Dr. Michael #Merzenich, PhD

Brain Fitness News

Dr. Merzenich is the brain behind BrainHQ and the author of Soft-Wired: How the New Science of Brain Plasticity Can Change Your Life. For nearly five decades, he has been a leading pioneer in brain plasticity research. As co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Posit Science, Michael Merzenich heads the company's science team.

Dr. Merzenich has published more than 150 articles in leading peer-reviewed journals (such as Science and Nature), and received numerous awards and prizes (including the Russ Prize, Ipsen Prize, Zülch Prize, Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award and Purkinje Medal). He has been granted nearly 100 patents, and he and his work have been highlighted in hundreds of books about the brain, learning, rehabilitation, and plasticity. In 2016, Dr. Merzenich was awarded one of the world's top neuroscience prizes, the Kavli Prize, for his achievements in the field of brain plasticity.

"Mike has been a pioneer and a leader in demonstrating that the brain function and wiring is sensitive to neural activity. His basic work has elucidated mechanisms underlying this plasticity, and his translational work has illuminated the possible ways medicine can intervene to ameliorate brain disorders… his work has revolutionized the way we view the brain’s plasticity and his latest work in mental disorders illustrates his sincere dedication to alleviate human suffering.” - Dr. John Rubenstein, MD, PhD, distinguished professor in Child Psychiatry at UCSF"

Dr. Merzenich's work is also often covered in the popular press, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Time, Wired, Forbes, Discover, and Newsweek. He has appeared extensively on television. He is the scientific consultant and provided the brain assessments and brain training exercises for the Discovery Channel show “Hack My Brain” (which aired in Australia as “Redesign My Brain.”) His work has also been featured on four PBS specials: "The Brain Fitness Program," "Brain Fitness 2: Sight and Sound," "The New Science of Learning," and "Brain Fitness Frontiers."

Dr. Merzenich earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Portland and his PhD at Johns Hopkins. He completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Wisconsin in Madison before becoming a professor at the University of California, San Francisco. In 2007, he retired from his long career at UCSF as Francis A. Sooy Professor and Co-Director of the Keck Center for Integrative Neuroscience. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1999 and the Institute of Medicine in 2008.

In the late 1980s, Dr. Merzenich was on the team that invented the cochlear implant, now distributed by market leader Advanced Bionics. In 1996, Dr. Merzenich was the founding CEO of Scientific Learning Corporation (Nasdaq: SCIL), which markets and distributes software that applies principles of brain plasticity to assist children with language learning and reading.

To learn more about Dr. Merzenich's work, we recommend his book Soft-Wired: How the New Science of Brain Plasticity Can Change your Life. Or, try our clinically proven brain training program, BrainHQ, designed by Dr. Merzenich and featured in Soft-Wired.

7 Ways Great #Leaders Inspire Their #Teams

Truly great leaders have these traits in common.

I've had my fair share of bosses throughout my career. In the corporate world, they were mostly conditioned to manage by fear, which was a product of the toxic company cultures that existed.

Their go to motivational tactic was to constantly threaten people with their jobs. It's no coincidence that the turnover rate at these companies was astronomical. A high turnover rate is costly and demoralizing to the team.

From my experience, truly great leaders are very rare. When I come across one, I try to learn as much from them as possible, so that I can incorporate their actions into my own leadership style.

Inspirational leaders can motivate their teams without managing by fear because their people love them and they don't want to let them down.

Here are seven actions that inspirational leaders take to motivate their teams to greatness.

Great Business Leaders

1) Be Supportive

A good manager gives his/her employees the tools they need to be successful. A bad manager assigns tasks with little or no direction and then becomes upset when the employee doesn't meet the expectation. Be approachable so your employees feel they can ask questions.

2) Understand and Harness the Power of Praise

Positive reinforcement is one of the most effective tools for a person in a leadership role. One of the biggest complaints from people that hate their jobs is they never receive any credit for a job well done. If you want your employees to like working for you and to perform their best, try giving them some praise every once in a while when they do well.

Nobody likes to work in a thankless environment.

Great Political Leaders

3) Lead By Example

If you want your employees to take you seriously you must lead by example. If they question your work ethic, integrity, or skill to get the job done, then they are far less likely to do their best work themselves. As a leader, you need to be blazing the path for success. As a manager, think about the example you set when you come in late and leave early.

4) Be Social

Too many companies have cut out the Christmas party. Even if you don't do a Christmas party, you should put on some events throughout the year to show appreciation and increase morale. If there are budgetary concerns just do something simple.

Allowing your team to get to know you a bit outside the office creates a stronger bond with your employees. Nobody likes working for a manager that hides in their office all day and the only interaction is via email.

Great Women Leaders

5) Listen To Your Employees

Make sure your employees' voices are heard. In order to foster an environment of innovation, management must be open to their employees' ideas. Nothing stifles progress more than shooting down your employees every idea. Pretty soon they will not even offer them. This will lead to stagnation within your company.

