Subliminal Leadership

Understanding the power of subliminal influence makes or breaks leaders. This book is the first to explain in a clear and accessible way this important, yet little known and understood, area of psychology and leadership.

Understanding the power of subliminal influence makes or breaks leaders. What is it that subliminally motivates people to give their best, not just what's in their job description? How do you build an outstanding team? (Spoiler: it's not just by putting the best people in a team.) The answer lies in the power of subliminal influence. This book explains in a clear and accessible way this important, yet little known and understood, area of psychology and leadership.

As Emotional Intelligence helped managers and leaders to understand the importance of empathy in the workplace, Subliminal Leadership takes us to the next level by explaining how influence through non-verbal communication mostly happens below the threshold of our conscious awareness: subliminal forms of body language and communication which influence other people's attitudes, thinking and behavior - and which may boost, or undermine a leader's authority, the performance of teams or the quality of key customer relationships. Readers will learn how we unconsciously communicate and how we positively or negatively influence other people in the process. Understanding subliminal influence will help people in, or aspiring towards, leadership positions to build trust, understand others' emotions, make better decisions, and strengthen professional relationships. Based on recent scientific research in disciplines as diverse as psychology, evolutionary biology, anthropology, medicine, neuroscience, and management studies, the book offers a breakthrough, multidisciplinary approach to influence and leadership.

This book is for everyone interested in the psychological, biological, and medical dimensions of leadership.

About the Author

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1 Leadership in context

Leadership in organizations

Day-to-day leadership

2 Leadership as social influence

Influence, leadership, and evolutionary biology

Making sense of the world

Touch

Sight

Hearing

Smell

Taste

Interoception

Proprioception

3 Brain, mind, and body

The mind-brain connection

The mind-body connection

Latent talent

4 The underworld of the subliminal

Character assassinations

Smelling memories

Fright or flight

5 Influence, emotions, and self-leadership

Homo sapiens vs. Homo corporaticus

Amygdala hijack and the fear of flying computers

Fear, risk-taking, and innovation

Buckle up and enjoy the ride

Emotional framing

6 We communicate more than we think

Every body communicates

No glossing over glossophobia

The power of gaze

7 Empathy revisited

The busy sidewalk challenge

Random acts of influence

Reading the room

8 Everyone is an influencer

Botox and the power of embodied emotions

Dressing the part

Touching experiences

A face for radio

Beauty: More than just in the eyes of the beholder

9 Emotional contagion

The 1962 Tanzania laughing epidemic

First olfactory impressions count

A good nose for bad health

The persistent smell of aggression

Will you join us for our smellwalk?

Humor, a universal language

Funny speeches and other ordeals

Trust - the social superglue

Trust me, I'm smiling

Charisma: A gift from the gods?

Making it stick: The secrets of powerful speech

11 Leading with guts

Credit to the roomers

Gut health and gut decisions

The power of kraut-based computing

12 The intuitive leader

All quiet in Anacostia

Making intuitive decisions work

Steve Jobs and the dork problem

Intuitive farming

13 Connecting brains

Spooky action at a close distance

The leader as entrainer

Brain synchronization and team performance

14 Toxic leadership: An organizational spectrum disease

The productive narcissist

What makes a psychopath?

The oxymoronic successful psychopath

Welcome to our Jurassic organization

Is the world in need of toxic leaders?

Nutric leadership: An antidote

Ethics in action

Commitment

Kindness and modesty

Honesty and candor

A positive mindset

Strength and decisiveness

Health and energy

Vision and empathy

15 Epilogue

Index