Mind of a Manager. Soul of a Leader
Think of Michelangelo, Mahatma Gandhi, Mashelkar.
What do they have in common (apart from the letter M)? Each exploited their left- and right-brain to its full potential.
Michelangelo: A left-brain architect; a right-brain artist
Mahatma Gandhi: A left-brain lawyer; a right-brain freedom fighter
R Mashelkar: A left-brain technologist; a right-brain social innovator.
Add to this list Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, Dr Devi Shetty, Dr F C Kohli.
History offers many more examples: Alexander, Ashoka, Akbar.
We can be trained for the left. We need to be awakened for the right.
Why awakened? Because the right-brain is dormant.
You were born with an active right-brain; then unfortunately went to school. At school the reward and recognition was for left-brain subjects. Consequently, the right brain went to sleep.
Organizations too have left- and right- brain activities. The mind of a left-brain manager. The soul of a right-brain leader.
In order to awaken the soul, we need to focus on Corporate Social Responsibility; with innovative solutions to problems through creative thinking.
This also means that we need to focus on the Triple Bottom Line: Planet, People, Profit.
The Scoring Scale for any Business Excellence Model, such as that for the IMC Ramkrishna Bajaj National Quality Award, reflects the evolution from Singular Profit to Triple Bottom Line. From Quality Systems to Process Excellence to Cross-Industry Benchmarking to Innovation.
Remember: Innovation generates money from creative ideas; right-brain ideas around the Triple Bottom Line.
Good Thought
According to the theory of left-brain or right-brain dominance, each side of the brain controls different types of thinking. Additionally, people are said to prefer one type of thinking over the other. For example, a person who is “left-brained” is often said to be more logical, analytical, and objective, while a person who is “right-brained” is said to be more intuitive, thoughtful, and subjective.
In psychology, the theory is based on what is known as the lateralization of brain function. So does one side of the brain really control specific functions? Are people either left-brained or right-brained?
In one study by researchers at the University of Utah, more 1,000 participants had their brains analyzed in order to determine if they preferred using one side over the other. The study revealed that while activity was sometimes higher in certain important regions, both sides of the brain were essentially equal in their activity on average.