Creativity

Creativity

1. "Team creativity is the Holy Grail of teamwork: Everyone wants it, but very few people know where to look for it or how to set up the conditions to make it happen" (Thompson 2004)

   • If an idea has no practical use, it is of limited value
     • Creative solutions lead to innovation & change bc they go beyond existing perspectives (Woodman, Sawyer, Griffin '93)

2. Creativity: the process by which original & useful ideas are produced (Rowe, Thompson 2004)

3. E. Paul Torrance: dominant figure in creativity research, known for developing creativity assessments

   • Torrance ('88) defines creative thinking as "the process of sensing difficulties, problems, gaps in info, missing elements, something askew; making guesses & formulating hypotheses about these deficiencies,; evaluating & testing these guesses and hypotheses; possibly revising & retesting them ; and finally communicating the results
   • His assessments are the gold standard in educational settings (elementary, secondary, postsecondary) & non-edu settings alike (Baer '93)

4. The 1st step in the creative process is seeing the problem accurately

   • The way one defines the nature of a problem is one of the most important components of the creative process (Csikszentmihalyi '90)
     • Identifying & defining the problem determines the quality & effectiveness of the solution

5. 4 ways to think divergently (Guilford '67)

   • 1. Fluency: ability to produce a large # of ideas for understanding or solving probs
   • 2. Flexibility: ability to produce ideas in a variety of categories
   • 3. Originality: ability to produce unusual or unique ideas
   • 4. Elaboration: ability to develop ideas by generating details & depth; ability to develop abstract ideas into realistic solutions that can be implemented successfully

6. In conclusion: Today's problems are often the result of yesterday's well-meaning yet ill-conceived solutions (Senge '90)

   • Groups that encourage creativity are able to avoid superficial solutions by generating & evaluating a greater # of possibilities
     • Divergent thinking helps groups consider a plethora of possible outcomes that can lead to better outcomes, whereas convergent thinking can then narrow down the options & decide upon the best course of action

7. Many theorists associate creativity w/ divergent thinking or the ability to generate multiple perspectives (Baer '93)

   • Old conceptualizations & judgments are suspended in favor of generating a variety of possibilities. Divergent thinking is expansive & resists convention. It looks for alternatives that are not often apparent at first glance

8. Convergent thinking suggests there is "one right way" to go about any given task & that the primary job of the team is to find that right away

   • Ch 6 Info Processing Ladder: individuals use existing cognitive categories to make sense of incoming data.
     • EX: Based on years of schooling, mental models of "proper classroom behavior" help reduce anxiety and guide behavior, but existing mental models can be restrictive & prevent people from seeing outside their frame of reference
       • Think outside the box → question assumptions & take risks