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