(Though some functions sit in both hemispheres, we speak of left and right hemispheres for the sake of clarity.)
As told by Gladwell in Blink, a recently found kouros was acclaimed by worldwide renowned scientists and experts of the J.Getty Museum after painstaking investigations….to be torn down in a matter of seconds by a look from art historian Federico Zeri.
Intuition is fast, immediate and straightforward, connecting information which may never reach consciousness. We know but not how we know. The left brain with its sequential logic and data analysis is slow, tedious and never gets the big and whole picture. It compartmentalises and dissects to take control.
True, to increase productivity, processes can be made simpler and faster by using left brain strategies such as measurements. Yet, companies may miss out on their real value and lose their edge by scorning "fuzzy" right brain features running the risk of putting out the flame of inspiration and passion. Marketing, HR, R&D, Sales, BD depts. are even more concerned in that respect for the obvious reasons of their need for flair, insight, imagination, fast decision making, connectedness and the unmeasurable factors of motivation.
The US office of Naval Research (ONR) is developing methods to help soldiers rely on their “spidey sense” on the battle field. Iconic entrepreneurs like Henry Ford, Jobs, Branson, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Allen or Travis Kalanick have known how to create a new voice of customer. Dr Orloff (UCLA) is working with women top executives on this “superpower” for more efficient leadership. Women have a thicker corpus callous (the connective white matter between left and right hemispheres) which predisposes to faster connectedness between logic and intuition (though undeniably women can be stuck in fact analysis and men are becoming more emotionally intelligent, imaginative and intuitive).
The thing is not to give up the left brain but it takes guts to let go of its control and trust your gut.
Here are some ways to bridge right and left brains :
Individually,
Close your left nostril and breathe through your right nostril and vice versa
If right handed, use your left hand for what you would do with your right hand and vice versa
Feel what your body is telling you in each situation - sweating hands ? Feeling hot ? An itch ?
Breathe and ask yourself your question - let the answer appear through an image.
Feel your energy in any situation - is it growing or are you depleted ?
In company,
Mind & bodyfulness, unbridled brain storming,
role plays and simulations, connecting processes with your values, projective exercises, deep and active listening, design thinking, decision making from the heart, team and systemic team coaching, fun objective-oriented team building.
And you, do you trust your right brain?
The 21st Century Conscious Cy
(I coach - You connect with your real life forces)
