What Can Managers Do for Creativity - Bilton and Leary (2002) Vocabulary Flashcards

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, theoretical models, and managerial concepts from Bilton and Leary's (2002) text on organizational creativity.

Myth of Genius

The dominant assumption in Western culture and management that creativity is tied to a specific type of exceptional individual and depends on spontaneous, divergent, and irrational illumination.

Incremental Creativity

Robert Weisberg's model proposing that creative breakthroughs are not sudden, mysterious illuminations, but the result of deliberate intellectual processes, technical expertise, and domain-specific knowledge built over time.

Domain-Specific Expertise

Specialist knowledge, accumulated memories, and experience within a specific intellectual or cultural field that creators draw upon to solve present problems.

Creatives and Suits

The organizational division in creative businesses between artistic individual creators ('creatives') and financial or administrative managers ('suits').

Redefining the Box

Margaret Boden's concept that the main creative challenge for artists is establishing rules and boundaries within which ideas can be shaped, rather than simply 'thinking out of the box'.

Innovators and Adapters

The two opposing thinker types identified in Gary Kirton's 1991 study of engineering teams: inventive independent thinkers (innovators) and flexible team players who adapt existing ideas (adapters).

Bisociation

Arthur Koestler's theory defining creativity as the surprising combination of different, opposing concepts and realities held simultaneously in mind.

Internalised Otherness

A creative individual's capacity to hold opposing forces and contradictions within their own mind, allowing them to play multiple internal roles and turn psychological tension into a creative advantage.

Creativity Broker

A role or entity that builds connections across organizational boundaries, connecting raw individual talent with other people, technologies, and market opportunities.

Hucksters

Simon Frith's term for small-time music industry figures who historically brokered deals between artists, labels, radio stations, and listeners.

Intrinsic Motivation

The internal drive behind creative work; as noted by Teresa Amabile, extrinsic rewards generally do not stimulate creative output and can actively undermine intrinsic drive.

Deadline Magic

A term used to describe how working within clear constraints, strategic targets, or strict time limits can intensify and quicken the creative process.

Myth of Genius

The managerial and cultural assumption that creativity is person-centered and results from sudden, spontaneous, and irrational illumination rather than deliberate, collective processes.

Incremental Creativity

Weisberg's model stating that creative breakthroughs result from careful, deliberate effort, technical expertise, and domain knowledge built over time within a collective system.

Intellectual Beachcombers

Weisberg's description of creative individuals as thinkers who skillfully reclaim past ideas and experiences and reapply them to present problems.

Domain-Specific Expertise

The accumulated specialist knowledge and memories within a specific cultural or intellectual field that enable creative discovery.

Creatives and Suits

The workplace division between artistic creators (granted exemption from organizational norms but isolated from market realities) and business managers (who control strategy and finances).

Symbolic Production

Businesses in the creative industries, such as advertising agencies or media production companies, whose core work centers on generating cultural and artistic output.

Compensatory Approach

A method of teaching creativity that provides structure and logic to artists while using lateral thinking and free association for corporate employees.

Redefining the Box

Boden's concept for artistic creativity, emphasizing the establishment of clear rules and boundaries within which creative ideas can be developed, as opposed to thinking without structure.

Innovators and Adapters

Kirton's two distinct types of thinkers in teams: innovators, who are inventive and independent, and adapters, who are flexible team players skilled at implementing existing ideas.

Homogeneous Teams

Teams composed of like-minded individuals that quickly achieve consensus and solutions but fail to stimulate creative thinking.

Bisociation

Koestler's theory of creativity defined as the surprising combination of opposing concepts and the ability to hold distinct realities in mind simultaneously.

Internalised Otherness

A creative individual's capacity to embrace internal contradictions, entertain opposing perspectives, and play multiple roles in their mind.

Creativity Broker

A role or manager that connects different individuals, talents, ideas, and technologies across boundaries to foster a productive creative system.

Hucksters

Frith's term for small-time music industry brokers who negotiate deals between artists, record labels, radio stations, and audiences.

Deadline Magic

The principle that working within strict operational limits, time targets, or briefs can intensify and accelerate the creative process.

Intrinsic Motivation

The internal drive behind creative work, stemming from childhood trauma, internal drives, or passion, which external rewards or punishments can undermine.