How can you encourage creativity and innovation in group decision making models?

🚀 Boost Creative Collaboration! I'd emphasize the power of diverse thought in decision-making. Drawing from the mosaic of cultures in Australia can be a game-changer. But it's not just about diversity but valuing every voice. Integrating tools or techniques is excellent, but the real magic happens when everyone genuinely believes their creative input is welcomed and cherished. Whose responsibility is it to instill this culture? Leaders set the tone, but every member must champion and nurture an environment of trust and innovative spirit. 🌟🤝

Imagine your problem is a blurry picture. You could slap on a bunch of filters and call it a day, but that won't fix the blur. Instead, grab your problem by the pixels and define it with razor-sharp precision. The 5 Whys? It's your detective magnifying glass, peeling back layers like a seasoned sleuth. The Fishbone Diagram? Think of it as your problem's anatomy lesson—what's the spine of this issue? Problem Tree? More like problem roots. Clear, precise, and with no room for blurry excuses. When your problem's in focus, your solutions will be picture-perfect.

It's not uncommon to approach problems in a biased manner. When you believe that the solution is clear, it might affect your judgement. My suggestion is to have a completely non-biased mindset, and start with collecting facts. The 5Ws and 1H is great tool for fact gathering: 1. What is the problem? 2. Where did it occur? 3. When did it happen? 4. Who was involved? 5. Why is this a problem? 6. How did it formulate? This is a common tactic in journalism to ensure that all relevant information is captured, and it works wonders to capture the key elements forming a problem. Once the "why" and "how" is answered, you might reevaluate your initial assessment. Approach the problem with an open mind, and focus on solving it from its root. 💡

Your relationship with each individual before this will determine your results. We all know what to do in the meeting. But your time is prior. You are to be proactively proactive! Don't be a 'bad' human being. Own your faults and do the best you can. Ask them to define their problem in as few words as possible: period. Use your knowledge of individual personality traits. If they are competitive, use competition. Pay attention and nurture relationships. People go further for others they care for or admire. Ensure you do right by each of them and get out of their way. When selecting your team, understand their personality and how they will be part of it. If you only consider the professional role, you ignore the person.

I was the chief prosecutor of about 400 criminal lawyers in Ontario. I used to keep 30 stuffed animals in my office. When someone would come in with a problem wanting guidance, I would throw them an animal, saying we know our objective; I trust you. That's why I gave you the job. While here, I will assign you another task. The rationale was that the toy would tell them I am a bit crazy and take them back to their childhood when they were most creative & creative thinking was okay. They would often hug the stuffy. I felt they were returning to their youth, the most creative time. It also gave them confidence in my trust. We called meetings 'cookies crazy ideas' where NO criticism allowed needed, a better or improve the current idea .

Most of us are not adept at divergent thinking. Much of our education has encouraged convergent thinking - criticizing, judging, find the one right answer. It may take people time to grow accustomed and comfortable with divergent thinking. As a leader, ensure you are supporting divergent thinking during the brainstorming process. This includes eliminating phrases like "yes, but" that may make people hold back future suggestions. Ensure your words and body language are open and accepting of all suggestions. Try having your team participate in low-risk divergent thinking activities to get them accustomed to the practice.

There are some simple and easy ways to assist groups to super charge their divergent thinking capabilities. When you break it down, there are two distinctive modes of creative (divergent) processes. One is emergent creativity, the other is combination creativity. Think of emergent processes like a writer faced with an empty page who starts writing and the ideas start to flow; the content emerges. Combination creativity is when you foster a process that merges disparate concepts to create something new. Think, a watch and a mobile phone combined to become smart watches. There are many exercises you can lead to cultivate these modes of thinking. A deep repository of this knowledge is found in the arts. Collaborate with artists!

To promote creative problem resolution is to create constraints progressively and give the team a tunnel vision that makes it feel like a lybarinth. Create a business situation from which the only way to come out is to solve this problem given the constraints. This is when our old brain activates and initiates a fight, flight or freeze response. When you further create constraints where fight and freeze are taken away, you start getting interesting responses. Try it and let me know your success cases.

Think of divergent thinking as a mental mosh pit, not a boardroom ballet. Forget the stiff suits; it's about headbanging with ideas. Brainstorming isn't a tea party; it's a punk rock concert where every idea gets a stage dive. SCAMPER isn't a detective; it's a rockstar guitarist riffing on the chords of innovation. Mind mapping isn't a tranquil stroll; it's a wild exploration in the jungle of creativity. Convergent thinking is the elevator music of ideas; divergent thinking is the rebellious punk anthem. So, encourage your team to smash the conventional guitar, stage-dive into the sea of possibilities, and let the crowd roar for innovation.

