Generating Creativity
Team Goal or Objective: To create a new prototype of a mobile vehicle for people with disabilities that will be convenient and have additional functions.
Team’s Success in Feeling Free to Be Creative
Step 1. Providing creative freedom but with deadlines
Creative people work better in an independent and autonomous work environment. They can do what they do best – think, experiment, research, create, and not be afraid to make mistakes to improve a product, process, or system. It is essential to focus on the main goals, which is the responsibility of the manager in order not to let go of the chosen direction (Shambaugh, 2019). The absence of an authoritarian and strict type of task setting within the team will allow each participant to work at their own pace using all their creative potential.
Step 2. Diversify team members
The diversity of team members provides an opportunity for a wide range of experience, skills, and ideas, only improves work efficiency and increases the level of creativity. This will allow the team to use each participant’s potential to generate ideas (Shambaugh, 2019). The joint work of people with different experiences and knowledge allows each of them to gain confidence in the importance of the proposed and promoted ideas.
Step 3. Rebuild and divide the entire team into small groups
This approach will allow the leader to maintain each team member’s motivation, as the tasks will constantly change. Thus, the need to turn creativity into a routine process of working on only one aspect of the overall picture of achieving the goal will disappear. In addition, each team member will have the opportunity to interact with different people and promote their ideas depending on the new goal set.
The Discovery Skills Process
The discovery skills process is exceptionally well suited to the set team goal, as it helps divide the entire process into several defining processes. This is a method and process for solving specific tasks that helps to understand the user, comprehend his problem and find alternative solutions.
Questioning. At this stage, it will be possible to get opinions from people who are directly interested in the product (Dyer et al., 2019). This will allow the team to identify critical points that need to be taken into account when developing the concept.
Observing. In this case, it is necessary to obtain data about existing products and how their use satisfies or not the interests of people.
Networking. This step will allow team members to find the necessary specialists who can provide significant assistance to achieve a common goal. Thus, it will be possible to expand the range of creative ideas so that the interests of the team will not be limited.
Brainstorming and associating. With the interaction of all team members, the team can get a complete picture of all possible options for achieving its goal. These steps are crucial when generating creative ideas. This is the stage of searching for multiple solutions to a single issue. In the generation mode, any insights and a variety of answers are allowed (Dyer et al., 2019). A team of specialists of different profiles should gather in one room to fruitfully generate any concepts. At this stage, it is impossible to criticize and discard ideas.
Prototyping and experimenting. After receiving all possible options, the team needs to create a working prototype. Thus, this step allows the team to test the project, as well as offer alternative solutions that can improve it.
References
Dyer, J., Gregersen, H., & Christensen, C. M. (2019). Innovator’s DNA, updated, with a new preface: Mastering the five skills of disruptive innovators. Harvard Business Press.
Shambaugh, R. (2019). How to unlock your team’s creativity. Harvard Business Review. Web.