Are you familiar with the concept of left-eared people? The idea comes from research undertaken jointly by the London School of Economics and the University of New South Wales and it suggests that when we lean in to listen to what someone is saying, we instinctively lean in with either our left ear or our right ear. And, so the research indicates, those who lean in with their left ear tend to be right-brained – the creative ones, the out-of-the-box thinkers, the risk takers. The mavericks. Why is this important? Because if you truly embrace the concept of diversity of thought – as opposed to simply paying lip service to the idea – you have to be prepared for the fact that some people are going to have thoughts that you don’t agree with, thoughts that you don’t like and, probably, thoughts that positively scare you. Is it really worth making the effort to accommodate such people? In a recent article about left-eared people – amongst whom, apparently, you can count Sir Richard Branson and the late Steve Jobs – James Michael Lafferty makes it clear he is firmly of the opinion that not only do you have to bite the bullet but there are big benefits to be had in doing so. Lafferty, who has held CEO positions with Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola and British American Tobacco, believes that “one of the dangerous outcomes of the globalization of talent management is the tendency of global ‘score-carding’ of performance to create a company full of ‘vanilla’ — everyone acts the same. You get perhaps gender diversity and racial diversity, but you miss the most important of all: diversity of thought and approach.” It may be difficult to quantify the impact that mavericks have. But they are often inspirational. They push the envelope. And they keep things fun. Indeed, Lafferty is in no doubt. Every great team needs a maverick.

1. 21 MARCH 2016
Embrace diversity of thought and accommodate
left-eared people

2. The idea comes from research undertaken jointly by the London School of Economics
and the University of New South Wales and it suggests that when we lean in to listen
to what someone is saying, we instinctively lean in with either our left ear or our right
ear. And, so the research indicates, those who lean in with their left ear tend to be
right-brained – the creative ones, the out-of-the-box thinkers, the risk takers. The
mavericks.
 Why is this important? Because if you truly embrace the concept of diversity of thought you have to be
prepared for the fact that some people are going to have thoughts that you don’t agree with, thoughts
that you don’t like and, probably, thoughts that positively scare you.
 Is it really worth making the effort to accommodate such people?
Are you familiar with the concept of left-eared people?

3.  James Michael Lafferty makes it clear
he is firmly of the opinion that not
only do you have to bite the bullet but
there are big benefits to be had in
doing so.
 one of the dangerous outcomes of the
globalization of talent management is
the tendency of global ‘score-carding’
of performance to create a company
full of ‘vanilla’ — everyone acts the
same.
Diversity of thought

4. It may be difficult to quantify the
impact that mavericks have. But
they are often inspirational. They
push the envelope.

5. To read the full blog post: www.neelabettridge.com/embrace-diversity-of-thought/
Embrace diversity of thought and accommodate
left-eared people