Lighthouse News

So what happens when a job requires transitioning from left-brain to right-brain job functions?  For example, a physician who is an excellent technician and very analytical, gets promoted to department head which requires emotional competencies that are under-developed? What does the individual do?  Bumble around, or take intentional steps to increase his or her competencies?  The same goes for the right-brained graphic artist who may be promoted to an Art Director, now responsible for managing others within a structured environment and budget. Can this person tap into the analytical skills necessary to be successful in this new role?

Is it possible to train the non-dominant side of the brain in order to improve our skills and emotional intelligence? The answer is YES!

The brain’s hemisphere divider is a thick layer of cells called the Corpus Callosum. Neuroplasticity theory tells us we are able to increase the function of the Corpus Callosum to integrate our right- & left-brain functions. 2

But how does one begin to engage skills from the non-dominant side of the brain? It simply starts by learning something new. The brain is like a muscle, the more it is “flexed,” the stronger it will become.

For the left-brained Physician who just became the Department Chief, by flexing the right side of the brain, she can dramatically improve success factors such as innovation and teamwork within the department. The same holds true for the right-brained Sales Person who has just been promoted to Manager. By training the left brain, he can improve success factors using analytics and metrics.

2: brain.oxfordjournals.org