Sometimes teams dismiss team creativity for the “creative minds” on the team. They think it isn’t vital for all members to produce creatively as long as a couple of people can think outside the box. Guess what? That’s not how it works, friends!
Team creativity is essential for the most productive and problem-solving teams. Everyone must display their creative mind – whether they think it’s strong or not! Don’t shy away from your creative thoughts; share them and watch them grow.
If you need clarification about how that works, let’s dig in.
What is Team Creativity?
Team creativity is about more than just the artistic components of businesses and teams. In truth, creativity has to do with how you think. In a team setting, this means contributing thoughtful ideas to produce new products and services and the development of improved processes and systems.
The level at which the team can produce fresh ideas is based on the team’s creativity.
Why is Team Creativity Important?
What makes new ideas so important when the old ones are still working? “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” is an old saying many stand by. While I can imagine the usefulness of that statement, it doesn’t apply to idea generation.
Imagine living in a world that never changed. No new technology, no research or scientific discoveries, no new books or podcasts or films or art. What a sad world that would be! What does this have to do with teams?
Team creativity is where new thoughts become a reality. Teams create new items to make life easier. You might be thinking, we could still live well if we never created anything new…
That’s true. If you believe in the Bible, you can see how people lived in Moses’s time – bricks were made of mud with straw for structural integrity. But then again, did people always know that straw made bricks stronger? Or did they have to get creative with trial and error?
Look at bricks and home-building materials today, and you can see that improvements have been made since Moses’s time – because of creativity and ingenuity. However, if you do not believe in creativity (team or otherwise), you could always rid yourself of all modern technology and housing and attempt to live like humanity once did! (Honestly, that could be cool…but not long-term!)
How Can Team Creativity Be Used?
Team creativity is used in every industry, career path, position, and sports team. Creative minds are not only for the arts or marketing! Think about how creative thinking could be used in these situations:
- Remote village with no water access
- Not enough shelter beds for homeless children
- Application keeps crashing
- Low budget, big problem
- Reaching non-internet users in marketing
- Laying off vital team members due to insufficient cash flow
- Ensuring nursing staff is healthy
- AI competing for human jobs
There are so many ways in which team creativity can be put to use! Problem-solving is essential in every industry and life. Being open to creative team thinking is a starting point for taking new steps.
What Stops Creativity in Teams?
Of course, creative thinking is not always straightforward. There are a handful of reasons why team creativity has a doorstopper wedged beneath it.
One significant barrier to team creativity is poor relationships. When the team is unfamiliar with one another, there is often a need for more trust. Having non-existent or inadequate relationships within the group makes people want to keep their ideas private. People need to feel safe to speak their mind – poor relationships does not inspire safety or creativity.
Another barrier to team creativity is an unclear vision. If the team knows where they’re going, it can be easier to suggest creative solutions or thoughts relevant to the cause. Sometimes this shows up as a few team members assume the vision is one way while others believe it to be the complete opposite.
Team creativity is also put to a stop by a perfectionist culture. Organizations that aim for complete perfection are those where team members will not put forward any new ideas. Creativity goes out the window when perfectionism is present.
Many things can stop creativity in its tracks. The question is: will you overcome the barriers and achieve greater team creativity, or will you let them stop you?
How to Develop Team Creativity
When you’re prepared to take on the barriers to creativity and develop your team’s innovative minds, several components are involved. It isn’t always one solution, nor does it always take 10. Finding the right mix for your team is up to you. Nonetheless, some suggestions can help move your team toward more excellent creative thinking.
Start With the Hiring Process
When you hire people who don’t consider themselves creative or refuse to value creativity, you have a huge hurdle to jump. By hiring people with a creative mindset and the ability to think outside the box, you’re ahead of the game. Having said this, it isn’t ideal to fire your entire team and hire for creativity. This development tip is for future knowledge!
Culture Plays a Part
Company culture impacts so many aspects of business, productivity, and effectiveness. A culture that dismisses creativity is never going to bring about creative teams. Changing a company culture can be a lot of work and take a lot of time. However, by encouraging culture and allowing people to share creative ideas (and then using them!), organizations can begin to change the culture toward creativity.
Share, Share, Share
When you picture an office space, you might think of cubicles and closed-off offices. While there are problems with open-space offices, it does encourage sharing. Sharing is vital to creativity. Share ideas, share reflections, share information and knowledge, and the list goes on. We can open the team’s minds to inspire creativity by sharing more.
Collaborate with Other Departments or Teams
How many teams have you been a part of who kept to themselves? I don’t mean the team members failed to work together, but the team was unable to work with other groups. It sounds strange to think of it that way – aren’t teams supposed to stick together? Yes! Working with outsiders doesn’t break the team up; it brings new ideas.
