I have been overwhelmed by the extremely positive response
to my book Intelligent
Influence: The 4 Steps of Highly Successful Leaders and Organizations. This
publication is built around the belief that “we do what we do, think the way we
think and accomplish what we accomplish because of influence.” People from
around the world tell me that this book has changed the way that they view
themselves and the world. My research for this book has also changed my view of
the world by teaching me that there are two very distinct types of influence.
The first type is “Social Influence” where a person is influenced
to do or think things because of other people or situations. This type of
influence, depending on its intensity, is often temporary. The second type of
influence is a term I created called “NeuroinfluenceTM” which is
defined as “influence that is powerful enough to cause neurological changes in
an individual.” These changes to the brain frequently make this type of
influence more permanent because the only way to change it is to expose a
person to counter-influences capable of causing neurological changes.
I am frequently asked the question: What types of
influences are strong enough to change the brain? The traumatic experiences
that many individuals face on a regular basis can directly affect the parts of
the brain that control emotions and memory. Studies, such as the Adverse
Childhood Experiences (ACE) research on 17,000 Kaiser Permanente patients,
clearly indicate that traumatic childhood experiences are a fundamental reason
why individuals do poorly in school and suffer later in life. Additional
research has indicated that the hippocampus, the part of the brain involved in
memory forming, organizing and storing, and the amygdala, the part of the brain
that processes emotions such as anger, fear and pleasure, are extremely
sensitive to stress and trauma.
If a person is exposed to prolonged or extreme trauma
(which is called “Negative NeuroinfluenceTM” or “NNI”) the amygdala
and hippocampus change in a way that negatively affects an individual’s
stability, sensitivity to others, memory and ability to learn. However, the
good news is that “Positive NeuroinfluenceTM” or “PNI” can reverse
the changes to the brain caused by the trauma generated by NNI.
The recognition of the widespread impact of negative and
positive neuroinfluence has the potential to drastically change public policy
in areas as diverse as healthcare, law enforcement and public education. The
right public policy will influence physicians to use MRI’s more frequently to
examine the impact of trauma on the brain. These policies would enable law
enforcement to identify potential violent criminals before they commit a crime.
The chronic academic achievement gap between urban and
suburban and black and white students exists because current special education
programs are inadequate in addressing the neurological problems of many urban
and black students. These students, therefore, continue to do poorly in class
and often distract other students from learning. Unfortunately, these classroom
distractions, and their root causes, are one of the main reasons that there is
a 30 point academic achievement gap on standardized tests between black and white
students. The right public policy will lead to the creation of PNI programs
that can transform students struggling from NNI into outstanding students.
Violence, suffering and abuse has become an unfortunate way
of life for far too many students living in cities like Atlanta, Camden,
Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, New York and Trenton where the
school that I lead is located. Many students hear gunshots on a regular basis in their neighborhoods. Sometimes they are
threatened at gun point or deal with the brutal murder of a family member or
friend. To make matters worse, many of these students are forced to skip dinner
or have to move from house to house or car to car for shelter at night. Some of
these students experience unthinkable abuse that causes even greater trauma to
their young lives.
There are many programs treating Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder (negative neuroinfluence) in war veterans. Society is starting to
realize how significant a problem this is for people who have fought for their
country. Unfortunately, there are not enough programs effectively treating this
ailment in public school students and their parents. Educational leaders ignore
the sad reality that many urban students have great difficulty learning because
they are suffering from a form of NNI caused by violence, hunger, homelessness
and abuse in the communities where they live.
Studies have shown that positive neuroinfluence programs
designed to help students improve their self-esteem can help students
significantly increase their academic proficiency. Programs like Northwestern
University’s Project Harmony music program (where students learn to play
instruments) change the brain in a way that makes it easier for students
experiencing NNI to learn. According to Hugh Knowles, professor of neurobiology
and physiology and director of the Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory at
Northwestern, “musical training has a positive effect on biological processes
important for auditory learning, memory and hearing speech … which appear to
translate into better language learning results.”
PNI programs can help war veterans, victims of violence and
traumatized students improve their social and emotional response mechanisms so
that they can succeed in school, work and life. Unfortunately, violent crime
will increase and the academic achievement gap will likely widen unless policy
makers support the expansion of PNI programs designed to address the social,
emotional and learning needs of children, youth and adults who have experienced
significant trauma in their daily lives.
