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WHOLE-BRAIN PROJECT MANAGEMENTCHAPTER (4)13/12/2011

PROJECT PLANNING, SCHEDULING, AND CONTROL, JAMES P. LEWIS, Third Edition

Introduction2

How you think affects absolutely everything you do in life--the career choices you make the person you marry your choice of friends your communication style problem solving and managing styles. and much more!

Contents3

Thinking Styles and the HBDI What If Your Team Doesnt Have a Whole Brain? Team Dynamics Managing Conflicts Questions for Review

Objective of the Chapter4

What is the different thinking styles? What they mean for project managers? The best profile for a project manager Identify project manager role when dealing with conflicts in different thinking styles in the project team.

Thinking Styles5

Left Brain - Right Brain Theory: Left-brain

thinkers are more analytical, logical, and sequential in their thinking than are right-brain thinkers, who are more parallel thinking, intuitive, and global.

Thinking Styles6

Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI): Ned

Herrmann found that the left-right dichotomy did

not go far enough to explain thinking differences, and he postulated another axis based on cerebral-limbic thinking (Herrmann, 1995, 1996).

Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI):7

Ned developed an instrument that measures these preferences, called the (HBDI) and the respondent receives a profile like the one shown in Figure 1.

Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI):8

When this dimension is added, you have four pure styles that combine to yield a wide range of different thinking styles.Figure 1 HBDI Profile of Thinking Styles

Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI):9

Principle: The HBDI measures ones preference for thinking in certain ways, not ones ability. In this profile, scores range from 1, which is most preferred, to 3, which is least preferred. There is no such thing as a 0 score because everyone uses all four styles to some degree.

HBDI10

Figure 2 The Whole Brain Model of the HBDI

The A Quadrant11

People with a strong preference to think in these ways are also attracted to professions that require such thinking For a project manager, he could be expected to be very logical, to be interested in technical issues affecting the project, and to be keen on problem solving.

The B Quadrant12

This is the preferred thinking of many managers, administrators, planners, and manufacturers. Individuals who have single-dominant profiles in the B quadrant could be expected to be concerned with the detailed plans of a project, and with keeping everything organized and controlled.

The C Quadrant13

Such individuals are often nurses, social workers, musicians, teachers, counselors, or ministers. A project manager with a single-dominant C profile would naturally be concerned with the interpersonal aspects of the project, perhaps to the detriment of getting the work done. Projects are people

The D Quadrant14

Such Individuals are often drawn to careers that involve facilitation, consulting, or being sales leaders and artists. These are the idea people in a team, and they enjoy synthesizing ideas from several sources to create something new from that combination. Project managers who have single-dominant D quadrant profiles could be expected to be very big picture in their thinking.

Double, Triple, and Quadruple Profiles15

We have discussed single-dominant profiles and what they may mean for project managers. But suppose you have strength in two quadrants. Or three. Or all four. What would that mean?

Double, Triple, and Quadruple Profiles16

Think of this person in a project managers role. I would guess that she would be good at seeing the big picture of the project, and at developing project strategy, but she would also be interested in doing detailed implementation planning as well. In other words, she could see both the forest and the trees.Figure An example of double-dominant profile

Work Motivation and the HBDI17

So knowing your most-preferred and least-preferred thinking styles should help you determine when a particular kind of project is a good match for you, or what you should do when there is a mismatch. You can be motivated to do work in your leastpreferred thinking style if it means achieving success in terms of your other thinking preferences.

Is there a best profile?18

Principle: No single profile is best. Is there a best profile for a specific job? Perhaps.

Figure 3 Profile of Female Project Managers

Figure 4 Profile of Male Project Managers

About the HDBI19

One application of the HBDI that is now well documented is its use in putting together teams. A team should collectively represent a whole brain, meaning that if you overlay the profiles of all members of the team, they will form composite profile that shows preferences in all four quadrants.

What If Your Team Doesnt Have A Whole Brain?20

Many teams do not collectively represent a whole brain.

Figure 5 Profile of a Creative Group

Figure 6 Profile of a Technical Team

What If Your Team Doesnt Have A Whole Brain?21

The important thing is that they be aware of the profile and that they know how to compensate for the low preference. Remember, it is not that they cant think in this quadrant but that they simply dont have a strong preference to do so. Principle: We can all think in all quadrantswe just have to work harder in the least preferred ones.

Team Dynamics22

Most of us think in more than one quadrant, but it is true that there may be a quadrant that does dominate our thinking, and when we communicate with others who are in different quadrants than our own, we have difficulties. Principle: Misunderstandings sometimes occur because of differences in thinking preferences.

Managing Conflicts23

There is a sense in which, if you criticize my idea, you are finding fault with me. So I respond by getting angry. Next thing You know, we are locked in an interpersonal conflict. These are often labeled personality conflicts. They are, in a sense. But they have a fundamental cause we see things differently and identify with our points of view and the ideas we have.

Project manager role.24

As a project leader, you have to get people to give you ideas, and you have to manage the critiquing of these conflicting ideas so that they dont develop into interpersonal conflict. If this happens, as it will sometimes, you then have to resolve that interpersonal conflict, and if people understand the concept of thinking preferences, this is somewhat easier than it may be otherwise.

Questions for Review25

1. 2. 3.

The HBDI measures ones thinking ability: T Is there a best thinking profile? What do you do if your team doesnt have a whole-brain profile?

F

4.

What is the advantage of knowing the thinking preferences of each member of your team?