A brain-based imperative for leadership The ability to learn is the defining leadership skill of the 21st century. Leaders are not paid to know everything, but must be able to adapt to anything. They must make decisions in uncertainty, build trust under pressure, create vision in chaos and keep people aligned through transformation. These aren’t just management skills – they are brain functions. In that sense, leadership is neurocognitive performance and digital learning is rapidly becoming its gym. Like elite athletes, leaders need training environments that reflect the complexity and pace of the world in which they operate. Online learning, designed with the brain in mind, provides just that. There are five principal neuroscience-informed benefits of online learning, as outlined below. • Accessibility: engage the brain wherever it is Online platforms allow learners to access content anytime, anywhere. This flexibility does more than increase convenience – it syncs learning with the brain’s optimal states. According to the theory of state-dependent learning, we retain information better when we acquire it in emotional and mental states that are similar to those in which we will use it. Online learning enables people to engage when they are most alert, focused or in need. Example: Consider a senior executive in São Paulo who revisits a negotiation module at 6am, aligning the learning experience with heightened cognitive alertness prior to a high- stakes meeting. Similarly, a team leader in Dubai re‑engages with a conflict-resolution case study at midnight, immediately following a relevant interpersonal challenge. These scenarios illustrate more than the flexibility of asynchronous learning; they exemplify neurologically attuned learning, where content consumption aligns with the learner’s real-time cognitive and emotional states. This in turn enhances relevance, retention and transfer. • Flexibility: autonomy fuels motivation The brain is wired to seek autonomy. The SCARF model, developed by Dr David Rock, identifies autonomy as one of the five primary drivers of human motivation. Rigid structures trigger stress responses, whereas flexible, self-directed formats activate our reward systems. Online learning offers learners control over timing, sequence, pace and even format –video, reading, audio or simulation. This sense of choice enhances engagement and retention. In essence, online education empowers the learner’s brain to decide how it wants to learn. Example: In our executive MBA online, a finance director can complete the behavioural economics module in a linear sequence, while an HR executive explores it through case videos first. Each path works because both are aligned with individual cognitive preferences.
BIOGRAPHY Katharine D’Amico is a Canadian leader in applied neuroscience for business and academic director of the online executive MBA at UPF Barcelona School of Management. She is CEO of The Swala Institute and former academic director of the executive MBA at ESADE, where she also lectured in communication strategy, leadership & neuroscience. She is an academic collaborator for IESE and a guest lecturer at Harvard Business School and Northwestern Kellogg. In addition, D’Amico leads corporate programmes for Microsoft, Amazon, Bayer, Agilent and Novartis among others. An active mentor and investor, she has advised more than 900 startups through top accelerators and is also an active business angel in early‑stage tech. Her postdoctoral research explores decision-making and gender in neuroscience.
34 Ambition • ISSUE 5 • 2025
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