Strategic Leadership Coaching supports Young Executives decision-making

Decision-making is central to daily function for executives in any organisation. Strategic leadership coaching (SLC) is an effective way to support complex decision-making, yet empirical neuroscientific data to support is lacking. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of SLC on young executives cortical arousal and their neural circuitry activation during the completion of computerized tasks which require activation of decision-making circuitry. We hypothesised SLC would improve cortical arousal when engaged with decision-making tasks, specifically increased electroencephalography (EEG) relative alpha band activity and improved neural circuitry engagement, measured as increased amplitude of event-related potential wave components. This study included thirty-one young male executives, of which eighteen underwent 8 sessions of SLC over two months. EEG records were collected thrice from those who underwent SLC (prior, post, and two months post), and twice from the control group (two months apart). The EEG recording session included completion of two decision-making tasks, an Iowa gambling task and Stroop colour-word conflict task. Finding, SLC increased alpha band activity over left frontal and central electrodes, and increased right parietal N170 amplitude and left parietal P300 amplitude. These findings support our hypothesis, as SLC improved cognitive cortical resources (enhanced alpha) which in turn permitted greater efficiency within decision-making circuitry (increased wave component amplitudes). This study provides the first and necessary neurobiological evidence to support and develop this line of research in SLC, and other forms of coaching, as it adds significant value.