mgt567 the creative individual

The Creative IndividualModule 2

David A. JarvisSalve Regina UniversityMGT567 Creative Problem SolvingOctober 6-7, 20-21 2012

VIDEO: John Cleese on creativity

Who is creative? Why?

Identifying creative people

SOURCE: Creativity in Education and Learning

sublime everyday potential

Elements of the creative individual

motivation social environment

personality traits

The relationship between personality and creativity

causal Traits actively trigger creativity

threshold Certain traits are necessary for creativity

facilitatory Certain traits make being creative easier

common source Personality and creativity come from the same fundamental source

interaction Personality and creativity affect each other


What traits define someone who is

“creative”? Is there a typical creative profile?

Creative personality traits

independence dominance

introversion openness

breadth of interest self-acceptance

intuitiveness flexibility

social pose lack of concern for norms

antisocial attitudes


Dellas and Gaier (1970)



tolerance for ambiguity stimulus freedom

functional freedom flexibility

risk taking preference for complexity

androgyny acceptance of being different

positive attitude to work Dacey (1989)



autonomy non-conformity

openness to stimulation flexibility

tolerance of ambiguity inner directedness

ego strength Eysenck (1997)

The paradox of creative individuals


openness closing the incomplete

fantasy reality

critical, destructive attitudes

constructive problem solving

cool neutrality passionate engagement

self-centeredness altruism

self-criticism and doubt relaxedness

“masculine” “feminine”

“If you want people to perform better, you reward them, right? Bonuses,

commissions, their own reality show. Incentivize them. … But that’s not

happening here. You’ve got an incentive designed to sharpen thinking and accelerate creativity, and it does just the opposite. It dulls thinking and

blocks creativity.” (Dan Pink)

Intrinsic motivation and creativity

interest

enjoyment

satisfaction

challenge

compensation

rewards

recognition

fear of failure

VS.

Intrinsic Extrinsic

SOURCE: HBR, “What Doesn't Motivate Creativity Can Kill It”

Dimensions of motivation

goal-directedness fascination for a task or area

resistance to premature closure risk taking

willingness to ask many (unusual) questions willingness to display results

preference for asymmetry preference for complexity

willingness to consult other people

desire to go beyond the conventional


Gleichheitswahn?

How strong is the societal pressure

to conform?

Social environment

“individuals can successfully practice their creativity if and only if there are no substantial

obstacles in the society preventing them from their

creative work” (Magyari-Beck)

Social environment

Cultures can either reward, punish or ignore creativity

Cultural taboos can inhibit creativity

Creativity is allowed only within the limits of what the environment can tolerate

Mustn't discourage unusual or unexpected behavior

Creativity assisters

Provide a social support network Develop and maintain motivation Create a congenial environment Have a positive attitude Are accepting of personal differences Willing to reward divergence Energize others Safe to test the limits of what is acceptable

No one is an island

The 2011 Global Creativity Index

Evaluates and ranks 82 nations Technology

R&D investment, researchers, and patents per capita

Talent Educational attainment and

the creative class Tolerance

Treatment of immigrants, racial and ethnic minorities, and gays and lesbians

1 Sweden 2 United States 3 Finland 4 Denmark 5 Australia6 New Zealand 7 Canada7 Norway9 Singapore 10 Netherlands

Clusters of genius

Athens~440-380 BC

Florence ~1450-1490

London ~1570-1640

Silicon Valley~1950-1980

SOURCE: Imagine: How Creativity Works

“The great man is he who does not lose his child's-

heart.” (Mencius)

Stereotype of intellectual growth and decline


“Children enter school as question marks and come out

as periods.” (Neil Postman)

Characteristics of children’s creativity


Preconventional Conventional Postconventional

up to 6-8 yrs. up to 10-12 yrs. up to adulthood

• Spontaneity and novelty

• Emotional involvement

• Visual perception of immediate environment

• No self-evaluation• Not constrained to

reality

• More rule bound• Critical and

evaluative skills develop

• Conforms to external standards

• Not elegant or surprising

• Abstract thinking• Can product novelty

despite external constraints and conventional values

• Can transcend constraints of the world

Ways to remain creative over time

Remain sensitive Become a novice

Stay unencumbered Recognize inadequacies

Do not be afraid Trust yourself

Seek new experience Accept your weakness

Ways to remain creative over time

SOURCE: Imagine: How Creativity Works

How to increase your own creativity

Strive for things that match your life interests Pursue some self-initiated activities Take advantage of unofficial activity Be open to serendipity Diversify your stimuli Create opportunities for informal interaction

SOURCESBOOKS Arthur, Cropley. Creativity in Education and Learning. Routledge, 2001. ISBN-10: 0749434473 Lehrer, Jonah. Imagine: How Creativity Works. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012. Leonard-Barton, Dorothy and Walter C. Swap. When Sparks Fly: Harnessing the Power of Group Creativity.

Harvard Business Review Press, 2005. ISBN-10: 1591397936 Managing Creativity and Innovation (Harvard Business Essentials). Harvard Business Review Press, 2003.

ISBN-10: 1591391121 Puccio, Gerald, Marie Mance and Mary C. Murdock. Creative Leadership - Skills That Drive Change. 2nd ed.

Sage Publications, 2011. ISBN-10: 1412977576 Treffinger, Donald, Scott Isaksen, and Brian Stead-Doval. Creative Problem Solving: An Introduction. 4th ed.

Prufrock Press, 2006. ISBN-10: 1593631871

ARTICLES “Developing Creative and Critical Thinkers”, Col. Charles D. Allen, U.S. Army, Ret. and Col. Stephen J. Gerras,

Ph.D., U.S. Army, Ret., Military Review, Nov-Dec 2009 “Sparking creativity in teams: An executive’s guide”, Marla M. Capozzi, Renée Dye, and Amy Howe, McKinsey

Quarterly, April 2011 “How Pixar Fosters Collective Creativity”, Ed Catmull, Harvard Business Review, Sept 2008 “Inside Cisco’s Search for the Next Big Idea”, Guido Joret, Harvard Business Review, Sept 2009 “How to Kill Creativity”, Teresa M. Amabile, Harvard Business Review, Sept-Oct 1998 “Cultivating organizational creativity in an age of complexity” (IBM study, 2011) “Defining Systematic Creativity” (LEGO Learning Institute, 2009) “Accelerate!”, John P. Kotter, Harvard Business Review, Nov 2012 “What Doesn't Motivate Creativity Can Kill It”, Teresa Amabile and Steve Kramer, Harvard Business Review Blog

Network, April 25, 2012 “KIDS Vision: Imagining Possible Futures for Technology”, Latitude Studios