So far, I have looked at the four quadrants of the brain: in this Industry Insight, I'll look at how the four quadrants of the brain can be further broken down into eight dimensions, apply labels to those dimensions, and indicate how these pertain to people in the IT sector.
Before examining the eight dimensions of the brain, always remember that no brain profile is good or bad, right or wrong. It is simply your profile, and understanding it will help you apply yourself appropriately in life.
And where you discern or express a desire to develop a quadrant of your brain, this can be done through creative whole brain exercises.
Your brain profile provides an indication of how you will communicate; act towards people in certain situations; engage in business; learn and teach; solve problems and make decisions, to name just a few activities which are all pivotal in business, including IT.
Taking the four quadrants of the brain and dividing them further, we find the following:
* L1: Can be divided further into realist and analyst
* R1: Can be divided further into strategist and imaginer
* L2: Can be divided further into stalwart and preserver and organiser
* R2: Can be divided further into empathiser and socialiser
The attributes of each of these sub-quadrants are:
Realist
Clear in his thinking, he is not easily distracted (we will use the male pronoun here for the purposes of brevity). This person is focused, sets goals and free of mental clutter. He defines targets, lives within clear guidelines, deals with facts, intuitively understands the pros and cons of situations.
He tends to break complex issues into their constituent parts so as to simplify major tasks.
It should be quite clear that such a person has a great role to play in IT: business analysts, sales people and project managers are just three of the types of people you would want to have these attributes.
Analyst
This person is good for assessing situations and monitoring performance. He always wants to dig deeper into every situation, is financially oriented, clinical and logical in his thinking.
He sets priorities in their right order, can mentally calculate facts and figures, and has a probing, examining mind. Such a person is excellent in the fields of auditing, accounting, financial responsibility and enterprise performance management.
Many people do not like the number-crunching aspect of business, but analysts are key to the ongoing health of any company.
Strategist
This person is a visionary, with one foot planted firmly in the future. He predicts what is going to be the next big thing, drives change, is highly entrepreneurial and embraces risk.
By nature a big thinker, he is keen to tackle the uncommon and unfamiliar. He wants variety and to challenge the status quo. It goes without saying that without such a person (think Steve Jobs) the IT sector would not exist.
Imagineer
This person is liable to daydream and listen to an inner voice. He makes connections - the aha, or Satori moment, that no one else sees.
Always remember that no brain profile is good or bad, right or wrong.
Dr Kobus Neethling is founder and president of the SA Creativity Foundation.
He is prone to fantasise, doodle and scribble in meetings, and engages in zigzag thinking others struggle to follow. Unconventional in his approach, he will often have a cluttered mind, full of wild ideas at any one time.
The imagineer may have only one idea succeed out of 10, but we need this child-like, wide-eyed person if the envelope is to be pushed.
Stalwart and preserver
This person is disciplined and well proven. Orderly and time-conscious, he is methodical, stable, cautious and loyal to a T.
He has extensive experience, and adheres to traditional values. Typically, such a man is the custodian of internal processes.
Organiser
We all know this person: a dynamo who makes things happen at the office. Action-oriented and hands-on, he plans meticulously and methodically.
A born supervisor and organiser, he will persevere until he achieves his goals, working to tight schedules and deadlines, and with a detailed project plan and to do list to hand. This man is a born COO.
Empathiser
This person encourages and assists others. Filled with care and stewardship, this person is service-oriented, optimistic and sensitive.
He forms special attachments with others, reaches out to them and helps build their careers. He has an intuitive grasp for what others need.
Such a person is ideally suited to a career in human capital, business analysis and project management.
Socialiser
This person automatically gravitates towards groups, is sociable, garrulous and connects to as many people as possible. He will be on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media ahead of the pack.
He works by consensus, rather than on his own, is a born networker, outgoing and the life and soul of any party. This person is a born salesman, office party organiser or even PR person.
* In the next Industry Insight, I'll look at what it means to you if you are dominant in any of the eight dimensions, and what to do about it in terms of your career.
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