Management expert maps brain signatures of 'bad' bosses

Many of us have a boss horror story. If we're lucky, we also have a story about the best boss ever. In an article by ASU Now, Professor of Management David Waldman observed the brain activity of 104 people who were military or business leaders to learn what's going on inside their heads that would make them think and behave the way they do.

David Waldman's new research shows a “brain signature” of people who are considered to be ethical leaders and a second study that maps electrical brain activity of people considered to be abusive. He wants to see if people can be trained to be better leaders through neurofeedback. From ASU Now, Sept. 30, 2016:

"Currently, neurofeedback is used to treat attention deficit disorder and anxiety disorder, but it hasn't been used to try to change leadership qualities directly. In the case of abusive bosses, Waldman said that would require creating an algorithm that separates the neural patterns of people who are abusive from those who aren't, and then programming that algorithm into the training program. At least in theory, through neurofeedback, supervisors might have a reduced tendency toward abusiveness."

About David Waldman