Communications

What You Can Do To Enhance Creativity

By : Niraj Kumar Jha	Previous \| Next
Posted on : 04 Dec, 2005	Total Views : 520

Over the years of managing R&D groups, I�ve come up with some views that I feel are important for developing a creative environment, one that supports the innovation process. Creativity is a dynamic process that inherently defies complete description. It encompasses personality traits, deliberation, novelty, insight, spontaneity, originality, method and the actualization of potential.

Companies shouldn�t limit themselves to searching for creativity in a few unique individuals, grant them mythical corporate status, and expect magic. Focusing only on the �identified� gifted is ominous. Most people are capable of being quite creative, and most people�s creative abilities can be enhanced.

Recruiting
Recruiting or discovering people who already exhibit something special, and then assembling them into a team that will bring out the best in each member, is the way to start developing and nurturing creativity. The process of selecting the right mix of individuals is important. A poor combination of personalities, for instance, can have devastating results. A manager should have a good understanding of the character�especially attitude�of each group member, and appreciate how each person relates to others. Highly regard a cooperative attitude because a team that works well together is more productive, and comes up with more ideas, than a non-cooperative group.

It�s not always possible to categorize team members into neat classifications. Indeed, each of us can display different traits when we�re placed in different situations. Look for an effective mix of styles: generators (problem finders; fact finders), conceptualizers (definers of problems; idea generators), optimizers (people of action; those who sell the problem to others) and implementers (planners; evaluators; selectors). You should support differences in style of creative problem-solving. In fact, encourage individuals to use their own styles to challenge and contribute to the ideas of others.

In considering the right mix, focus on more than just personality and style. For example, in a technology-driven company, certain technical skills are important; but these skills need to continually develop along with creativity skills. Pay special attention to the balance of generalists and specialists. Those with strong expertise in a specific area must show that they can transfer their expertise to others, even those in widely different fields.

Organizing
Understand how people with different creative inclinations can work and be organized to complement each other. All must share one key trait, a sensitivity to the world around them. They must constantly scan the environment, pick up on data and clues, and suggest opportunities for change and improvement.

The classic structure, where a researcher reports to a group leader, has to be questioned in light of the need to become more innovative. The researcher typically interacts with only a limited number of assigned people. In this context, creativity and innovation efforts can lead to marginal successes, as the focus of work becomes quite narrow.

An alternative is a structure (or lack of one) where all members are encouraged to interact with everyone within the group, as well as with the rest of the company. All members are required to take initiative, to go after the information they need, and to share their expertise with others. An environment that is conducive to creativity, therefore, is one that permits this overall flow of ideas.

A less-structured organization where members are accountable to each other and to the manager may appear chaotic. In reality, the focus of the group is the shared objective and each group member�s role is to make contributions to advance that objective. A sense of direction is easier to maintain when members understand why group projects are important to the company.

The group should enjoy an environment where it is easy for members to both offer ideas and also to be receptive to others� ideas. This, then, stimulates acting on an idea or requesting permission to act on an idea. It is important that people provide clear rationale for accepting, modifying or rejecting someone else� idea. People should find it is worth taking a risk to present a new idea.

The Personal Touch
One key to making a company burst with great ideas is the personal touch of its managers. You should show sincere personal encouragement and develop nurturing relationships in which one person inspires another to excel. A special interpersonal relationship between everyone in the group is necessary. Foster creativity by getting people to be intrinsically motivated through the sheer satisfaction in their work.

I can�t stress enough the importance of communication in building a creative environment. It�s the basis for achieving creative results. Communication is, itself, a creative activity as it results in a synthesis of new insights. Encourage members, who are less inclined to communicate with others, not to be loners. Even though they can carry a stage of a project by themselves, they must understand the value of taking advantage of the benefits from exchanges with others.

Constantly create new dynamics in your group, and always question your own management approaches. Consider giving members the freedom to flow from one project to another. After contributing, they should feel free to move off the project and pass responsibility to another group member.

Organize activities, within the group, to increase the understanding of the creative process, to provide an atmosphere for participation and to break down societal barriers to cooperation. Some of these activities will be calculated; others more driven by intuition.

Group activities are the basis for experimentation. For example, attempt to solve a series of problems without any one person defined as a leader. Having no leader shapes the group dynamics in that it diminishes the importance of individual recognition from outside the group (for example, from top management) and makes peer recognition more important. Other group activities include brainstorming sessions, as well as non-work social activities.

A challenge for you is to direct the flow of ideas and projects to meet the strategic objectives of the company. Constantly re-channel efforts because creative problem solving is a �dynamic tension� between many seemingly opposing forces. It can be manifested in the case of potentially conflicting needs such as researcher�s freedom to work on projects they find interesting and the simultaneous responsibility of the group to meet project deadlines.

Examine your situation. Do you have the proper mix and organization of people? Are they self-motivated to achieve goals? Do they appreciate the importance of new ideas? Is your environment receptive to these ideas? It�s not easy to manage a highly creative team. It takes a lot of work, but that work may be necessary for the innovation your company needs.

Written By : Niraj Kumar Jha

Visit personal website of Niraj Kumar Jha

Rate

Excellent

Very Good

Good

Average

Poor

Contribute | Email to Friend | Post Comments | Contact Author

Rating :

Previous Entry : Better Public Speaking & Presentation
Next Entry : 12 Tips From Employees To Managers

Articles Categories

• Agriculture	• Architectural	• Arts and Entertainment
• Astrology	• Autobiographical	• Automotive
• Beauty and Fitness	• Biographical	• Bollywood
• Business	• Communications	• Computers
• Factual	• Finance	• General
• Historical	• Home and Family	• Humorous
• Inspirational	• Internet	• Legal
• Life	• Miscellaneous	• Natural Health
• Nature	• News	• Patriotic
• Personal Account	• Product Reviews	• Reference and Education
• Relationships	• Religion	• Science
• Self Improvement	• Shopping	• Society
• Spiritual	• Sports	• Story
• Technology	• Traditions and Customs	• Travel and Leisure
• Wildlife

More on WhereInCity.com
Fun & Info.	:	Jokes \| Shayari \| Articles \| Poems \| Stories \| Tongue Twisters \| SMS \| Quotations \| Lyrics \| Recipes \| Personal Pages
City Pages	:	Ahmedabad \| Bangalore \| Chandigarh \| Delhi \| Hyderabad \| Kolkatta \| Mumbai \| Lucknow \| Ludhiana \| Pune \| More
India	:	History \| Pincodes \| STD Codes \| ISD Codes \| Lok Sabha \| Indian Railways \| Culture \| \| Freedom Fighters \| Great Indians
Medical	:	Doctors \| Hospitals \| Articles \| Contraception \| Diseases \| Vitamins \| Minerals \| Proteins \| Fats \| Carbohydrates
Astrology	:	Horoscopes \| Vedic Astrology \| Gem Therapy \| Palmistry \| Match Making \| Life Predictions \| Horoscope 2008
Kids	:	Kids Album \| Rhymes \| Baby Names \| Articles \| Learning Centre \| Animals Gallery
Education	:	Study Abroad \| GMAT \| Standardized Tests \| Schools \| Universities
Photos	:	City Photos \| Celebrity Special \| Misc. Photos
Business	:	Yellow Pages \| Classifieds \| Business Pages
Movies	:	Bollywood \| Hollywood \| Tamil \| Telugu \| List
Immigration	:	Canada \| Australia \| New Zealand
Products	:	Cars \| Bikes \| Mobile Phones \| Cameras \| Televisions
New!	:	Stardust Awards 2008 \| IIFA Awards 2008