Blog for Masters & MBAs | EADA
  • The EADA Experience
  • Alumni Stories
  • Life in Barcelona
  • Admissions & Financing
No Result
View All Result
Blog for Masters & MBAs | EADA
  • The EADA Experience
  • Alumni Stories
  • Life in Barcelona
  • Admissions & Financing
No Result
View All Result
Masters & MBAs | EADA
No Result
View All Result

Neurocoaching, the new method to develop your soft skills

December 7, 2012
in The EADA Experience
0 0
Home The EADA Experience
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedIn
Steven PoelmansClimbing walls are so last week. Business schools are developing ever more outlandish coaching techniques.

Pitting yourself alone against an actor who is keen for confrontation would for most people be enough of a challenge. But that’s not all: Imagine that at the same time you were wearing a wireless sensor on your head that measured the electrical activity of your brain, while in an adjoining room someone sat measuring your cerebral activity and monitoring your facial expressions.

And all the while you were being filmed. A mere simulation of a conflict is not what we are after here, and there is no point in bluffing. What might sound like a mixture of interrogation and brainwashing experiment is thankfully entirely benign: The scenario described above is part of a coaching session within the Global Executive MBA Programme at the Leipzig Graduate School of Management (HHL) in cooperation with EADA Business School in Barcelona, Spain.

The school hopes to use this new concept to break new ground in the field of personal development. This is why course participants are invited to a specially designed training room near Barcelona. Coaching has become common practice in business schools. There might be individual sessions and group exercises, and participants are even expected to try their skills on the climbing wall in order to learn trust. Creative techniques such as painting personal goals are also popular. However, the additional options provided by EADA and HHL mark a new departure in coaching.

The participants get used to the sensors quickly. Steven Poelmans, lecturer and Director of the Coaching Competency Center at EADA, is convinced of this. And not without reason: if participants experience just a little agitation, he sees that in their brainwaves. The video recording means that even facial microexpressions, twitches that cannot be willfully controlled by the individual, can be analysed.

“We have to take a new approach to coaching,” says Poelmans. He is keen to work with the neurosciences, because he feels that neuroscientific institutes still have far too much knowledge sitting around unused:  “We have to bring it out of the laboratories.” This is Poelmans’ mission. It is with this in mind that he, along with his company Workitout, has developed the Neurocoachinglab training programme, which aims to apply the insights of neuroscientists to everyday life in businesses. The advantage is clear to him: Assessment is based on objective data, which means that progress can be measured accurately.

Other schools have also expanded on the field of coaching, although few in such a futuristic setting. At the WHU School of Management, EMBA students have had the opportunity to be mentored by a coach for the last three years. Three sessions are provided per person and Klaus Dechet took part in all three. “We got comfortable in a chalet, with the stove on, the telephone off and no Internet access,” he explains. Looking out over woodland, he had both ethical and philosophical discussions with his mentor, laying out the values that are important to him. “I was surprised by the conclusions I came to in some areas,” says Dechet. Resolving this sort of internal conflict within oneself is difficult to do in a lecture setting.

In the following two chalet sessions, he integrated his career plans into his value system and worked out some concrete steps to take. “It was great to have a sparring partner who could contribute his own experience to the discussion, but who also held up a mirror for me to see myself in,” says Dechet. Among other things, these sessions helped the engineer to change his focus. The sessions at the WHU are provided by Leadership Choices, an external service provider. Managing Director Karsten Drath is himself an alumnus of the WHU: He obtained his EMBA from the school ten years ago. This means that he knows the school from both sides: as a course participant and as a coach.

Trusted insight and formal separation between school and coaching – it is no accident that the programme is constructed in this way. “We are consciously not part of the WHU so that we can ensure confidentiality,” says Drath. This is a notion that underlines the whole procedure: Each student can choose his or her own coach; a group dinner at the start of the second year provides the opportunity to get to know each other. The future mentee simply approaches the mentor they think might be a good match for them in person. The rest of the process is uncomplicated: When, how and where the meetings take place, the subjects to be discussed and so on are decided between the pair. Not all students use the service. Participation in coaching is voluntary, and many students on these very time-consuming EMBA programmes who are studying alongside their career choose not to invest the extra hours.