Also, consider distributing an anonymous employee satisfaction survey.

This will measure the temperature of your employees. If there are action items that need to be addressed they can be identified and action can be taken to improve the work environment.

Companies that don't survey their employees are running the risk of never knowing what the problems are within the company. Thus, they have no way of fixing them.

 Great Thought Leaders

6) Be Generous

Studies show that companies that offer incentives for longevity have a greater retention rate. Whether it is a raise, bonus, additional time off, a better title, or a combination of the aforementioned, incentives for long tenure should be a part of your employee retention strategy.

7) Manage With Authority Not Fear

Just like in my previous article when I discussed how nobody likes a micro-managing jerk, they don't like a wimpy pushover for a boss either. You can be authoritative; and, still go about it with integrity and respect. Your employees need to know that there is someone very competent at the helm.

Great Medical Leaders

"Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase it, we can catch excellence." Vince Lombardi

Just the Great One...

By John White Founder and CMO, Social Marketing Solutions@juanblanco76

10 Important #Skills All Good #Leaders Share

All leaders want to be great, but sometimes the better word choice is simply good. You focus on the good you can do for your team, customers and the world at large. Yes, leaders direct and teach, but they also learn. You aim to create impact and change within the organization, invest in your team and remain accountable. Here are the 10 most important skill-sets that all good leaders possess and demonstrate to their team.

1. Support Success

Leadership does not focus on the acquisition of power by conquering and dividing. Real power, that of empowerment, lies in supporting the success of others. This driving philosophy allows good leaders to collaborate with their team because that's where the success of the company derives.

What makes a team successful? It's not the leadership or who is on the team. One study found that trust was the most important element among team members, the knowledge that they work well together and felt safe to take risks.

2. Invest in Your Team

Your team relies on your support as a vital asset, the most important. Serve your team. Appreciate them and give them growth opportunities.

Give them space and respect. In one survey of over 20,000 employees around the world, respect ranked No. 1 as the most important leadership behavior. Employees value owed respect demonstrated through universal civility and earned respect honoring good work and expressing empathy. Get to know each other to build a positive and productive work culture.

3. Be a Whistle Blower

You're a leader, not a therapist or HR. While that's true, you lead by example and must remain aware of the temperature of your team and their exchanges, from a conversational misunderstanding to leaked data. Be a whistle blower and nip trouble in the bud before it expands exponentially out of control. Address dysfunction with clear and consistent policies, as well as objectivity.

4. Impact Change

Do you know where and how your role makes an impact? What actions do you perform daily that generate this impact? Do employees find meaning in their roles and duties? How does the feedback work between your position and the roles of your employees?

Understand these questions and you will rise to the occasion to impart lasting and empowering change. Don't maintain the status quo, especially when it harms your team.

5. Keep Learning

Keep learning instead of trying to keep up with your competitors. Yes, the marketplace is built on competition and hard work, but your currency exchange lies in continuous education. Cultivate an eagerness and passion for tinkering with ideas. That means you need to keep learning, too.

In order of importance, one study found that the three most vital skills for lifelong learning in the office included critical thinking and problem solving, collaboration and teamwork, and communication. While industry-specific and functional knowledge helps employees fulfill their duties, these areas are important to maintain high levels of performance, engagement, growth and success.

6. Don't Isolate

They say it's lonely at the top, and those leaders and game-changers don't lie. That doesn't mean you should be lonely. Instead, you should make yourself accessible and accountable to benefit your team on all levels. Connection matters as much as production and function. Keep up with your team regularly.

7. Actions Express Conviction

Who are you as a leader? What are your convictions and values? Your actions express that conviction and establish your values to the team. You must let others know where you stand. Your conviction and values as a leader should take root in the mission of the company, but they remain uniquely yours.

8. Leaders Are Also Accountable

With all your convictions and values, do you hold yourself accountable, or do you sweep mistakes and worries under the corporate rug? Let your team hold you accountable as a leader, too. Accountability must remain consistent on every level.

9. Character Engages

The conviction and values of the company, leaders and team all matter and form an active structure to propel the brand toward success. However, character matters most to leadership positions because it focuses on engagement, aligning your beliefs, actions and words.

10. Teach Others to Lead

Do you rely on intimidation, fear and power? That makes you a bully, not a leader.

True leaders nurture and mentor their team, recognizing the power of directing and connecting. You have to let the team steer the ship sometimes. This allows you to see the talent your team brings to the table and reward them in return for their achievements on behalf of the company.

Want to be a good leader? Trust in these 10 traits, from supporting success to teaching others to lead. You get more out of your team and leadership skills when you balance hard and soft skills and direction with connection.

I am the founder and president of WebFX. For the past 3 years straight, WebFX was named the No. 1 Best Place to Work in PA, setting a new record in the history of the award and setting a new standard for PA companies to give back to their employees. Here, I write about leade...

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