We believe that every problem has a solution. To find it, you have to approach the puzzle in front of you with both sides of your brain.

My mother, a dance teacher, and my father, an organizational consultant, encouraged me to do this from an early age.Together, they encouraged me to stretch in all directions — to be creative When analytical, intuitive When Strategic. Branding can be a challenging and multi-faceted puzzle, so this background has served me well as Founder and Creative Director of CPG Branding Agency. I’ve learned that whatever the level of complexity, putting the pieces together with a whole-brain approach can help you find the right path forward.

Each brand’s challenges usually start with confusion. Mystery at least. That puzzle piece starts out messy, upside down. They don’t look like a final solution. And in our work, there’s no fixed image in the box to guide us. So how can you use all your creativity and analytical powers to make sense of what’s in front of you? Like jigsaw puzzles on the kitchen table, we solve puzzles.

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Whole Brain Puzzle Solving Approach

First, sort the pieces by color and pattern. This means research, strategy, and asking the big questions: What are the unknowns? What are the struggles? what are the opportunities? We then build the corners and edges and create the initial framework and vision of what the brand could be.

Once this strategic container is developed, the more intuitive work of shaping what fills it begins. Here it is important to really understand who and what we are dealing with. Because branded puzzles offer incredible texture and depth, much more than 2D puzzles. This can be difficult, but it also presents great opportunities to create magic. To turn stacks of different elements into gold.

This whole-brain puzzle problem-solving approach originated in my work with Brand and is still most commonly seen today. After all, that’s the alchemy my agency does every day. Yet, I’ve also discovered that it works like precious magic in my approach as a leader.

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tackle the leadership puzzle

In my company, team quality underpins all our activities, and team composition and operation is a fundamental and important puzzle to solve. I think most leaders would say the same thing. But even though this is essentially a leadership puzzle, he can also be one of the most difficult puzzles because the main component is the most complex one: people. Dynamically harmonizing them requires thoughtful strategy, creativity and intuition. And then it goes back to that as a leader you really have to use your whole brain and especially figure out every puzzle piece.

So where do you start? Similar to the brand puzzle, we start by categorizing the pieces (this time people, roles, business needs) in a general way. We ask questions and strategize. What am I missing? What’s not working? How should our team operate? Then set a framework and vision for how your team will look and work together. This part of the process is often simpler and probably what many leaders are already doing.

The second part of this leadership puzzle—combining most of the pieces to achieve a complete vision—can be ignored or approached half-heartedly, relying primarily on the more rational parts of the brain. there is. But this is where we absolutely need to use our creativity and intuition. And since many of these puzzle pieces are people with endless shades of color and texture, place them well As a preliminary step, it is necessary to deeply understand them.

So how do we really know our team members? What do we need to know? In my 18 years of leadership, I’ve learned that building high-performing, motivated (and fun) teams requires knowing each team member’s strengths and who they are as people. . To that end, I continue to use a structured and intuitive whole-brain approach. First, have everyone take a Strengths rating. This allows you to clearly define your team members’ most dominant talents and share them. As a hands-on leader, I speak to my employees regularly and at least once a month he holds one-on-one meetings with him. I freely communicate in a candid and caring manner and seek to be equally clear and candid. Of course, for this to happen we need to foster a culture of openness, mutual respect and acceptance of imperfections.

Knowing team members at this level gives you the raw materials you need to use your creativity and intuition to place and move people around as needed (the leadership puzzle is constantly evolving). For). You can unlock potential and bring your vision to life in a way that you could never know on your resume alone. He helps solve one of the biggest puzzles you face as a leader: how to optimize strengths and passions and create an organization that increases flow and results.

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step by step guide

As leaders, we have a constant stream of puzzles to solve, and each one becomes a vibrant opportunity when we use our whole brain. Working with an analytical mind as well as creativity and intuition will help you achieve strategic outcomes, maximize strengths, and find solutions that turn negatives into positives. You can create magic by solving puzzles and using all your mental powers. Below is a whole-brain approach to leadership in a few simple steps.

1. Sort the pieces of the puzzle: people, roles, business needs. Ask the big questions and strategize.

2. Set a vision for what your team should look like and how it should work together, then build a creative and analytical framework to get there.

3. Arrange the rest of the pieces based on your deep understanding. Test to know your team’s strengths. We also communicate, connect and listen to better understand our team members as individuals. Then place and move people around as needed until everything clicks into place. Strengths are maximized and individuals are excited to continue to grow.

4. Use your analysis and intuition to keep solving puzzles as your team and business continue to evolve. No two are the same, so you will have to re-approach the puzzles again and again.

5. Remember that this task is not always easy. It takes time, strategic vision, and really understands the team. Patience is also required. Neither we, as leaders, nor our employees are perfect. But our mutual respect for our uniqueness and contribution to the puzzle can bring us together in a wonderful way.