Self-reflection for managers However, individual reflection on their professional lives can provide a solid supplement to the hard facts that students learn during the course: “Knowing how it works doesn’t necessarily make you a good businessperson,” says Drath. And Poelmans would agree: “The more developed our inner observer is, the better managers we make.” Volker Stößel, Director of Media Relations at HHL, knows why the subject is nonetheless still a touchy one for many: Participants are seasoned managers whose personalities are already mature. This means that it can be difficult for them to participate. But it is precisely the skill of self-examination that Poelmans wants to develop. “The most constructive feedback is the feedback we give ourselves,” he says. The information it is based on is pitiless; the opportunity to be honest with ourselves.

New potential based on self-reflection is also a strong component of the Essec & Mannheim Executive MBA. In small coaching groups, the idea is “to use testing methods to identify the different personality and communication types in the team,” explains Daniel Veit, Academic Director of the Essec and Mannheim Weekend Executive MBA. In addition, group members are made aware of how to make the most of this diversity of characters and working styles.

Participants in Mannheim also write a diary that they can submit to their coach at the end of the programme if they want to. Their coach will then discuss further steps they can take in their development in the time immediately after the EMBA. The WHU goes one step further: It is not just managers who benefit from these methods. The school uses coaching even among its own management. This means that WHU employees can likewise use the techniques for personal development.

“We have to take a new approach to coaching.” STEVEN POELMANS, Lecturer at EADA.

Related

Tags: Leadership
ShareTweetShare
Previous Post

EADA partners with CFA Institute

Next Post

Barcelona on your doorstep

Related Posts

Sustainable Christmas Gift Guide
The EADA Experience

Sustainable Christmas Gift Guide

December 17, 2020

...

EADA and Ashoka: committed to Social Innovation
The EADA Experience

EADA and Ashoka: committed to Social Innovation

December 14, 2020

...

Next Post
Barcelona on your doorstep

Barcelona on your doorstep

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Languages

  • enEnglish
  • esEspañol

Tags

CFA Institute EADA Careers Entrepreneurship & startups Events Exchange programme From our faculty Innovation International business trips International MBA Leadership Master in Accounting & Financial Management Master in Finance Master in Management Master in Marketing Master in Pharma & Biotech Management Master in Sustainable Business & Innovation Master in Tourism & Hospitality Management Negotiation Rankings

