Erica Peng

Erica Peng’s teaching and consulting focus on the intersection of neuroscience, human behavior, and leadership. At Haas, she has taught her course, The Neuroscience of Communication and Embodied Leadership, since 2016.

Her neuroscience-based leadership development methodology, Designed For Connection helps leaders and teams unleash untapped potential by teaching them “how to see” and engage with hidden and unconscious factors that support and sabotage influence, collaboration, and results.

How does our automatic fight-flight-freeze neurobiology drive limiting beliefs and unconscious reactivity (defensiveness, blame, criticism, withdrawal) that undermine communication, performance, and morale?

What concrete skills and approaches can intentionally de-escalate conflict and disagreements fueled by fight-flight-freeze reactivity? What skills and approaches rebuild trust and collaboration after inevitable misunderstandings and disagreements?

What behaviors leverage fight-flight-freeze neurobiology to help motivate people towards accomplishing shared goals, especially in destabilizing conditions of uncertainty and crisis?

Since 2023, Erica has been applying her research and methodology to wildfire mitigation. Specifically, developing an innovative neuroscience-based curriculum and training fire fighters and wildfire mitigation educators how to engage more effectively with community members who are overwhelmed, defensive, and resistant due to fight-flight-freeze reactivity from on-going wildfire threat.

For the Dean’s Speaker Series in May 2019, Erica hosted Sadhguru, yogi, author, and global influencer, to speak about the inner and outer dimensions of leadership (link to Sadhguru at Berkeley Haas | Leader Is a Fool).