“A Brain Surgeon’s Prescription for Performance and Success” with Mark McLaughlin | Ep. 050

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About this Episode:

In this episode of The Transformative Leader Podcast, I’m happy to bring you a conversation with author, speaker, and board-certified neurosurgeon, Mark McLaughlin. Mark practices neurological surgery at Princeton Brain and Spine Care, and he is no stranger to burnout. Between family obligations and his duties in the operating room, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed. Dr. McLaughlin has come up with his own prescription for preventing burnout that relies on partnerships, productive pauses, curiosity and stewardship to navigate forward in stagnant times. Obviously, Mark is a little more specialized than some of our other guests, and in a field that one might not initially connect to leadership and culture, but he has valuable lessons to share with anyone who needs to be able to perform—and deliver—under pressure.

Not everyone can relate to neurosurgeons, but Dr. McLaughlin believes everyone can take the core principles behind brain surgery and apply them to a multitude of workplace problems. His tried and true method was developed through Dr. McLaughlin's extensive career in neurosurgery, where he has had to overcome intense performance pressures every day. He has brought these lessons to bear in his upcoming book, (which I found very fascinating and would recommend), Cognitive Dominance: A Brain Surgeon’s Quest to Outthink Fear.

From my many years working in the corporate world, and now as an independent consultant, I know how fear, stress, and overwhelm can start getting to you. In our fast paced world of high pressure and expectations, it is as important as ever to guard yourself against succumbing to these limiting factors, so that there’s nothing the way of you delivering extraordinary results and experiencing unprecedented fulfillment. That’s exactly what Mark brought to the table, along with sharing many interesting facts about how the brain works and how we can make it work for us. This was a fascinating conversation with an extremely interesting guest that I hope everyone checks out.

Some topics discussed in this episode include:

• How Mark became made the connection between neurosurgery and leadership, by way of being a wrestling coach and working with the military.

• What are the two main parts of our brain “software,“ how they work in opposite ways to perform different functions, and how we can strengthen one over the other.

• The powerful story that taught Mark about forgiveness and success, and how internal factors are almost always more important than external factors when it comes to what is standing in our way.

• Why faith in something greater or more important than ourselves is necessary to make it through tough times and achieve our highest potential.

• Mark’s “prescription“ for avoiding burnout even in those with high job satisfaction.

Editor’s Note: There were technical difficulties around 1:52 into the interview that resulted in a few seconds of dropped audio. We apologize for the disturbance in your listening experience as a result.

Mark McLaughlin is a practicing board-certified neurosurgeon, a national media commentator, author of the book Cognitive Dominance, and acclaimed keynote speaker. McLaughlin’s commentary regularly appears in Business Insider where he is a contributing author. Since his impressive bona fides are a little too extensive to mention here, you can learn more at this link.

Guest Links:

To learn more about Mark and his work, you can visit his website, where you can take his Cognitive Dominance Assessment. You can connect with Mark on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

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