Leadership Chapter 11

Brainstorming

Generate quantity - avoid criticism - combine and improve on previous ideas - encourage free-wheeling

Leader's dual role in implementing creating problem-solving techniques:

He/she facilitates group interaction and also provides a fair share of creative output

Oliver manages a team dedicated to product development consisting of highly creative individuals. He provides them with sufficient space for generating new ideas but is firm when selecting a choice among alternatives. Which of the following terms best describes Oliver's approach?

Loose-tight leadership

Steps in the creative process

step 1- opportunity or problem recognition step 2- immersion step 3- incubation step 4- insight step 5- verification and application

Organizational creativity

the creation of a valuable, useful new product, service, idea, procedure, or process by individuals working together in a complex social system

Leadership practices that enhance innovation

1. Emphasize transformational leadership if possible 2. Continually pursue innovation 3. Take risks and encourage risk taking 4. Emphasize collaboration among employees 5. Avoid innovation for its own sake 6. Use loose-tight leadership 7. Integrate development

step 1- opportunity or problem recognition

A person discovers that a new opportunity exists or a problem needs to be resolved

Basic formula for human behavior

B = f(PXE) behavior is a function of a person interacting with the environment

Creativity

The production of novel and useful things

Leadership practices for enhancing creativity

1. Hire creative people from the outside and identify creative people from within 2. Intellectual challenge 3. Empowerment including freedom to choose the method 4. Ample supply of the right resources 5. Effective design of work groups 6. Supervisory encouragement and linking innovation to performance 7. Organizational support 8. Have favorable exchanges with creative workers 9. Give financial rewards for innovation

Organizational methods to enhance creativity

1. Systematically collecting fresh ideas 2. brainstorming 3. using the pet-peeve technique

Methods of managing creative workers

1. give creative people tools and resources that allow their work to stand out 2. give creative people flexibility and a minimum amount of structure 3. give gentle feedback when turning down an idea 4. employ creative people to manage and evaluate creative workers

Creative people can be grouped into what four areas?

1. knowledge 2. cognitive abilities 3. personality 4. passion

Information about establishing a climate for creativity can be divided into what two categories?

1. leadership and managerial practices for enhancing creativity 2. methods for managing creative workers

6 self-help techniques for creativity improvement

1. practicing creativity-enhancing activities 2. staying alert to opportunities 3. maintaining an enthusiastic attitude, including being happy 4. maintaining and using a systematic place for recording your ideas 5. playing the roles of explorer, artist, judge and lawyer 6. engaging in appropriate physical excercise

Systematically collecting fresh ideas

1. straightforward collection of ideas 2. establishing idea quotas 3. making whiteboards regularly available sketching ideas 4. granting tinkering time

Approaches to systematically collect fresh ideas:

1. straightforward collection of ideas - collecting ideas on a database for employees to access when needed 2. establishing idea quotas - example would be to require staff to bring one new idea to a meeting 3. making whiteboards regularly available for sketching ideas - "doodle" ideas 4. granting tinkering time - time for employees to think and experiment

Three creativity-enhancing, problem-solving techniques

1. systematically collecting fresh ideas, including the use of whiteboards and granting time to explore ideas 2. brainstorming 3. the pet-peeve technique

Pet-peeve technique

A method of brainstorming in which a group identifies all the possible complaints others might have about the group's organizational unit. * identifying all potential complaints from anyone who interacts with the group *value comes from helping group improve its work processes

Best-known method for creativity improvement

Brainstorming

Laura is designing brochures and flyers to promote the new product line of her company. She thinks of several possible designs and assimilates information in her mind. She is yet to decide on which idea to use. It seems as if Laura is not working on the problem, but her subconscious mind is engaged in processing information. Which stage of the creative process is shown in the given example?

Incubation

Innovation

Refers to the creation of new ideas and their implementation or commercialization

step 4- insight

The problem-conquering solution flashes into the person's mind at an unexpected time, such as on the verge of sleep, during a shower, or while running.

step 2- immersion

The individual concentrates on the problem and becomes immersed in it

step 5- verification and application

The individual sets out to prove that the creative solution has merit

step 3- incubation

The person keeps the assembled information in mind for a while

Role of a creative leader

is to bring into existence ideas and things that did not exist previously or that existed in a different form; Establish an atmosphere that helps group members become more creative

Central task in becoming creative

to break down rigid thinking that blocks new ideas: "Thinking outside the box"

Intrinsic motivation principle of creativity

People will be at their creative best when they feel motivated primarily by the interest, satisfaction and challenge of the work itself - and not by external pleasures

Experience of flow

passion for the task and high intrinsic motivation contribute in turn to a total absorption in the work and intense concentration