Whether you’re building your company up through growth and innovation or by investing in your culture, being in business often means striving for performance. But is there a science to great leadership? Research in cognitive psychology shows there might be.

Our guest today is Dr. Julia DiGangi, author of Energy Rising: The Neuroscience of Leading with Emotional Power. She is a neuropsychologist who works with businesses and entrepreneurs to help them harness their power and keep their mindset fresh. For her, great leadership starts when we understand the human brain!

In today’s episode, Dr. DiGangi joins our new host Ari Marin to decode the clever machinery of the brain and unlock new potential! Together, they discuss our cognitive ability to recognize patterns and our natural aversion to uncertainty. They unpack how we can reshape our behaviors to undo fear-based nervous habits and reveal that focusing on identity can move organizations towards better cooperation. Dr. DiGangi shares her invaluable research and wealth of knowledge on corporate leadership to help us tap into our brain power.

So tune in with Julia and Ari today, and get ready to adopt a whole new performance mindset.

Highlights:

• Understanding how the brain works (3:00)
• Anxiety as a reaction to uncertainty (4:37)
• Cognitive strategies: why we choose physical pain over uncertainty (6:05)
• Building leadership from the energy of emotion (8:25)
• “Working” and “overworking” as different nervous responses (11:34)
• Why identity is the best response to uncertainty (12:54)
• The emotional math of our professional lives (15:12)
• Reframing micromanagement as a fear reaction (16:45)
• Recent changes in the conversation around mental health (18:34)
• The impact of technology on emotional intelligence (20:28)
• Leadership as a creative response to uncertainty (22:24)
• How we collectively speak the language of emotions (24:11)
• “The greatest asset that companies have today is relational intelligence” (26:23)
• Staying optimistic for the future of collaboration (29:12)

Links:

• Cadence Bank Website
• Cadence Bank X (Twitter)
• Cadence Bank LinkedIn
• Dr. Julia DiGangi Website
• Dr. Julia DiGangi X (Twitter)
• Dr. Julia DiGangi LinkedIn
• Dr. Julia DiGangi Instagram
• Book - “Energy Rising: The Neuroscience of Leading with Emotional Power”

Feedback:

If you have questions about the show or topics you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producers, [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected].

Read the full show transcript.

Meet the Host

Ari Marin, SVP, Family Enterprise Advisor, Cadence Asset Management & Trust and the new host of Cadence Bank’s In Good Companies (IGC) podcast, says his idea of “good company” is being around creative, insightful people who enjoy sharing personal stories about the things that helped make them successful.

From 9 to 5, Marin is a Cadence Bank senior vice president and family wealth strategist, whose specialty is consulting with family-owned and small businesses. Now, he’s squeezing in IGC hosting duties, bringing in a new voice and fresh perspectives.

As a lawyer with a master’s in taxation from Villanova, Marin holds his own in the business world. But hosting IGC gives him a new way of engaging with entrepreneurs and experts to learn smart ideas and new ways of doing things.

Outside the office, Marin is a history fan and podcast aficionado who loves reading and exercising with his two dogs: Friday–aka “the angel”--and Mahla, the stubborn Shih Tzu with selective hearing.

Meet the Speaker

Dr. Julia DiGangi is a neuropsychologist and expert in the connection between the brain, leadership, and emotion. Research shows that the #1 threat to leaders' effectiveness is an inability to handle emotional challenges. Dr. DiGangi’s innovative work enables leaders to build magnetic leadership and create emotionally powerful teams that thrive in high-pressure circumstances.

Her lab and clinical work have been conducted at Harvard, Columbia, the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois Chicago and elsewhere. Extensively published in the scientific literature, she applies her research to help business leaders navigate high-stress situations.

Dr. DiGangi has worked with leaders at the White House, global companies, international NGOs, and US Special Forces. Her understanding of emotion, stress, and resilience is informed by her work in U.N.-declared disaster zones, where she delivered assistance to some of the world’s most vulnerable communities.

Her work on the brain and emotional power has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, Fortune, Forbes, Entrepreneur and more. Based on her expertise, she wrote Energy Rising: The neuroscience of leading with emotional power. Published by Harvard Business Review Press, Energy Rising shows leaders how to harness the power of the brain to lead in more effective and emotionally intelligent ways.

This podcast is provided as a free service to you and is for general informational purposes only. Cadence Bank and its affiliates make no representations or warranties as to the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the content in the podcast. The podcast is not intended to provide legal, accounting or tax advice and should not be relied upon for such purposes.