“Your competitive edge is how fast you rewire your brain.”
Elise Zhu, Brain Coach for Leaders
The Official Bio
Elise Zhu is a Brain Coach for leaders. She is an Organizational Psychologist, MIT-trained executive coach, author and speaker who fuses evidence-based neuroscience with leadership practices for individuals and companies across the globe.
Using evidence-based techniques from neuroscience and psychology, Elise helps individuals actively alter the way their minds work to help achieve growth-focused transformations. Her areas of expertise and passion are helping leaders achieving sustainable high performance, enhancing holistic well-being, and effectively leading teams and organizations. With over 20 years experience, her clients have included executives and entrepreneurs from a series of Fortune 500 companies including Alibaba, Amazon, ADM, BBC, BP, and Ford.
She is the author of the highly-acclaimed book “Rewire Your Super Brain for Peak Performance”(in Chinese) that empowers individuals to harness the power of neuroplasticity to boost energy, focus, memory and creativity. She is also a TEDx speaker, and a guest lecturer at world-renowned business schools, including Fudan University’s Global MBA and EMBA programs.
An honors graduate of the University of Hong Kong and the University of London, Elise is fluent in Mandarin and English, and resides in Washington D.C. with her family.
In 2021, Helena Rubinstein acknowledged me as a “Pioneer Female of China,” a tribute to my pioneering integration of applied neuroscience into leadership practices. This recognition was part of their "Power to Change" campaign, highlighting my work's contribution to showcasing the transformative power of neuroplasticity and its role in emphasizing our lifelong capacity for change.
Power to Change
Why Neuroscience?
As a Brain Coach for Leaders, my journey into the realm of neuroscience began unexpectedly yet profoundly. It was in 2013 when I stumbled upon Oliver Sacks' "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat". This book, a seminal work in the field of neuroscience, piqued my curiosity and irrevocably changed the course of my life.
Sacks' writings opened my eyes to the fascinating world of neuroscience – a field that studies the nervous system's structure, function, development, genetics, biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, and pathology. His assertion that "the brain is the most incredible object in the universe" resonated deeply with me. The realization of the brain's neuroplasticity, the ability to change and adapt throughout one's life, was particularly transformative. This notion contradicted the once-prevailing belief that the adult brain was fixed and unchangeable.
My fascination led me to further my studies at MIT, delving into Applied Neuroscience. The concept of neuroplasticity, which has been heralded as one of the most groundbreaking discoveries about the brain in the past 400 years, became a cornerstone of my belief system and professional practice. This understanding – that the brain, like a muscle, can be trained and rewired throughout our lives – fueled my passion for neuroscience.
I began applying neuroscience theories and methods in my personal life and with my clients, who were primarily corporate executives and entrepreneurs. The effectiveness of these applications was met with astonishment and enthusiasm, encouraging me to share these accessible and impactful techniques with a wider audience. At then, I was still based in Shanghai, China. So I started a blog in Chinese, disseminating neuroscience knowledge, which surprisingly garnered significant attention. Over time, more and more organizations and business schools started to invite me to give talks, deliver coaching, training and workshops all over the APAC region, and later, globally.
In 2018, the opportunity to collaborate with ShePower, China's largest professional women's platform, came my way. I created a course on their platform, tailored for the general public, focusing on brain health and performance in today's fast-paced and high-tech world. It was so well received that it also led to the publication of my first Chinese book “Rewire Your Super Brain for Peak Performance” in 2021.
Feedback and transformations that I have been witnessing from my readers, my clients, and myself, guided by neuroscience, reinforced my belief in the power of self-directed neuroplasticity.
In late 2023, I discovered BrainWorking Recursive Therapy (BWRT), an innovative technique that deepened my fascination with neuroscience. This revelation expanded my perspective: I realized that my role could extend beyond training and coaching—by directly engaging in the process of brain rewiring of my clients. BWRT stands out by facilitating rapid, transformative changes in clients, achieving results at a pace previously unimaginable. This technique has not only reinforced my passion for neuroscience but has also significantly enhanced my ability to help clients realize their potential swiftly and effectively.
The eminent neuroscientist, Dr Michael Merzenich, widely known as “the father of neuroplasticity”, says the following – “Whatever the circumstances of a child’s early life, and whatever the history and current state of that child, every human has the built-in power to improve, to change for the better, to significantly restore and often to recover. Tomorrow, that person you see in the mirror can be a stronger, more capable, livelier, more powerfully centered, and still-growing person.” This is what propels me to do what I passionately do today and for the rest of my life.
I am committed to empowering individuals and organizations with applied and practical neuroscience, helping them gain a competitive edge in this once volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA), and now brittle, anxious, non-linear, and incomprehensible (BANI) world. My mission is to share the science of rewiring neural pathways and optimizing brain function, enabling profound personal and professional transformations.
My journey in neuroscience has been a journey of discovery, growth, and empowerment. I am excited to share this path with you, embarking on a journey of self-discovery and limitless potential. Let's begin this transformative journey together!
How Can Neuroscience Help?
As a Brain Coach for Leaders, I employ a Science-informed, Evidence-Based, and Human-Centered approach to empower leaders in the following areas:
Resilience Building: Using neuroscientific principles for strategies that enhance leaders' ability to withstand and recover from challenges.
Stress Management: Implementing brain-based techniques to effectively manage stress.
Mindset Transformation: Facilitating positive mindset shifts through understanding growth mindset and neuroplasticity.
Leadership Skill Enhancement: Refining crucial leadership abilities using insights from neuroscience.
Brain-Friendly Nutrition: Advising on diet that optimizes brain function for improved focus and cognitive performance.
Boosting Creativity: Employing methods to unlock and enhance creative thinking and problem-solving.
Women Leadership: Tailoring strategies to bolster confidence and assertiveness in women leaders.
Rapid Behavioral Change: Utilizing BWRT to enable swift and profound behavioral adjustments, enhancing personal and professional growth.
Emotional Regulation: Applying BWRT to help leaders manage emotions effectively, fostering a healthier emotional climate in the workplace.
Performance Optimization: Using BWRT to break through psychological barriers, significantly elevating leadership performance and efficiency.
These tailored strategies leverage the latest neuroscience research and the transformative power of BWRT to cultivate adaptability, positive thinking, and innovative problem-solving, essential for today's dynamic leadership challenges.