Trust is Essential
Building trust is a critical component of team creativity. Do you trust your team not to make fun of you for an off-the-wall thought? Can you trust your team not to steal your idea and claim it as their own? Is there trust within your team to keep confidential information confidential? Trust is necessary for people to speak their minds. Team creativity does not thrive in a silent group.
Offer Ongoing Training and Education
When organizations offer additional training throughout their employment, they provide new knowledge to the team. Doing so creates new thoughts, and information can be considered differently. Furthering the education of the team members is hugely beneficial in fostering creativity.
When I create fresh content, I don’t always pull random thoughts out of my head and spin them into a reel or blog post. I learn new things from my continued education, reading, podcasts, and other ways of absorbing further information. Then, my thoughts and replies to those concepts generate new content. It’s the same for team members in your organization!
Craft Good and Bad Ideas
Let’s imagine you’ve devised 3 new ideas for your organization. However, you ran the numbers on one idea and decided not to share it with your team because it’s unlikely to go well. Here’s the problem with keeping that idea to yourself: your team could change it and shape it into an idea that works fantastically for the organization. You’ll never know what it could be if you don’t share that “bad” idea.
When you’re brainstorming, don’t shy away from the bad ideas. Many leaders will tell you it’s a waste of time – but even bad ideas can be transformed into something extraordinary with the help of team creativity.
Be Open to Failure with a Growth Mindset
Failure can be scary. I’ve been there more times than I can count. But guess what? The fear of failure has been around as long as people have lived. Instead of focusing on failure, why don’t we focus on growth?
Steven A. White says, “If you’re not winning, you’re learning.”
I love that! Learn from everything that didn’t go well. Don’t focus on the loss; focus on what you can learn. That’s a growth mindset.
Schedule Creative Thinking Time
Here’s the truth: I’ve heard of people who scheduled their thinking time, and I thought, that’s a waste of time! And here’s what I learned: it is a good use of time! People who actively block out time for their creative thinking are people who come up with insanely creative ideas. When do you get a whole team to do it? Wow – talk about a game-changer!
Require your team to spend focused time thinking creatively. What comes from those thinking sessions might result in big moves.
Encourage Problem Recognition
While I agree that leaders bring a solution to a recognized problem, I don’t think problems should be ignored because someone doesn’t know how to solve them. If one person has thought about a problem and can’t figure out what to do about it, they need to bring it to more people! This is where team creativity thrives!
Asking for creative ideas and solutions from the team doesn’t mean they are not leaders – it means they know when to ask for help. That help could produce vital solutions to a vital problem.
Recognition is Key
When a team member makes a creative suggestion, it should be recognized! Recognition is an effective form of encouragement in the business world, and it works with creative thinking, too. If Phil suggested something vastly different from the other suggestions around the table, say, “Wow, Phil! That’s really creative thinking!”
Dan, Sarah, and Connie will try to think more creatively, too. People like recognition for their work and ideas.
Pause the Decision
Many times, leaders must make quick decisions. Other times, leaders can take some time to mull it over. In this case, when a decision seems to be made, pause. If possible, sleep on it. Have the team members sleep on it, too. Tomorrow, decide if the original decision sticks.
Why?
Giving the mind time to think it over can encourage creative thinking and an extended thought process. While this isn’t possible with those quick decisions, those that can be paused should be paused.
Step Outside the Process with Diverse Working Methods
Have you ever noticed how a change in your routine can produce new and different thoughts? So often, we go through the motions and think the same things every day. Instead of sticking to the routine, change it up! Your process can prevent creative thinking.
To implement diversity in your thinking, team members should try something new. If the team usually meets after lunch in the conference room, try meeting first thing in the morning in the courtyard. If they typically stay in touch via email, set up an in-person lunch for the whole group. Leave the office for an hour and visit an art museum together.
Making changes every once in a while can really inspire creative thinking! Team creativity thrives in those diverse moments.
Review Sessions are Essential
How often do you look back on decisions and thoughts and honestly review how things occurred? I don’t just mean when big things happen – I mean everyday conversations, choices, and ideas that went unutilized. We must get together after the fact and review to learn from brainstorming sessions and team creativity.
When creativity results in a specific action, the team must get together after the fact and discuss it. Of course, you can’t spend time commiserating over a wrong decision – that’s a waste of time. You should, however, review the decision and what other creative options should have been made. Alternatively, if the decision had positive results, reviewing what led the team to that place is essential. Review is crucial to future creative thinking and success.
Encourage Team Creativity!
Team creativity can thrive in an environment where the leader and team strive for it. Don’t hesitate to speak up or fear what your creative mind might come up with. Use it to benefit the team and the organization! Team creativity is a must for the most influential innovations.