What the SCARF model reveals from the NeuroLeadership Institute’s 2025 research Recently, I attended a webinar hosted by the NeuroLeadership Institute where they presented findings from their 2025 research related to the SCARF model. A few years ago, in 2018, I had the pleasure of attending the NeuroLeadership Institute’s Brain-Based
The skill of empathy can be perplexing for leaders to develop and use because often it is the opposite of what they needed to get where they are today. You may have read The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, a leadership fable by Patrick Lencioni, which delves into the dynamics of
We are in a time of ongoing change. This can trigger us as we feel uncertainty to what is known and expected. Uncertainty can stop us in our tracks.
Understanding our emotions and how to respond to them, is a growing skill in leadership. Emotional management allows humans to lead better as they understand and support their followers.
The challenge: How can leaders navigate forward with innovation while followers are still in SCARF mode in the present and not ready to move forward.
Leaders can help themselves in 3 ways:
Leaders are in a constant state of learning and change. Leaders come to executive coaching to help gain insight for themselves to identify blind spots, to fill in leadership ditches, and to better achieve their goals. An accelerant to this is understanding how the brain works. Neuro awareness and skills can help a leader personally, and then as they hone their skills, they can practice, share, and mentor with their followers. Understanding how the brain works supports ourselves and our team to get the best results for human performance. Why? Because really, we are our brains.
Leaders can use the SCARF model to help them communicate in a way that helps people feel more secure and ensures what they say does not activate threat (fear and mistrust). The SCARF model has five domains: Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, and Fairness.