Lady Gaga's Leadership Lesson

Whether we find a dress made out of meat a fashion statement, or consider it appropriate being so inebriated that one can't remember how her shirt got turned inside out, Lady Gaga gets our attention. Aspiring leaders can learn a lot from her.

Since we have grown accustomed to being constantly bombarded with stimuli by the media, it takes a lot to grab our conscious attention. Lady Gaga's outrageousness is just unexpected enough to break through the clutter, stop our brain's automatic processing, and activate the prefrontal cortex.

Gaining the attention of others is critically important to a social species like ours. Those of us that are adept at garnering the support of others have access to more resources and so are better able to achieve goals. Many cognitive neuroscientists believe that our oversized human brains evolved precisely to enable us to manage social relationships.

Primatologist Jane Goodall describes how alpha chimpanzees attract attention by throwing rocks and shaking tree branches. The chimpanzee Mike went one better, achieving alpha status by kicking four-gallon tin cans in front of him to amplify his display. Fagan, an adolescent aspiring to be an alpha, was observed practicing Mike's trick.

Neuroscientist Michael Gazzaniga believes that most male chimpanzee behavior is aimed at achieving alpha status and the same is true of humans. In many corporate environments, alpha displays are commonplace. Managers may not throw rocks, but fear is engendered in other ways.

Since our bosses influence our livelihood and careers, we are attuned to any sign of their displeasure. The tone of a business review, an upcoming performance appraisal, or even just a dour facial expression can activate the amydala and create feelings of dread.

But eliciting the kind of fear that generates allegiance to the alpha chimpanzee is counterproductive. It floods the brain with the stress hormone cortisol, slowing it down and narrowing the field of vision. With or without the tin cans, such a display isn't suitable for those wishing to effect positive change.

Leaders must attract attention, but they need a subtler approach than a rock star and a more positive one than an alpha display if they want people to open their minds to new ways of thinking and behaving. When fear and directives issued from on high are the norm, the unexpected is a supportive environment and engagement in decision-making.

In fact, the most effective approach is simply to ask questions. We can ignore directives, but questions force us to attend to them. In the corporate world, most of us are so used to being told what to do that when someone asks us what we think we should do, it stops our automatic processing in its tracks.

Rather than telling people, we should ask them, whether it's deciding how to implement a strategy, setting objectives, or evaluating performance. The effect of a question may not be as stunning as glasses made out of burning cigarettes, but it will activate the brain and get it working the way we need it to.