By Lou Quinto
Executive Coach and Speaker
Everyone can agree that creativity is a crucial ingredient in the success of any organization. CEO’s demand it because they know creativity is a strategic weapon in the war against the competition.
However, within most organizations there are people – let’s call them enemies – who perpetually squash creative thought and ideas – some do it unconsciously, while others see it as their duty to protect the organization from failure, excess spending, and misuse of resources or poor allocation of time.
In my experience there are usually four distinct enemies of creativity for which I am always on the lookout during a creativity session (a.k.a. brainstorming session.) They are:
The Intimidator – This may be your boss’ boss, a subject matter expert, or someone who just sucks all the air out of any room in which they are. Whenever they are around other people will embrace and support the “norm” for fear of retribution or ridicule. Thus, the intimidator causes “in the box thinking,” sometimes without opening their mouth. Just their presence is enough to cause people to suppress their creativity.
The Standards Protector – This person is easy to spot because they are always reminding you, “That’s not the way we do things in this organization.” They are the self-appointed protectors of tradition and standard business practices.
The Risk Avoider – Some might refer to this person as the “Devil’s Advocate.” This person is always looking for “alleged” risks and will smother every new idea with “assumed” negative consequences before a new idea has a chance to breathe.
The Creature of Habit – If it requires change, this person will do whatever it takes to protect the status quo. He – or she – hates change. Change upsets their mental psyche and causes them to spend hours thinking about the pain a new way of doing something will cause them to endure. They will be the ones kicking and screaming the most.
You can protect your next creativity session by following these simple rules:
1. Defer judgment on all ideas until you have completed your brainstorming. This means no comments on any idea until the end.
2. Set a goal of the number of new ideas you want and set a time limit. Aim high in number of ideas. Quantity does encourage quality. Set a short time limit, such as 10 minutes. People work well under pressure. Appoint a timekeeper or have a digital stopwatch visible to all.
3. Don’t ask of each idea, “Will this work?” In most instances you do not have the facts in the room to make that determination. You need to leave your creativity session and begin to gather facts which will then allow you to decide if an idea will work. If not, you are encouraging decision making with assumptions and guesses. This is when all four enemies will devour and discredit any idea that has slightest smell of being creative.
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Lou Quinto has been working with companies and their associates internationally for over the past 30 years primarily in the area of critical thinking, leadership, and communication skills. You can watch or listen to Lou discuss leadership and management issues as the co-host of the weekly video blog and podcast “Q&A on Breakthrough Leadership.” He is a Master Coach and Keynote Speaker for Action Management Associates in Plano, TX, and a Senior Consultant on the Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness team for Executive Development Associates in Oklahoma City, OK. He also delivers leadership programs for Bonfire Training in Indianapolis, IN. Contact Lou at lou@louquinto.com or through his website.
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