What do you do if your problem-solving as a servant leader lacks creativity?

In servant leadership, knowing your team’s strengths is a game changer, especially when creativity hits a roadblock. At AnotherMe, we found a way through by simply listening more and encouraging everyone to share their thoughts without holding back. We asked questions that opened up new conversations and made sure everyone felt included. This was about sparking new ideas. We used brainstorming methods like "Yes, and" and "SCAMPER" to get those creative juices flowing. And the most important part? We always took a key step to reflect and ask for feedback. This approach turned our creativity challenges into opportunities, showing us that the best solutions come from working together and valuing everyone’s input.

If your problem-solving as a servant leader lacks creativity, seek diverse perspectives. Encourage brainstorming sessions where team members from different backgrounds and expertise levels can contribute their ideas. Create a safe space for unconventional thinking and experimentation, where no idea is dismissed without exploration. Reach out to external sources such as industry experts, consultants, or mentors for fresh insights and approaches. Embrace collaboration and feedback, allowing for the cross-pollination of ideas and the emergence of innovative solutions. By seeking diverse perspectives, you can infuse creativity into your problem-solving process as a servant leader, driving more effective and impactful outcomes.

One thing I have found most helpful is to take into account each person's role and the hurdles they need to overcome. Look at their daily tasks from their perspective. How well does this process work? What are some pitfalls that may occur? How can we circumvent them? When we look at our goals through the eyes of those we empower to accomplish them, it can open up a whole new set of options that may have never occurred to us before. Remember: servant leadership is about serving others. To cut their perspective out of the equation causes us to think one dimensionally.

Begin by brainstorming diverse solutions, and encouraging input from team members to generate a wide range of ideas. Then, select several promising approaches and implement them on a small scale, allowing for experimentation and learning. As you gather feedback and insights from these experiments, iterate on the solutions, refining and adapting them based on results and observations. Encourage a culture of innovation within your team, where experimentation and learning are valued, and creativity is nurtured. By embracing experimentation and iteration, you can infuse creativity into your problem-solving process as a servant leader and uncover innovative solutions to challenges.

Whenever I feel I am lacking a sense of creativity during problem solving, I take breaks. Sometimes stepping away from a problem and doing something completely unrelated can spark new ideas. Secondly I also engage in some kind of creative exercises like solving puzzles, reading which I believe does stimulate the brain muscles and lastly I don’t shy away from seeking inspiration and making reference to past similar problems and how they were resolved

I take walks in the office; moving around the space also shifts my perspective in thought, or I question everything, including myself.