Fostering Team Creativity

Many extraordinary innovations are the product not of individual strokes of genius, but rather cooperation among highly skilled individuals working toward a common goal. As technology grows more advanced and intricate, and groundbreaking innovation requires an increasingly sophisticated skill set, the power of co-creation is only becoming more essential. Exemplary creative teams often benefit from a diversity of skills, passions, and expertise, and a work environment that allows each member of the collective to shine.

A leadership style conducive to innovation.

As management scholar and Harvard business professor Linda Hill explained in a 2014 TED talk, a top-down style of leadership is seldom consistent with the freedom of thought and expression that enables creative minds to flourish. But a total absence of structure isn’t helpful either.

Hill offers several examples of firms with work environments conducive to collective innovation, including computer animation studio Pixar, and search engine giant Google. Hill and her research partners have concluded that managers at these firms embrace an unconventional style of leadership—one which conceives of the boss as a connector and social architect, rather than a commander-in-chief. Or as Hill says, “Our role as leaders is to set the stage, not to perform on it.”

Development teams at Pixar typically include around 250 members, who spend between four and five years composing a single film. Once the team has established its overall objective (to produce an animated movie with a particular storyline, characters, and themes), the process and details are somewhat flexible. Importantly, effective managers of creative projects do not presume that their own vision is superior in all respects to the potentially conflicting ideas and expertise of the other team members. In any project of this magnitude, unanticipated challenges are also likely to arise, which may require improvised solutions.

The physical design and layout of the workplace is a crucial factor as well. The members of a creative team must have enough isolated space to pursue their own trains of thought, but enough common space to allow discussion and engagement. Instead of consensus and conformity, a manager who aims to promote creativity shouldn’t be afraid to allow constructive debate, and even constructive conflict. The leader’s role in these situations is to moderate the discussion, rather than attempt to influence the entire team toward a single point of view.

Creative abrasion, agility, and resolution.

Hill believes many organizations that display high levels of team creativity have mastered three over-arching abilities.

•  Creative abrasion is the frequent meeting of minds in the workspace, which may sometimes culminate in confrontation. The role of a manager at this stage is to amplify voices that might not otherwise receive a fair hearing, and engender a respectful marketplace of ideas.

•  Creative agility is the testing of ideas and concepts on a small scale in order to ascertain possible solutions to problems. The immediate goal of this is twofold—to examine the viability of those ideas in practice, and refine them by identifying practical shortcomings. This is an experimental, trial-and-error process, and team members should understand it as such.

•  Creative resolution is the decision-making process by which the members of a creative team collectively determine a path forward. This may require integration of conflictual or divergent ideas. However, Hill believes managers should discourage team members from “going along to get along”, accepting compromises they find unsatisfactory.

In sum, successful leaders of creative teams don’t necessarily “lead” in the conventional sense; instead, they aim to provide fertile soil for the emergence of ingenuity.

Your Work Environment Shapes Your Mentality

Which is better: a tidy, organized workplace, or a cluttered, messy one?

For most people, the answer to this question seems glaringly obvious. Clearly organization trumps slovenliness and disarray in the workplace.

Or does it?

In reality, the answer may be more ambiguous than you’d expect. A 2013 study led by psychologist Kathleen Vohs suggests that clutter and organization both have pros and cons; the former tends to promote creativity, while the latter is more conducive to observing social and ethical norms, following procedures, and getting mundane tasks done.

In other words, the choice of which of those two states (order or disorder) to favour largely depends on what you hope to achieve, and what sort of work you happen to be doing. (Naturally, personality and individual preferences are significant factors too.)

Messiness can promote thinking outside the box

Innovation, by definition, involves a break from convention, and many of the most successful start-ups in history owe their genesis to a moment’s inspiration. Nowadays, every business owner is seeking a competitive edge, and the ability to come up with fresh and useful ideas certainly helps. Writing in the New York Times, Vohs described the details of the study she and her colleagues undertook, and some of its practical implications for managers and entrepreneurs hoping to spur ingenuity.

