Hasta La Ideas

A. Meunier: Paris, Comédie-Française, 18th century watercolour

Innovation, creativity, thinking outside the box, unbounded thinking, lateral thought, design thinking—all terms that have gone into and out of fashion, but which hold the same goal—unconventional and novel approaches to problem solving. Everyone is trying to find the new twist and harness the insight and innovation contained within their organizations in order to better prosper amid today’s competition and uncertainty. With every new label there seems to be a wave of interest, speculation and further inquiry into how one goes about making both individuals and groups more effective at creatively tackling challenges to arrive at novel solutions. However, today’s challenge isn’t coming up with what to call ‘it,’ but how to quickly and effectively set the foundation for discovery and insight—cognitively, emotionally and cooperatively within groups.

To me, and I’m sure many of my colleagues in academia and in the design profession, all the focus on labeling is counterproductive and confusing. It also seems ironic since there is so much we’ve already learned about personal and individual psychology that are universal drivers of behavior, and much that has been learned about innovation from the world around us—military forces in times of conflict, great sports teams confronting a nemesis or the thousands of survival-based adaptations nature has conjured through evolution. Innovative and novel approaches to problems are everywhere and the riddle no more complex than in the past.

Thirty years of practice has left me an ardent believer that both social and individual psychological principles must be understood and managed, and the emotional stage set, for the ‘spontaneous magic’ of professional groups to be realized effectively. It is not just about setting the cognitive stage. I’ve come to realize that innovation and creativity is about replicable, meaningful preparation, then bringing expertise to bear while directing creative energy effectively—with inspiration, purpose and diplomacy. Creativity is sometimes an individual sport, but seldom, and so aspects of group dynamics must frequently also be managed. To use a simple metaphor, setting the stage for creativity within professional organizations and teams is a lot like a theatrical production in both its preparation and execution, and might best be understood in the context of four principle stages: casting, stage building, rehearsal and performance. I’ll attempt to illustrate key aspects to consider while using this broad analogy.

CASTING

An effective director must assemble a cast appropriate for the script. When casting in business I’d highly recommended hiring based on five measures to ensure you have a truly meaningful performance—intellect, technical skills, creative aptitude, work ethic and EI or ’emotional intelligence.’ This is because you need folks with the necessary skills and intelligence as well as introspection and empathic abilities. The ability to empathize—to see the world from viewpoints of others—is a critical first step in the ability to attack a given challenge from new perspectives. While IQ measures spatial and algebraic reasoning, verbal comprehension, information and memory, EI is a function of being able to perceive, use, understand and manage emotions—to detect and decipher, harness, comprehend, appreciate, describe and regulate them. So, to get to creative and insightful, first establish empathy within your organizations and become more comfortable with qualitative findings rather than quantitative data. While data can provide meaning, direction and analysis many of my most insightful discoveries were borne of qualitative and emotional observations. To be truly empathetic I’ve also found you need to find fellow cast members who can check their egos at the door; in stage parlance: ‘No divas!’

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