CREATIVITY DEMYSTIFIED
Psychologist Jay Brand debunks the myths about creativity. Among the good news: You don't have to be a genius, an eccentric or a loner to generate big ideas.
How would you define
creativity? Is it something that occurs only rarely within the lives of
a few bizarre individuals? Or can anyone be creative, provided they're
given the right direction and experience?
Would you
argue that creativity is the product of an isolated genius? Or a
collective ability to exploit existing concepts and knowledge? And must
creativity involve novelty or originality something beyond or outside
any known categories or comparisons?
Just as there are
countless definitions of creativity, there are many different ways to
measure it, depending on who you talk to. A corporate executive might
measure the creativity of her organization by the number of patents
secured, copyrights obtained or trademarks granted. On the other hand,
writers, artists or musicians would argue that creativity is manifest
in unusual skills or unique works.
Debunking The Myths
Creativity
is so mysterious that we, like the ancient Greeks, have developed myths
to help explain it. But the many misconceptions often lead us to
believe that creativity is beyond our grasp. Separating fact from
fiction in the following 10 myths may help you sharpen your
creative-thinking skills.
1. Creativity is a gift reserved for geniuses and eccentrics.
False.
Creativity usually comes from an extensive and diverse knowledge base,
rather than from eccentric or inherently gifted individuals with a bent
toward bizarre imagery.
The more diverse a group is in terms of
cultural and ethnic backgrounds and areas of expertise the more
creative it will likely be. Other important factors in enhancing group
creativity include using interdisciplinary, cross-functional teams;
giving team members appropriate training; and sharing information about
each group member s particular area of expertise.
2. Society isn't receptive to truly out-of-the-box ideas.
False.
Creativity depends on both the idea and the audience. Context can be
just as important as content. Being familiar with trends can improve
creativity by ensuring that your ideas are relevant to your audience.
Being creative can involve not just the novelty of your ideas, but also
new insights about the recipients of those ideas.
3. Creativity involves combining existing ideas and known experiences.
True.
Metaphors and analogies appear to be important in the creative process.
Creativity involves incremental progress as much as surprising leaps of
logic.
Exploring ideas in combination, as well as in isolation, can be a useful strategy.
4. Creatives work best when they hole up and focus exclusively on the problem at hand.
False.
Creativity may be related to physical activity and bodily experience. A
variety of pursuits and activities may contribute to being creative.
5. Creativity is a solitary pursuit.
False.
Creativity may depend on group interaction, particularly to prevent
less useful ideas from being pursued. Individuals working alone quickly
develop a vested interest in their own ideas, and they tend to overlook
or disbelieve information that may discount those ideas. Collective
contributions to creativity seem particularly important when tasks are
well-defined and participants have a high degree of expertise. Diverse,
autonomous, motivated, cohesive groups with a collective purpose can
produce very creative solutions.
6. Exercises, games and note-taking facilitate brainstorming.
True.
It's important to provide tools to support brainstorming and
collaboration to improve the quality of group interaction. And it's
critical to capture ideas at the very moment they're generated.
Interestingly, once a team solves a problem or settles on a concept,
the creative process seems to shut down, making it difficult to
re-create ideas after a brainstorm session is over.
7. Creative people have unconventional views of the world.
True.
Although creativity doesn't appear to be correlated with intelligence,
it does seem to be related to certain personality characteristics.
Creative people tend to be independent, nonconformist, even Bohemian.
They're open to new experiences, they explore a wide range of
interests, and they're flexible and open to risk-taking.
8. A workplace environment of collaboration and sharing fosters creativity.
True.
Because creativity often involves unusual associations or novel
integrations across conceptual boundaries, open sharing of knowledge
and information is very important. Team members who share their
mistakes, as well as their best ideas, can help prevent those mistakes
from being repeated.
9. Creativity must be nurtured.
True. Creativity is not a periodic activity; it takes lots of practice over time.
Design firms should encourage creative, innovative behavior and risk-taking among not only staffers, but also clients.
10. Creatives are daydreamers.
True.
Some evidence suggests that daydreaming and fantasy may be related to
creativity. Whether creative people daydream more, or daydreaming can
make ordinary people more creative, hasn't yet been determined. It
seems reasonable, however, that some freedom from tight schedules and
everyday tasks may be important to encourage creativity. Regular
assignments must be balanced with the time and flexibility to explore
and innovate for the sake of creativity.
What Creativity Isn't
Psychological
research has shown that creativity rarely, if ever, involves completely
new or original ideas. Instead, most creative work efficiently
integrates existing information and concepts into unusual syntheses or
juxtapositions, together with only minimal novelty.
The
notion of an isolated genius with special powers who consistently stuns
the world with great insights, inventions or ideas, as if by magic, is
also unproven. The bulk of the evidence points instead to the many
influences that together produce the ability to build on past
accomplishments, approach problems in novel ways and entertain
multiple, perhaps even conflicting, alternative solutions. As Sir Isaac
Newton once remarked, If
I have seen farther than other men, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants.
About this article
Used with permission from HOW Magazine (c) 2001. Not for reprint
without express written permission of the publisher, or parent company
F&W Publications, Inc.
About the Author
Dr. Jay Brand is a Cognitive Psychologist for Haworth Inc. where he
studies how the workplace affects the way in which people work. During
his time with Haworth, Dr. Brand has conducted on-site human factors
assessment of office workstations, pre- and post-occupancy evaluations,
and work process analyses. He has also consulted on organizational
change, transitions to open office plans, strategic facilities
planning, corporate culture, measuring knowledge worker productivity,
and implementing ergonomics programs. Prior to joining Haworth as an
Organizational Behavior Specialist in 1997, Dr. Brand was Associate
Professor of Psychology at Loma Linda University, California. He has
also served as Chair of the Department of Psychology at La Sierra
University in Riverside, California. Dr. Brand remains on staff at
Grand Valley State University and Davenport University, where he
teaches cognition, general psychology and interpersonal communication.
In addition to more than 20 publications, Dr. Brand has given over 150
professional presentations and invited addresses.
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