Module 12

Western Thinking and Creativity

• Two Aspects of Thinking:

  • 'What is': Focuses on analysis, judgment, and argument.

  • 'What can be': Emphasis on constructive, creative thinking and innovations.

Learning Outcomes

• Understand individual creativity

• Appreciate personality's role in creative achievement

• Explain cognitive factors predicting creativity

• Examine knowledge's contribution to creativity

• Differentiate intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation and their effects on creativity

• Awareness of readiness for organizational change.

Organizational Adaptation

• Continuous adaptation is essential for organizational survival.

  • Adaptation can disrupt normality and challenge existing behaviors, values, and skillsets.

• Technological changes (e.g., machine learning, AI, robots, IoT) impact work methods.

  • Studies show significant job automation risk:

  • 47% jobs at risk in the US (Frey and Osborne, 2013).

  • 44% jobs at risk in Australia, with 33% limited susceptibility (Edmonds and Bradley, 2015).

• Emphasizes the need for employee creativity and innovation.

Significance of Creative Thinking

• Edward de Bono emphasizes creative thinking's importance beyond analytical thinking.

• Creative employment is rapidly growing globally, e.g., in Australia, it's almost three times the average workforce growth rate (Cunningham and McCutcheon, 2018).

• South Korea's shift toward a 'creative economy' highlights the importance of creativity in the workforce.

Understanding Individual Creativity

• Common Misconceptions: Creativity isn't solely linked to unique personalities; it's a complex interplay of individual traits and social influences (Woodman et al., 1993).

• Key questions addressed:

  • Why do some contribute more creatively than others?

  • How do some generate breakthrough ideas more than others?

Elemental Focus of Creativity

• Key areas explored:

  • Cognitive styles and abilities

  • Personality traits

  • Relevant knowledge

  • Required motivation

Cognitive Factors Influencing Creativity

• High cognitive ability correlates with better job performance (Ree and Earles, 1996).

• Relevant cognitive skills:

  • Mental Flexibility: Ability to manage complexity and think outside habitual patterns (Majaro, 1992).

  • Open-mindedness: Willingness to consider varied perspectives (Costa and McCrae, 1992).

• Linking Remote Associations: Essential for creativity (Mednick, 1962).

  • Unconstrained thinking allows new problem-solving strategies (Taggar, 2002).

• Suspension of Judgment: Tolerance for uncertainty allows diverse idea exploration (Majaro, 1992).

• Originality of Thinking: Unique answers to problems signal higher creativity levels (MacKinnon, 1960; Majaro, 1992).

Implications for Fostering Creativity

1. Importance of Explanation: Leaders should explain creativity's value for adapting to changes.

2. Hiring for Creativity: Seek individuals who demonstrate divergent thinking.

3. Encourage Experimentation: Allow flexibility in tasks for creative outcomes.

4. Project Autonomy: Enable pursuit of personal projects aligned with company goals (e.g., Google's 20% time policy).

Personality Traits and Creativity

• Key traits associated with creativity:

  • Risk-Taking: Willingness to challenge the status quo (Michael, 1979).

  • Self-Confidence: Belief in one's creative abilities (Buel, 1965; MacKinnon, 1960).

  • Tolerance of Ambiguity: Comfort with complexity enhances creative opportunities (MacKinnon, 1960).

  • Need for Achievement: Ambition drives creative efforts (MacKinnon, 1959; 1962).

  • Proactivity and Autonomy: Identifying and acting on opportunities (Crant, 2000).

  • Nonconformity: Willingness to challenge societal norms (MacKinnon, 1960).

Barriers to Creativity

• Individual characteristics alone don't guarantee creativity; context and environmental factors matter.

• Personality traits may be a predictor, but they do not operate in isolation from situational factors.

Knowledge and Creativity

• Knowledge essential for creativity; must distinguish between data (facts out of context), information (contextualized data), and knowledge (combination of experiences and insights).

• Formal Knowledge: Acquired through education and experience; vital for creativity in specific fields.

• Informal or Tacit Knowledge: Gained through practice and experience, crucial for creativity and innovation.

Motivation's Role in Creativity

• Motivation distinguishes potential ability from actual performance (Amabile, 1990).

• Types of Motivation:

  • Intrinsic Motivation: Driven by personal interest and satisfaction.

  • Extrinsic Motivation: Driven by external rewards.

• Positive creative outcomes often arise when intrinsic motivation is high and external pressures are minimized.

Conclusion

• Creativity is more than cognitive or personality attributes; it develops over time and relies on interpersonal interactions in the workplace.

• Future discussions should focus on how team dynamics enhance or inhibit creativity and change.

Lencionis Five dysfunctions of a team

• Absence of Trust

  • Fear of vulnerability prevents team members from being open and honest with each other.

• Fear of Conflict

  • Lack of trust leads to avoidance of healthy debates, resulting in superficial discussions.

• Lack of Commitment

  • Without open conflict, team members may not fully buy into team decisions and goals, leading to ambiguity.

• Avoidance of Accountability

  • When team members are not committed, they are more likely to evade accountability for their actions and performance.

Inattention to Results

• Focus shifts away from collective outcomes and success to personal achievements or interests, undermining team goals.

Lecture Objectives

• Appreciation of Teams: Understanding the importance of teams in complex working environments.

• Group vs. Team: Differentiating between groups and teams.

• Team-building Interventions: Exploring interventions during change processes.

• Creative Team Inputs: Examining the variables and processes that influence team creativity and performance outcomes.

• Brainstorming: Understanding its value and impact on idea generation.

• Problem-solving Techniques: Analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of three different techniques for solving problems in teams.

Importance of Collaboration

• Complexity of society requires effective collaboration.

