As a left-brained leader, you’re bound to get along with your engineers; left-brained thinking tends to dominate the field, as engineers are famously logical and analytical. Leadership is about more than mere logic, however, and a lack of self behavioral management can make things very difficult when conflict strikes in the workplace. The following tips will help you make the most of your left-brained strengths while also incorporating aspects of right-brained leadership:

Purposefully Seek Out New Ideas

Left-brained people tend to be less open to new ideas than their right-brained counterparts. The engineers in your department may willingly go along with your plans, but in all likelihood, they are bursting at the seams with valuable ideas. Encourage engineers to share these ideas — and restrain your urge to immediately critique them and promote your plan. Strictly top-down leadership is a thing of the past; today’s most effective leaders understand that value can be extracted from employees on all rungs of the professional ladder.