Can Creative & Critical Thinking Fail?

Critical and Creative thinking can be a clever way to foster innovative ideas within your organization or amongst your team.

It can be a brilliant way to come up with completely novel ideas in a healthy work environment, and a great way to encourage teams to be the best version of themselves.

Yet I presume everyone reading this will have encountered at least one scenario where a company encouraged creative thinking, but then delivered something very much uncreative.

Unfortunately, in time this can result to absolute pessimism. One can almost perceive that intense, cynical nonchalant vibe from a colleague that we’ve got to attend yet another ‘’unnecessary out-of-the-box brainstorming” meeting in which at the end the new suggestions do not ever get implemented.

Thence why does an effort to encourage “creative or out-of-the-box thinking” crumble? Here are some scenarios with some clever ways of avoiding them. This list is by no means final, and I’d love to know your suggestions too:

(1) WHEN THE ENVIRONMENT IS DISCOURAGING

Creative thinking is unequivocally difficult in a corporate environment that condemns anything that is considered ‘out of the box’. Perhaps there are even some top managers and CEOs whose jobs depend on the situation remaining the same. Perhaps this is why the movie industry lately has been investing in old ideas, sequels, prequels, and remakes.

A Probable solution:?Improve the work environment. Stir up a climate, in time, where creativity is encouraged and not discouraged. Encourage opinions from all departments and roles. End situations where team members are rewarded simply for maintaining the status quo and ensure that reinforcement systems are balanced and aligned to the delivery of better value.

(2) WHEN NO ONE’S REALLY THINKING, BUT RATHER DIVINING

The divining misconception occurs when the sponsor or founder states that he or she is searching for creative thinking, whereas what they are really seeking for is validation of their own preconceived idea. If you brainstorm in this climate, you’ll typically flow until you come up with the specific idea that they had in mind. In essence, it’s actually more of a guessing game than a brainstorming session.

A Probable solution:?There should be an independent facilitator at the meeting. Let the sponsor set the brief and present them with the results after the session. Ask the sponsor what outcome they are looking for from the meeting.

(3) WHEN IT’S NOTHING BUT A HYPE

“We must think out of the box to deliver a real approach to create satisfaction for our clients”. Easier said than done!

If creative thinking is being used solely as a fuzz word, with little understanding of what it is, then it’s likely that a fatal outcome will breakout.

A Probable solution:?When your boss or a teammate suggests fostering ‘creative’ thinking, ask them what they mean, and what type of ideas they are aiming to get. What do they consider to be ‘uncreative’?

(4) WHEN THERE’S ZERO FOLLOW UP

Involving stakeholders of all types in brainstorming can be significant. However, if we foster them to generate brilliant ideas in a brainstorming session, this can get them very interested in the project we are planning to launch. However without any further action taken after the session, this can make you seem as though you aren’t serious at all.

A Probable solution:?Always ensure stakeholders are involved in not just the formation of ideas, but as time goes involve them in the evaluation and prioritization stages. Ensure that expectations are made up front – creative thinking means that we certainly can’t deliver everything – but we will plan to deliver something at least.

5: WHEN IT GETS FRUSTRATING

Picture the following scene:

As a competent business analyst, you submit an estimate for a piece of work to a project manager. Sadly, the project manager in question, unknown to you, has already made an obligation to the sponsor over the deadline and your estimate doesn’t fit well with that.

Thence the project manager tells you whether you can slash the estimate in half. Realistically, you have tried already to create ways that the elapsed time could be condensed with added resources, or by cutting corners but with added risk.

Anxious that the sponsor won’t be happy, the project manager is annoyed and concerned. He or she then expresses “disappointment that you won’t think creatively” and find a “creative” way to execute the same quantity of work in half the time, with the same resource and without bringing additional risk.

In this scene, the reality is that the obstructions (time, money, quality, risk) equals that we are cornered very much to think in the box and not out of it. Yet by suggesting an error in our thinking process, the project manager is trying to make you frustrated or embarrassed.

A Probable solution:?Creative Thinking is still very important here, however knowing the obstacles up-front can enable us to minimize ideas that won’t fit. However, we can still show that there are other ways the obstacles can bend. A calmer project manager may assist us to brainstorm out the options and present them to the sponsor; it’s important to work in cooperation.

What additional ideas would you like to chip in? I would love to know.

- Harry Madusha (The BA Priest)

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