Instagram

  •     With my current experience in the field of business and technology solutions at Capgemini  I wish to expand my knowledge in the area of business consulting and turn my focus towards strategic business development and management  as my overall career goal is to pursue a profession as a consultant in an international environment    With EADA  I see the opportunity to stand out in today   s fiercely competitive marketplace through practical methodologies  applied case studies and the adhering leadership development programme  but certainly also through the name of the educational institution          Maximilian is a world citizen  from Germany  he had studied in the Netherlands and Hungary   and has spent a year living and working in South East Asia  Australia and New Zeland  With a strong focus in technology  innovation and consulting  he has experience in Capgemini as well as smaller companies   We can t wait to see him around campus this week
  •               A warm welcome to the International Master class of 2020-21 with participants from more than 50 nationalities  The 5 kick-off presentations -1 for each programme- took place yesterday in the Barcelona City Centre Campus        EADA Dean Jordi Diaz praised the students for challenging themselves to undertake their master s in today s uncertain times   Strategy is not what you say  but what you do         Jaume Bonet  Master in Finance Director  quoted Jamie Dimon  CEO of J  P  Morgan   There is a book being written on each of you   As Bonet told new participants   this year is not about education  it is about transformation  It is in your hands to write a successful chapter         Welcome to the EADA Community       EADAInternationalMasters  EADAImmersiveLearning  wherebusinesspeoplegrow   WeAreEADA  WeCareEADA  EADABarcelona  MuchBetterWithEADA  KickcoffMasters  EADACommunity
  •        I am excited for my master   s programme in the city centre of Barcelona and can   t wait to immerse myself not only in the Spanish culture  but in cultures from all around the world in class  I am looking forward to getting to know my fellow classmates and learning more about marketing          Vladislava is from Russia and holds a Bachelor   s in Finance  Her dream is to become an expert in Marketing able to complete complex  non-standard tasks in a creative way  Doing her master   s in Barcelona will be her second international academic experience  as she previously studied abroad in the U S    We can t wait to welcome her on campus next week     eadamasters  WhereBusinessPeopleGrow
  •               EADA s International MBA kicked off today in a hybrid format with participants both in class and connected online  Participants from 23 nationalities started this unique experience that will not only transform them in a professional way but also on a professional level        There were mixed emotions from participants on their first day feeling excited  happy and nervous at the same time  They had the opportunity to get to know each other on a Walking Tour around Barcelona a few days ago       Welcome to the EADA Community     EADAInternationalMBA  eadaimmersivelearning  wherebusinesspeoplegrow  EADABarcelona  WeAreEADA  EADAmasters  WeCareEADA
  •     I would like to make an impact in everything I do  Our world has seen inventions enough for three generations but not found a proper way to use them in day to day life  I would also like to make industries in my community green eco-friendly industries  The concept of recycling has been in my mind for a long time  We only focus on creating a product and sometimes on its impact on the environment but we do not consider the resources that are used to make them       Rokesh is an Aerospace Engineer from India  Keen Yoga enthusiast  he has won various prizes at state level for back bending and balancing  He is looking forward to meeting fellow EADA students who share his passion for sustainability    We can t wait to welcome him on campus in the fall      eadamasters  wherebusinesspeoplegrow
  • Some Masters and MBA students came on campus today for the last Welcome activity before the programmes kick off in a few days   Our relocation partner  studentfybcn came on campus to give plenty of useful tips to settle in Barcelona  housing  transportation  phone services  trips and networking activities  Everything to make the most of Barcelona experience  We then followed with a tour of the campus    We are happy to meet you guys in person and see how the campus is filled up with students from all around the world  Looking forward to meeting all the 2020 21 Masters and MBA students about to arrive   The countdown for the beginning of the year starts    Get ready for an exciting journey of personal and professional development    WeAreEada  WhereBusinessPeopleGrow
  • Our International Master in Management at EADA has moved up 9 places to  32 in the world by the Financial Times Ranking 2020     In addition  EADA has also achieved 98  in Employability  Career Service and Aims Achieved and  1 in  Marketing teaching   4 in  CorporateStrategy  10 in  GeneralManagement  We would like to congratulate the whole team and in particular James Haigh  Jordi Diaz and Nigel Hyges  who have been the directors of the Master in Management during different stages from the beginning of the programme   Many thanks to our great team of admissions  faculty  careers and alumni     weareeada  financialtimesranking
  •     Sustainability and social consciousness are two of the most relevant topics today  and I am more than excited to discuss the challenges and opportunities at hand with like-minded  innovative thinking classmates at EADA   Kristina is from Germany and will start the International Master in Sustainable Business   Innovation at EADA this fall  Complementing her studies at EADA  Kristina holds the position of Community Director at 180 Degrees Consulting Barcelona  the world   s largest consultancy for non-profits   social enterprises         See link in bio  We can t wait to welcome her on campus in the fall     weareeada  eadamasters
  •     Pursuing the International Master in Tourism   Hospitality Management at EADA relates to my goals in many ways - it will allow me to develop the skills I need to succeed and to meet inspiring people I can share my passions and my ideas with              Emma is from Canada and holds an undergraduate degree in Business Administration   with a specialisation in Management   International Affairs  As a teenager  she visited an ecolodge in the middle of the Costa Rican jungle and fell in love with this creative  resourceful and well-managed business  That day  it became clear to her that she  too  would one day have her own eco-responsible hotel somewhere in the world   We can t wait to welcome her on campus in the fall      eadamasters  weareeada
  • The EADA Experience
  • Alumni Stories
  • Life in Barcelona
  • Admissions & Financing

© 2019 EADA Business School.

No Result
View All Result
  • The EADA Experience
  • Alumni Stories
  • Life in Barcelona
  • Admissions & Financing

© 2019 EADA Business School.

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In