Staying competitive and sustaining success in today’s business environment requires thinking “outside the box”. Patented technologies, improved bottom line, streamlined processes, and market leadership are some of the compelling reasons for unleashing creativity in the workplace. Acquiring skills that help develop creative potential require strategies that are an interplay of art and science. The art is about intuitive wisdom —believing that you and your team have the intuitive ability for creative thinking and giving your mind time to synthesize unconventional, breakthrough solutions through deep, exploratory thinking. The science is about effectively implementing the tools and techniques to spark ideas.
Here are seven ways to ignite and foster creative thinking in the workplace:
1. Hang a large piece of paper on your office door; at the top, write a question or issue that requires a solution. Invite everyone to freely share thoughts and ideas.
2. Show a stand-up comedy video before every creative session.
Laughter stimulates free thinking. You can also read a book of jokes for a few minutes to break the ice before meetings. Randall Osborne, professor of psychology at Indiana University, cites evidence that developing a respect for humor in the workplace has brought amazing results in large corporations such as Kodak, where it was learned that humor and creativity went hand in hand. Kodak has developed a “humor room” where employees can escape the pressures of their work.
3. Exploit divergent thinking.
Remove the barriers and break down obstacles that prevent your team from taking risks. Allow the opportunity to stimulate, support, and reward creativity. Seek activities that get people out of their comfort zones and encourages risk-free experimentation. If your company has a rigid culture in which a hierarchical structure is the norm, it will be a long time before subordinates feel comfortable in expressing their alternative solutions that don’t necessarily align with the company’s core philosophy and values. Exercise flexibility by actively listening and then acting upon your staff’s feedback and suggestions.
4. Hang a board with “if-only” or “what-if” prompts.
Leave fill-in-the-blank sections on the boards; ask for volunteers to complete the scenarios. Creativity emerges when perspective is changed.
5. Have everyone design and wear a different hat – one that may represent a specific characteristic or profile of a client – then have them participate in the creative session as if they were that client.
6. Change your environment
Going somewhere else to generate ideas—the park, a toy store, or even a different conference room—stimulates fresh thinking and outrageous conversations, pushing through uncreative dry spells. A lot of creative people have their great ideas when they take time away from their work. Daydreaming and “free thinking” allows them to think of their problems in new ways. Many people experience the ‘aha’ moment when they are doing something else.
7. Encourage your staff to do something with their hands during the creative process.
While playing with toys and doodling have been criticized as being “too simplistic,” busy hands stimulate brain cells. These exercises can weave right-brain imagination with left-brain logic. You can also encourage this exchange of communication between the right and left brain by having your staff write with the opposite hand.