Here's how you can enhance your skill in developing creative thinking strategies.

To kickstart your journey toward better creative thinking, it's essential to embrace curiosity. Cultivating a questioning mindset where you're always seeking new information and perspectives can significantly expand your thought processes. By challenging the status quo and asking 'why' or 'what if' regularly, you'll begin to see opportunities for innovation where others might see obstacles. This curiosity-driven approach will lay the groundwork for more complex creative thinking strategies.

Embrace exploration: Step outside your comfort zone. Try new hobbies, travel to different places, and engage with unfamiliar topics. Ask "Why?" and "What if?": Develop a questioning attitude. Challenge assumptions and delve deeper into the root of problems to spark fresh perspectives. Observe and collect inspiration: Pay attention to the world around you. Take notes, collect interesting visuals, or maintain a commonplace book to store ideas that spark your creativity.

One of the most effective ways to enhance creative thinking is by exposing yourself to a wide range of experiences. This doesn't necessarily mean you have to travel the world—although that can help. It means stepping outside of your comfort zone, whether that's through reading different genres of books, attending various cultural events, or even engaging in new hobbies. These experiences enrich your mind and provide a vast pool of ideas to draw from when faced with a challenge

Establishing creative rituals can significantly aid in developing your creative thinking skills. This might involve setting aside dedicated time for brainstorming or engaging in activities that stimulate creativity like drawing, writing, or playing a musical instrument. The key is to create a space where your mind can wander without constraints, allowing for the free flow of ideas. Over time, these rituals can train your brain to enter a creative state more easily, similar to how athletes train their bodies for peak performance.

I have my team share pieces of work that they have seen and it drew their attention. Then we talk about what we like about it, how he feel it is impactful, and how we can replicate (not copy) the impact in our own pieces of work.

When it comes to creative thinking, it can sometimes be helpful to have a group practice those skills on a problem or task that isn't connected to the work they do. What do I mean by this? An example is giving a group a bunch of pipe cleaners and have them build the tallest structure that can hold a smart phone. Working together, they have to bring in all sorts of knowledge (experimentation, communication, accountability, etc.). Those skills can then be transferred into their work-related projects much more easily.

Brainstorming: Gather a group or work solo to generate a large quantity of ideas without judgment. Aim for quantity first, then refine later. Mind mapping: Visually organize your thoughts and explore connections between ideas. Start with a central topic and branch out with related concepts, keywords, and questions. SCAMPER: Apply this creativity tool to modify existing ideas. Ask yourself questions like "Substitute," "Combine," "Adapt," "Modify," "Put to another use," "Eliminate," or "Reverse" to find new possibilities.

Embrace failure as learning: View setbacks as opportunities to learn and grow. Analyze what didn't work and use that knowledge to refine your approach. Celebrate originality: Recognize and reward yourself for coming up with new ideas, even if they don't all pan out. Practice regularly: The more you exercise your creative muscles, the stronger they become. Set aside dedicated time to practice creative thinking exercises, even if it's just for a short period each day.