• Timely information is critical in today's technological context.

Definition of a Group vs. a Team

• Group: Two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, working towards specific objectives.

  • Can be formal or informal.

• Team (as defined by Katzenbach & Smith, 1999):

  • A small number of people with complementary skills.

  • Committed to a common purpose and performance goals.

  • Members hold themselves mutually accountable.

Reasons Why People Join Teams (Robbins et al. 1994)

• Security: Provides a sense of safety.

• Self-esteem: Boosts self-worth.

• Power: Offers influence and authority.

• Goal Achievement: Enables collaborative goal accomplishment.

The Team Development Process (Tuckman and Jensen, 1977)

1. Forming: Team members get acquainted.

2. Storming: Conflicts arise as team members assert their opinions.

3. Norming: Teams begin to establish norms and cohesion.

4. Performing: The team effectively works towards its objectives.

5. Adjourning: The team disbands after achieving its goals.

Reasons for Team Failure

• Hidden Agendas: Undisclosed motivations can disrupt collaboration.

• Lack of Understanding: Miscommunication leads to problems.

• Poor Leadership: Absence of guidance hinders progress.

• Wrong Mix of Members: Incompatible skillsets and personalities can lower effectiveness.

• Unhealthy Environment: Toxic team dynamics reduce productivity.

• Misinterpreting Teams as Groups: Treating teams like mere groups can lead to inefficiencies.

Groupthink

• Defined by Janis (1972) as a psychological drive for consensus that suppresses dissent.

• Prevention Tactics:

  1. Encourage voicing opinions.

  2. Prepare for criticism.

  3. Seek diverse recommendations.

  4. Periodically divide and regroup.

  5. Invite outsiders for fresh perspectives.

  6. Implement a devil's advocate approach.

  7. Reconsider the action plan periodically.

Social Loafing

• Defined as the tendency of individuals in a group to reduce effort.

• Causes:

  • Perceived equity of effort.

  • Loss of personal accountability.

  • Motivational loss via shared rewards.

  • Coordination challenges as group size increases.

Team-building Interventions During Change

1. Confrontation Meetings: Addressing issues directly.

2. Responsibility Charting: Defining roles and responsibilities.

3. Appreciative Inquiry: Focusing on strengths and positive aspects.

Creative Teams: Insights

• Team Size: Smaller teams yield more creative ideas; optimal size for creativity may be two (dyads).

  • Explanation: Dyadic interactions enable exclusive and immediate idea exchange.

• Team Longevity: Prolonged team existence may lead to stagnation in innovation due to decreased interpersonal interaction over time.

Task Complexity

• Creative tasks often involve complex, ill-defined problems requiring novel and practical solutions.

• Effectiveness relies on teamwork and the integration of diverse skillsets.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs)

• Competence is vital; team members should possess relevant KSAs to foster creativity.

• Individual contributions are crucial to collective output.

Resourcing the Team

• Access to funds, materials, systems, and processes enhances team performance (Amabile & Gryskiewicz, 1989).

• Insufficient resources can inhibit creativity and effectiveness.

Team Composition

• Struggles arise in achieving the right mix of skills, behaviors, and problem-solving styles for diversity and cohesiveness.

• Types of Diversity: 1) Observable attributes 2) Less visible attributes

• Diversity can enhance or hinder creativity; homogeneous teams may stifle creative outcomes.

Creative Problem-Solving Stages

1. Define the problem.

2. Generate ideas.

3. Select the most viable solution.

Brainstorming

• Developed by Alex Osborn in 1938 as a structured approach for idea generation.

• Rules (Osborn, 1963):

  1. No criticism of ideas.

  2. Encourage free-wheeling thinking.

  3. Aim for high idea volume.

  4. Combine and improve on ideas.

Advantages of Brainstorming

• Generates a large number of ideas.

• Supports organizational memory and promotes morale.

• Enhances understanding between team members.

Disadvantages of Brainstorming

• Potential for unfiltered idea generation.

• May not always provide effective solutions.

Electronic Brainstorming

• Introduced in the 1990s using Technology (Group Support System - GSS).

• Allows anonymous contributions to an idea pool.

Stages of Electronic Brainstorming (Gallupe & Cooper, 1993)

1. Idea generation.

2. Editing.

3. Evaluation.

4. Implementation.

5. Action.

Advantages of Electronic Brainstorming

• Ideas can be contributed simultaneously and anonymously.

• Effective for large teams and records ideas for future reference.

Disadvantages of Electronic Brainstorming

• Not a one-size-fits-all solution.

• May lead to communication speed issues and idea overload.

Nominal Group Technique (NGT)

• Participants do not interact directly; structured process involves:

  1. Individual brainwriting.

  2. Sharing and recording written ideas.

  3. Discussion for clarification and evaluation.

  4. Voting to prioritize ideas.

Advantages of NGT

• Addresses brainstorming limitations (e.g., evaluation apprehension).

• Effective for time-sensitive and judgment-dependent situations.

Disadvantages of NGT

• Focuses exclusively on one issue.

• Structured, so it's not a spontaneous approach to problem-solving.

Interpersonal Processes

• Trust within the team should be perceived as non-threatening.

• Healthy conflict can yield benefits.

• Cohesiveness leads to better outcomes.

Team Outcomes

• Research indicates brainstorming sessions often generate fewer ideas due to:

  1. Evaluation apprehension.

  2. Social loafing.

  3. Production blocking.

Conclusion

• A group vs. team distinction is essential for understanding dynamics:

  • Groups are interdependent individuals aiming for objectives, while teams have complementary skills and mutual accountability.

• Inputs affecting creativity include team size, resources, longevity, task complexity, KSAs, and team composition.

• Brainstorming is a widely used technique to enhance creativity.