Putting your Company’s Whole Brain to Work

We live in a cognitively diverse environment where people either respect and acknowledge the
differences between them or just make themselves see only one side of the coin.

Nowadays, innovation has been pervasive. Companies here and there are starting to put this on
their objectives because who doesn’t want it? It has played as a game changer in the business
world. It has brought progress to the leading business institution today. The question is, can we
deal with what underlies innovation – differences on people?

Having differences is inevitable in our society. There is and will always be varied styles of
thinking, ways of approaches and levels of strategies that people make use of. It’s very confusing
to dive in all of those things but we have no choice but to do it. Once we’re on it, what we can do
is to develop our response to that kind of situation. Are we just going to accept and work things
out with all those differences? Or we will just let ourselves be drown in confusion and perplexity?
As managers, we will definitely choose the former because no one wants to put their companies
on the brink of falling. So, how can we work with different kinds of people with different kinds of
thinking?

In an issue in Harvard Business Review, Dorothy Leonard and Susaan Straus wrote in their article
“Putting Your Company’s Whole Brain to Work” how to deal with conflict in pursuing innovation.
They said that we must first understand ourselves. In order to have an innovative organization,
managers must make their preferences clear to themselves. In this way, they will be able to
distinguish their blinds spots and weaknesses to which other people may compensate. The process
might be difficult as criticisms will be given. Yet, if it is communicated well, there’s nothing to
worry about.

Second thing to do is “Forget the Golden Rule”. To be better, we must embrace diversity. We must
not be fixated on conformity most especially in critical situations. Sometimes, people who can
make us better are those who are different from us. They can see better the movement and phasing
in our decisions than us. One of the famous thought says, “Birds of the same feather flock
together”. However, it was never mentioned where they will end up. They might not even fly
towards success. They might even plummet. Perhaps, being with different people is better than
just staying with the same colleagues who constrains you to development. If you’re a right-brained
person, then be with the left-person as well. After all, no one wants to eat the same dish over and
over again. We really need variety.

Third, we must create a ‘whole-brained team’. If a company will be filled with only right-brained
persons, surely, it will collapse later on. You cannot row a boat when you’re on either ends. You
must be in the middle to maintain the equilibrium and then, continue rowing to the desired
destination. The same thing happens in the companies. There must be a balance of right and left-
brain. We were not born with just half brain but whole brain. So, it is only rightful to utilize the
‘whole’ brain most especially in solving problems. This will give the company not just one
cognitive style but diverse, dynamic and better ones.

Fourth, let’s look for the ugly duckling. Let’s not be blind with what’s happening in the company.
We need to be more critical in assessing the problems that need to be addressed. If we let those
slide even for once, those will just create bigger problems in the future.

Fifth, manage the creative process. With the presence of different thinking styles, it may be hard
to manage the whole process. One issue that stricken me is that we value politeness over truth most
of the time. I agree with it and that adds to the difficulty in managing the creative process. As
managers, we must make sure that everyone will be involved and be aware of the differences of
those who are present. We must make things clear to everyone and proceed smoothly.

As innovation require “cross-fertilization” of ideas, there might be conflict of arguments in the

process. We must then, depersonalize them. In logic, there’s a fallacy we call Ad Hominem fallacy
where a person drives away from the arguments and attacks the other personally. As managers, we
must be keen in addressing this one. We must instill to them that as professionals, we must take
things not too personal. After all, “No one style is inherently better than another.” We must learn
to see the whole thing. We must look deeper on the real value of the thinking styles of other people.
If this happens, with a better understanding of everyone, healthier discussions will definitely arise.

Lastly, we must be able to use the instruments and administer the process well, otherwise,
misjudgment may occur. With the difficulty in making abrasion to creativity (with all those
differences in thinking styles and different approaches in problem solving), the process must be
managed by someone who is well-equipped holistically. We must develop everyone’s ability to
work even with different people. Once that a good connection with different people with different
thinking styles and approaches has been established, innovation will follow.