#16: Left Is Right. So Is Right.

Introduction to Concept:

By now, most of you have heard the phrases “left brain” and “right brain” in reference to the way we think. Sometimes, jokes are made about our thinking orientation (left-brain dominance equals analytical thinking; right-brain dominance equals creative thinking). And yet numerous Fortune 500 companies are investing in training that teaches employees how to combine detail and logic (left-lobe functions) with vision and inventiveness (right-lobe functions).

When right-brainers are forced to work in left-brained situations (and vice versa), considerable stress ensues. If for no other reason than your own good health, you should know how your brain works. And if you are unable or unwilling to achieve lateralization (equal use of both lobes), you should make sure the orientation of your thinking parallels the orientation of your workplace.

Procedure:

1. Divide the class into pairs. (If one person is left over, he or she can work as your partner, in which case you would give him or her the test on the worksheet). If possible, have the partners facing each other.

2. Distribute Worksheet #16-1 TO ONLY ONE PARTNER IN EACH PAIR. Explain that the person being tested will figure out the answers in his or her head rather than with paper and pencil. Allow a few moments for the test-giver to read the two paragraphs at the top of the worksheet and then to conduct the test with his or her partner.

3. When the test is complete, give a copy of it to the “testee,” so he or she can use it with others in the future. Tell the testees to form three groups: one for those who turned out to be lateralized, one for those who had six or more check marks in the “left” column (meaning they favor their creative side), and a third group for those who had six or more checks in the “right” column (meaning they are more “right-brain” dependent).

4. As the groups are assembling, call the test-givers together and give them this simple instruction: “I want you to sit now in a very relaxed position, with your hands folded in your lap.” [Pause.] Now look down at your hands. If the left thumb is on top, please join the group that had a majority of check marks in the ‘left’ column. If your right thumb is on top, please join the group that had a majority of check marks in the ‘right’ column. And if you had your thumbs side by side, you will join the ‘lateralized’ group.”

5. Once the groups are assembled, present the flipchart questions. Explain that they will have exactly ten minutes to select one entry and to write as long a list as possible of consequences. In other words, what would logically happen if the “if” possibility were a reality?

6. Compare the length of the lists from the three groups. They should be about equal, in that this exercise calls for both creative and analytical thinking. (The lateralized group will have these skills in equal measure, so their lists should be as long as the others are.) If one group did exceptionally well, ask participants what factors (for example, the size of the group) might account for their results.

Extending the Activity:

1. Collect articles on the topics of creativity, left-brain/right-brain research, and learning organizations. Distribute one to every two participants. Give them five minutes to scan the articles to find one workable idea or one interesting concept. At the end of five minutes, call on one person in each pair to share their selections.

2. In round-robin fashion, call on each person to tell either what has helped him or her to foster creative thinking or what barriers (self-imposed or otherwise) prevent him or her from thinking creatively. As participants share their thoughts, record the gist of them on the flipchart. Make two columns. In the first, list the creativity-drivers and in the second, the creativity-barriers. Then lead a discussion regarding ways to reduce the number in the second column.

Workplace Connections:

1. Recommend that employees periodically rent, purchase, or preview videos on creativity, ideally during the lunch hour, and hold discussions afterwards to determine how to use what was learned in their everyday work lives.

2. Ask participants to sign up for a sequel to the course you have just facilitated. The sequel will be a half-day or one-day program they themselves designed. Each participant will teach a ten-minute chunk about ways creativity can be increased. You will be responsible for designing the curriculum for the remaining time.

Questions for Further Consideration:

1. What circumstances in the formative years of a human being lead to later creative behavior?

2. What circumstances lead to diminished creative behavior?

3. How do you feel about author Max DePree’s assertion that “anything truly creative results in change, and if there is one thing a well-run major corporation finds difficult to handle, it is change”?

4. What evidence do you see that your organization (or others that you know of) is working to develop innovative thought among employees?

5. What is the procedure in your workplace by which processes are improved?

Directions: Sit in front of your partner. Do not let him or her see this paper. Read the directions to yourself before giving your partner the test. Do NOT read these directions aloud. Explain that you are going to ask ten questions. You are actually not at all concerned about the answers given because… YOU ARE GOING TO WATCH THE PERSON’S EYES TO SEE IN WHICH DIRECTION HE OR SHE FIRST GLANCES WHEN WORKING OUT THE ANSWER.

Place a check in the appropriate column below. If the person glances to his or her left, check the left column. Similarly, check the right column if the person glances immediately to his or her right, or if the person glances up and then to the right. If your partner does not look in either direction, do not check either box. Now you’re ready to read the questions to your partner.

Analysis: If your partner had a score of 5/5 or he or she was looking straight ahead as he or she answered five or more questions, then the person is probably “lateralized.” This means he or she has learned to use both hemispheres of the brain equally well.

If your partner had six or more in the “left” column, he or she probably has a right-brain bias. (The direction in which they glance is opposite to the hemisphere that is active at the time.) This means he or she is more intuitive, more artistic, more creative, more emotional, more visual, more spatially adroit, more entrepreneurial, and more holistic in his or her thinking than the average person is. Those who rely upon the right-side of their brains are frequently poets, dreamers, innovators.

If your partner had a score of six or more in the right column, he or she is more oriented to left-brain thinking than the average person. Such individuals are logical, reasonable, quantitative in their thinking, analytical, detailed, and well-organized. They make excellent lawyers, accountants, supervisors, and engineers.