Right Ways of Working with the Left Brain

"The Heart of Innovation" is the blog for Idea Champions, the highly-respected consulting and training company specializing in creativity, innovation, team building, and leadership. A recent post titled "Right Ways of Working with the Left Brain" offered some valuable suggestions for helping to lead left-brained people (like most of us) through creative activities. The article opens with:

"If your job requires you to lead meetings, brainstorming sessions, or problem solving gatherings of any kind, chances are good that most of the people you come in contact with are left-brain dominant: analytical, logical, linear folks with a passion for results and a gnawing fear that the meeting you are about to lead will end with a rousing chorus of kumbaya."

I can relate.

The 10 practices are listed here, but check out the article for details - and fine-tune your ability to provide leadership throughout the creative process. As discussed in Architect as Advocate of the Business and The Proactive Architect, these sorts of leadership skills help distinguish world-class architects.

Ten Tips for Leading Creative Activities:

1. Diffuse the fear of ambiguity by continually clarifying the process
2. Get people talking about AHAS! they've had in their own lives
3. Identify (and transform) limiting assumptions
4. Encourage idea fluency
5. Invite humor
6. Do the right brain/ left brain two-step
7. Periodically mention that chaos precedes creative breakthroughs
8. Establish criteria for evaluation
9. Be a referee when you have to
10. Consult with the tough people on the breaks

Check out the full article here: Right Ways of Working with the Left Brain