New research on right brainpowered innovation shows a pathway of possibilities for leaders ready to take the leap, says researcher Ibrahim Senay.
Savants point to enormous innovative opportunities that come with right brain leadership.
The key is to short circuit rusty approaches, in favor of practices that segue into innovative pathways forward. How so? Question, like open-minded leaders do, and you’ll also stir up motivation as well as cultivate curiosity for an innovative era. The kind of curiosity that spots a rainbow where others may report storms on the horizon. The idea is to engage both sides of the brain, to increase innovation.
In his book, The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working, best selling author, Tony Schwartz reminds us that the right hemisphere of our brains tend to be under-developed. He quotes neuroanatomist, Jill Bolte Taylor’s mind-bending experience of left brain dominance until after suffering a near death stroke.
Schwartz highlights problems that come from under-developed right brainpower:
- 80% don’t feel fully engaged at work every day.
- 60% get away from their desk for lunch less than twice per week.
- 40% leave at least one week of vacation unused.
- 70% check their email on vacation or days off.
Here are 5 prompts to energize your workplace – through right brainpower growth?
- How could you open new possibilities in one problem area at work?
- How might you model quality approaches when peer pressure settles for less?
- How might you support and encourage brilliant differences in others?
- What could you do differently today to get improved results at work?
- Can you name one area where you freed up right brain activity today?
Research affirms that to ignite more right brainpower, leaders let go of their dependency on left-brain prejudices, predispositions, and rigid practices. What do you think?
Could it happen in your organization? In you?
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I am so thrilled that you are blogging on this topic, one I am so passionate about as a right brain girl who has operated in a predominantly left brained society for too long. As an artist, painter, therapist and business woman having to parlay my passion toward my next love of science I have found the corporate world lacking “play” and creativity via brainstorming sessions with win/win strategizing. My observation is there are many right brain leaders unfortunately , the fear instilled in the shift we are in has suppressed self expression. Which is why over 75% of the American population has chronic stress and they don’t even know it !
Your thoughts?
Great piece. Though the experiment shown in the video provides food for thought and foundation for further studies, like Dr. Weber pointed out, we need to ask the right questions and work towards fostering right brain leadership.
The knowledge economy that we witnessed for the last 50 years yielded a great amount of productivity leveraging on the left brain of the industrial workforce. Just like the industrial discipline pushed the left brain thinking and created an industrial age, this is the time to understand the implication of ignoring the right brain leadership – and understand what we can do to stimulate creativity – through changing curriculum at the pre-college level education, fostering entrepreneurship, encouraging innovation and by taking a good look at the corporate structure and the organizational model that is limiting employees and entrepreneurs to use their right brain more effectively.
I have explored on the topic of entrepreneurship and the right brain leadership on my blog – 4entrepreneur.net.
http://4entrepreneur.net/2010/10/18/carpe-diem-coceptual-discipline/
http://4entrepreneur.net/2010/01/21/teaching-entrepreneurship-to-youth/
*your (not you are)
oops!
Brain development is just entering the minds of public school educators. In fact, as a right brain thinker living in a left brain world…I am always told, “youre ideas are so out there!”
It used to bother me, but thanks to President Obama…I am not a child left behind NOR an educator settling for status quo.
Get the word out! Innovation is the way to go 🙂
Peace&Love
You make interesting links, Patti, between the right brain and affirmations one makes by way of motivation.
Great questions …”Do you think it may hold true for people who write “I am a….” affirmations or do you think that the “I will…” poses a more solidified view and elicits a more scolding tone in the brain’s reactive centers? (I will = I should?)”
Related to how the brain functions best I’d consider several things: 1) Ethics – is the thing I will shoot for at the ethical helm of its game. If so target at the peaks and run toward it with all the motivation you can muster to motivate the brain:-)
2). Change – Will this action lead to a finer future, personally and in the wider community? Change takes work, sacrifice and commitment – so I want to motivate more brainpower where the change leads to improvement and new neuron pathways forward. Then I use affirmations, and run the race in spite of obstacles.
3). Talent – Will my affirmations also engage and help develop others’ talents. We have come to an innovation era – where facilitating others’ talents is vital to building collective brainpower for a new approach to leadership.
Thanks, Patti for nudging me to think of 3 linchpins that would foster affirmations in my case to lead more innovations from the right side of brainpower. You?
Ellen,
Wow what Senay writes about is very provocative. Do you think it may hold true for people who write “I am a….” affirmations or do you think that the “I will…” poses a more solidified view and elicits a more scolding tone in the brain’s reactive centers? (I will = I should?)