EP058: Empathy and Positivity are Overrated in Leadership. Do This Instead.

Dynasty Leadership Podcast

Dr. Terry Wu has a Ph.D. in neuroscience and started his online marketing firm in 2003. He also has a new book out entitled, Why the Brain Follows, which dives into the latest neuroscience research, how leaders can leverage our natural human behaviors, and the negative side of positive thinking. Dr. Terry shares some of his thoughts on leadership and why too many leaders leave it up to “chance” when it comes to getting the most out of their people.

Key Takeaways:

[1:40] How did Dr. Terry Wu get started in neuroscience and neuromarketing?

[3:55] Science can make leadership more predictable.

[5:10] A title doesn’t make you a leader and a leader doesn’t need a title.

[9:10] People love to follow a crowd. When you rally a small group of people behind you, some great things can happen.

[9:55] What does it mean to “lead with empathy”? Dr. Terry has some thoughts on why empathy doesn’t always work.

[11:15] Empathy actively causes pain. Dr. Terry breaks down what he means by this.

[17:55] We have an us vs. them bias in our brains. Empathy only confirms that bias.

[23:15] When people have a sense of control, they manage their stress a lot better!

[26:45] Dr. Terry explains what “toxic positivity” is and why positivity is not a choice.

[31:10] You can turn a very positive person into a negative person just by adding stress into their lives.

[33:40] What should leaders be looking out for in 2021?

Mentioned in This Episode:

Dynastylc.com

Email Todd: [e-mail]

Newneuromarketing.com

Dr. Terry on LinkedIn

Whythebrainfollows.com