Your Brain at Work

Decades of research have made it clear that diverse teams are smarter and more innovative than homogeneous teams. But there are a few stubborn cognitive quirks that get in the way of building and fostering diversity in organizations. In this episode of Your Brain at Work, NLI CEO Dr. David Rock is joined by Associate Professor of Psychology at Columbia University, Dr. Valerie Purdie-Greenaway, and NLI Senior Consultant Dr. Paulette Gerkovich to discuss the compelling, and science-backed, business case for diversity, how to build diversity in teams, and why despite feeling less comfortable, diverse teams perform better.

Are you part of an organization that allows you to bring your authentic self to work? How does power and privilege impact your ability to do so? And does your organization support the authenticity of all of its employees? In this episode, Dr. David Rock is joined by best-selling author and renowned expert on covering, Kenji Yoshino, Professor of Constitutional Law at NYU School of Law. David and Kenji unpack these questions, exploring the concepts of power, privilege, inclusion, diversity, and allyship in the process. Listen to learn how individuals and organizations can create systemic solutions to these challenges.

This week we tap the mind of Martin Whitaker, CEO of JUST Capital. In a meeting of CEOs Dr. David Rock and Martin explore how JUST lifts the voice of the American public to identify the issues that matter most when it comes to just business behavior. They identify the specific qualities of leading companies that supported their workers, customers, and communities through the pandemic and ongoing racial injustices. Martin also shares how JUST Capital is addressing systemic challenges at scale to create an economy that serves all Americans.

Creating a culture that maps to the modern landscape of diversity, equity and inclusion requires a scientific approach. Here’s what science taught us: forcing people into DE&I training doesn’t work. In this episode, NLI’s co-founder and CEO Dr. David Rock, and consultants Camille Inge and Dr. Paulette Gerkovich reveals the real key to behavior change. Listen in as they review the research helping us to understand what truly works.

In the Season 4 premiere, our panel of experts discuss the forces of change that swept organizations in 2020, and how we can channel the momentum they unleashed into creating more human organizations in 2021. NLI’s co-founder and CEO, Dr. David Rock is joined by Director of Industry Research, Andrea Derler and Senior Vice President of Corporate Solutions, Marshall Bergmann. Together, they explore the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead and the directions organizations can (and should) go in.

We close Season 3 of Your Brain at Work with our two performance gurus, Barbara Steel, the head of our performance practice, and Rob Ollander-Krane, a Senior Client Advisor at NLI who will review some of the biggest trends of 2020. From the underrated—but absolutely vital— check-in conversation, to the role bias plays in performance management, and performance management’s impact on broader talent strategy, we look back on the trends and lessons of 2020, and look ahead to what organizations should prioritize in 2021.

Diversity Equity & Inclusion strategy will continue to be a top priority for organizations in 2021. They’ll enter the new year with more momentum than perhaps ever before, but that momentum needs to be channelled into real, impactful change. In other words, we need to do things right and right now. In this episode of Your Brain at Work, we look back at tectonic shifts that took place in 2020, and how, armed with that knowledge, organizations can follow the pathways to real change.

If you weren't among the 2,400 attendees at our virtual Summit this year, we missed you, but don’t sweat it. This week on Your Brain at Work, we revisit our most insightful sessions from our three-day annual conference—all in one episode. Our senior NLI team shares how to implement large scale change initiatives, how to create impactful and scalable virtual learning programs, why organizations should strive to be regenerative—not just restorative, how to develop the leaders of tomorrow, how to build a culture of allyship, among many other things.

Many organizations are wondering how to address the chasm between right and left, and what many consider right and wrong. In this week’s Your Brain at Work, NLI’s Dr. David Rock and Dr. Kamila Sip welcome Dr. Peter Coleman (Professor of Psychology and Education, Columbia University) for a frank and informative conversation that traces the history of polarization in America, explores conflict in the brain, and outlines the steps organizations can take to successfully bridge the gap.

Holli Martinez leads the DE&I efforts at T-Mobile, and she’s on a mission—to make DE&I not just a priority, but a reality. This week on Your Brain at Work, Holli joins NLI's Head of Diversity & Inclusion Ester Neznanova to discuss the pressing need for DE&I strategies that truly shift behaviors, they explore the power of culture, and they explain how organizations should approach creating lasting change in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.