Originally inspired by the popular left brain–right brain research into brain specialization, the concept of a "whole brain" has evolved into a useful but often poorly defined framework for learning and performance.
We know that the brain functions as a whole system—a valuable sum of its parts—integrating the various specialized functions of the asymmetrical brain. All current research continues to reinforce this initial finding of the late 1970s: that the 100 billion neurons in the brain are indeed specialized.
As neuroanamotist Jill Bolte Taylor describes it in her book My Stroke of Insight, "Although each of our cerebral hemispheres processes information in uniquely different ways, the two work intimately together when it comes to just about every action we take. The more we understand about how our hemispheres work together to create our perception of reality, the more successful we will be in understanding the natural gifts of our own brains."
The first critical takeway from whole brain thinking that we need to understand is that we are designed to be whole. The brain is specialized, and the degree of specialization affects how we think and what we pay attention to. We do not function with "half a brain" as the terms "left brained" and "right brained" imply. In fact, the brain's very design gives us the opportunity to think in terms of and versus or.
This is not new information, although the advent of popular books, such as Daniel Pink's The Whole New Mind, which focuses on the power of right brain thinking, has contributed a new level of general awareness to the subject.
But as Pink himself recently said to me, "Left brain approaches haven't become obsolete. They've become insufficient. What people need today isn't one side of the brain or the other, but ... a whole new mind."
We are designed to be whole, but our brains have developed favoring certain types of thinking and learning over others, and those preferences have consequences. The good news is that because we are designed to be whole, we have the ability to think in a whole brain way, even though we have a tendency to default to our preferences. Therein lies the key to competitive advantage—the individual or organization that develops the ability to create and communicate in new ways, without limits.
Ascent is a learning and development organization focused on maximizing mid/senior leadership, motivation and performance in the areas of Management, Personal and Youth Development, Sales and Service, Teambuilding and Organizational Design. To find out how Ascent can help your organisation visit www.ascent-world.com, email us at
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