One component of Vohs et al.’s study involved two groups of research participants, half of whom were deployed to a tidy room, and the other half, to a disheveled one. All of the subjects were assigned the task of devising innovative uses for ping-pong balls, and the ideas they came up with were rated on both quantity and quality. (Unoriginal ideas, like using the balls to play beer-pong, received a low creativity rating.)

Both groups produced the same number of ideas. But the novelties emanating from the messy room were significantly more creative, and included using ping-pong balls as floor protectors for furniture, and to make ice trays. Comparable results, indicating a correlation between disorganization and creativity, have been found in subsequent studies.

           

The take-away is clear: a bit of messiness (within reasonable limits, of course) can foster fresh approaches to everyday problems, exactly the sort of thinking that enables small businesses to address unmet needs in the marketplace, and thrive as a result.

But of course, disarray is not without some drawbacks.

Tidiness correlated with generosity, and adherence to convention

While thinking outside the box is well and good, there are also plenty of occasions in life, including in professional environments, where it pays to recognize what’s working, and stick with it. Why re-invent the wheel?

In another component of their study, Vohs and her colleagues found that research participants who had been exposed to tidy environments tended to be more generous in their donations to a charity that supplied books and toys to disadvantaged children. When offered a choice of snacks between a chocolate bar and an apple, participants from the more orderly environment also tended to favour the healthier option.

One needn’t perform a scientific study in order to think of some other advantages that stem from organization. By maintaining order around your desk, you can avoid wasting time hunting around for things, and won’t become sidetracked as easily. Having a clear process in mind for the tasks ahead, and all the tools and materials that you need on hand, can save you mental and physical energy. This is crucial if your workload is heavy, and especially if it involves run-of-the-mill administrative duties.

But as Vohs et al.’s research indicates, it is hazardous to presume that disorganization in the workplace is a liability. In fact, under the right circumstances, it can even be an asset.

What Is The Biggest Threat To Your Creativity?

 

The biggest threat to your creativity could be staring you right in the face. The mere fact that you might be researching this topic means you’re stuck! It might be that the creative block hindering your productivity could come down to your attitude. If you consider the very act of “being creative” as a chore or something you dread, then you’re setting up a pattern of self-defeat before you even begin. That’s not being productive or creative. Here are some other things to consider that will help spark your creative flow:

Change Your Perspective

Try sitting in your guest chair for an hour while doing your work. Swap out the photos or art work hanging on your wall. Sometimes changing perspective can be enough to spark a creative idea. Even the smallest change can make a difference. If you have the chance to grab your laptop and head outdoors to the nearest java joint, go for it. There’s no telling what you might run into or meet up with that could help you rethink a problem and come up with a creative solution.

Change Your Chair

If you’re spending eight hours in an uncomfortable chair it’s no wonder you can’t be creative. Constantly adjusting your posture to find the perfect position is a distraction. That distraction can set off a chain reaction. If your chair is uncomfortable then it’s too hot or too cold in the office. Your shoes are too tight. You don’t like what you’re wearing. It goes on and on. Stop those kinds of distractions in their track and start by being comfortable in your chair. By the same token, don’t always sit in the same chair during conference room meetings. Mix it up and see what happens.

Change Your Office Space

There might be an unused area in your office that would make a great “think tank.” Bring in a couple of comfy sofas and chairs and let this be a break space that gives you and your coworkers a chance to get out and move around. This could also be a great place to share idea and get feedback.

Take a Break

We’re not talking about going for a cup of coffee or slice of birthday cake. Instead, think of ways to take an inspiration break. Is there a piece of music that always puts you in a good frame of mind? Is there a favorite writer who always gets you thinking? Load up some quotes or your favorite book in your iPad. Then schedule time to put your work aside and look from inspiration from those sources.

Write Everything Down

The only bad idea is no idea. You sometimes have to get through the dozen clunkers before finding that gem. That’s why when you’re brainstorming you should write everything down. Doesn’t matter if it’s a pad, a dry erase board or even a digital recorder - get it on record for future consideration.