each other's strengths.
The Bioliderazgo suggests simple and powerful tools to identify, within the team, our greatest strengths and our most serious weaknesses. Based on them, we will design the strategies, operational tactics and intermediate goals that will allow us to advance and finally reach the destination set.
Finally it's time to act
From there, we substitute the "trial-and-error" method (known as "putting out fires") with that of learning enough about ourselves and the path ahead, as a way of ensuring success with highest possible probability. As an example, Bioliderazgo teaches us to:
• effectively manage the emotional variables that affect our behavior and performance -which are controlled by the old "limbic system" of the brain-, in order to prevent negatives and enhance positive ones, because we know that the latter constitute the true and only driver of action;
• use non-conscious brain resources - the oldest and most mature - to minimize errors in routine tasks, work faster, do it with less effort, and free conscious attention to perform the most critical tasks and to solve problems more effectively;
• train the most evolved part of our brain - the "frontal lobe" of the neocortex - whose mastery provides us with the most appropriate responses to lead and lead others, with maximum efficiency, in pursuit of desired goals;
• develop non-verbal skills to expand our ability to communicate with others, particularly when there are emotional situations involved;
• cultivate "affirmative thinking" to educate our attitude, positively influence others, and direct our actions fluently.
Good human practices
These new behaviors are achieved through simple methods, some of which we already apply intuitively without knowing why they are so effective. It is about systematizing the "good human management practices", to reach levels of excellence never imagined before.
All the methods that Bioliderazgo proposes are integrated into the daily activity of each one without effort, through small changes in the organization of work and in the way we relate to others. Putting them into practice is the sole responsibility of each of us.
