YOU ARE A

CEREBRAL TYPE

“The Thinker”

There is no good or bad way to exert leadership energy, as there are mental, emotional, and somatic components to every move we make. By adding up your “true” answers, dividing by 30, and then multiplying the result by 100, we determined which of the three tendencies tends to be your default: Cerebral, Empathetic, or Somatic.

It could be that you’re well balanced in all three, but most of us have one area that is dominant. For you, it’s the Cerebral Type, or the Thinker. Recognizing an affinity for one over another is helpful in raising your awareness of how you may react to challenges, especially under stress. That can free you up to consider your options, be aware of how others may operate differently, and help you stretch out of your comfort zone.

The key to leadership success in today’s world is developing leadership agility—the capacity to stretch and expand your approach to situations so you can quickly adapt to changing contexts and continuously develop new skills.

Below is a summary of strengths and potential opportunities for you to reflect upon as a Cerebral Type:

CEREBRAL LEADERS

If your assessment results indicate that you have a stronger affinity for a rational, cerebral approach to leading, you are likely thoughtful, deliberate and data-focused when making a decision. You will want to gather the facts, conduct (or have others conduct on your behalf) research in order to consider all the options available. You may enjoy working with data, reading research, and debating with others who are intellectually stimulating and creative. Your communication style is likely to focus on sharing facts, data and strong evidence-based rationale for plans, budgets and goals.

YOUR STRENGTHS

Reflective
Thoughtful
Science-based
Deliberate
Analytical

DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Recognize and value emotions in the workplace
Learn to leverage emotional arguments – meaning, passion, purpose, “the why”
Develop story-telling skills (narrative, metaphor, symbols) that expand beyond the rational
Recognize and value movement, action and impact of physical activity
Recognize and value physical aspects of the team environment: space, light, sound, texture, aesthetics etc.

WORKING WITH OTHERS

Increase awareness and focus by paying attention to the underlying purpose and meaning – the emotional “why” behind a decision or goal – in order to bring others, who may be more emotionally driven, along with you.

You may have a tendency to avoid emotional situations or to try and remain stoic in the face of strong emotions – both positive and negative – so it is important to recognize the value and import others may put upon emotions and recognize that intuition, creativity and passion are not always rational aspects of human behavior.

When working with more somatically inclined colleagues, it will be important to be mindful of the physical space, the timing (e.g. you may want to be deliberative, others may want to move quickly) and the value of physical movement. Somatic leaders may want to stand up, move and walk around when making decisions or brainstorming. Becoming more aware of the somatic aspects of the environment – and how they impact the energy of the team – may be helpful in bringing the best ideas out of everyone.

NEXT STEPS

Are you ready to take the next step?

You can download a free chapter here. And get a copy of FLEX here!

Thank you for taking the time to do the leadership energy assessment. If you have any questions, please drop me a line here!

Happy Leading!

- DR. JEFFREY HULL