In addittion to the methods /approaches mentioned , to combine different ways to express the ideas through writing , verbally and possibilities of merging ideas together the more diversified perspectives gathered the more innovative and creative thinking to come up with successful decisions

When providing feedback be very specific and direct - what helps here is showcasing what was expected (ie what good looks like) vs. what was delivered. This both focuses the conversation on the issue (vs. the person) and helps the recipient understand the gap they need to close.

I’ve found that the key to providing quality feedback that is well received and actioned all comes down to understanding the person. Once you know what drives them, their cores values for change and ultimately how they like to receive feedback then the rest is all a matter of just following through. For example I know myself I tend to take feedback onboard if I know it’s coming from a good place, that it’s going to help me grow and generally speaking I want someone to be direct with me as long as it’s not done in a group environment. Understanding all of these factors before you deliver feedback is important if you truly want to get your message across.

Feed back plays important role in all walks of life. Feedback can be of positive or negative, most of us like to have positive feedback, but feel negative feedback is more important then positive feedback, since negative feedback give us an opportunity to improve. Providing quality and constructive feedback means giving negative feedback with proper reasoning to improve so that whoever receives feedback can help in improving. Generally its observed that one would give the positive feedback but they don't give any negative feedback, specially HR folks, its better that we must be able to give constructive feedback for improvement .

Do you know the killer word for all brainstorming sessions? BUT It usually indicates a disagreement between what was said earlier and instead, a better / correct approach is being suggested. Even if that were true, the way it's conveyed, usually, leads to the energy being sucked out of the room. So, what shall we do instead? For brainstorming: defer judgment. Go with the flow. Imagine a by-default YES to every idea. Have a separate idea review session where each idea is evaluated on metrics. The process must be objective and open. Try this approach and let me know of your thoughts.

It is critical when it comes to constructive feedback . Having matrix , grid and system in place to give feedback is one important aspect , training on how to see the bias points and to be conscious about it is another one and to focus on the gap addressing in a positive way in addittion to suggesting how to overcome the gap with tips the way forward is an important way to end the feed back in a positive way.

In my experience, leadership plays a critical role in fostering a culture of embracing experimentation. Encouraging teams to explore new ideas and methods is key to driving innovation. Leaders who lead by example, taking calculated risks and using methodologies like Lean Startup, Design Thinking, or Agile Scrum, create an environment where experimentation thrives. This not only spurs innovation but also makes teams more adaptable and responsive to change.

Experimentation, the mad scientist's secret sauce for innovation. But what if we cranked up the voltage? Forget controlled; make it a chaotic dance with unpredictability. Systematic? Turn it into a rebellious jazz session, where each note is an unexpected twist. Learning from failures? How about turning failures into firecrackers of insight. Prototypes? Make them wild creatures, evolving in the untamed laboratory of chaos. Assumptions? Let them be tightrope walks between brilliance and madness. Lean Startup? Make it a leap of faith into the unknown. Design Thinking? Turn it into an art class where chaos is the masterpiece.

Encouraging creativity and innovation in group decision-making is imperative. I find that original and fun methods can spark creative genius while maintaining a professional and slightly humorous tone: I love to use the following two: The Picasso Principle: Encourage thinking outside the box by hosting meetings in unconventional settings. Reward outlandish ideas with quirky trophies. The Wacky Wednesday: Wear silly hats or mismatched socks once a month. Adopt random personas (pirate, mad scientist) to infuse levity and fresh perspectives during meetings. Humour can unleash innovative ideas and help with team building.

Imagine your startup is like a grand cooking experiment. You've got a recipe in mind, but to make it truly amazing, you need to taste and tweak as you go. That's what experimentation is all about—testing your ideas like adding spices to a dish, carefully and step by step. Every attempt in this culinary journey, every pinch of an ingredient, is like a small experiment. Some flavors might not blend perfectly, but that's okay! It's all part of learning and improving your recipe, just like in the world of innovation.

I find this such a key stage in my experience. This is often where you can lose people in the open innovation model. Bring them along the journey and let them get hands on, it is amazing to see peoples enthusiasm at this stage. They are often the people who will need to sell the idea to their leadership and also those who will help to change the culture to be more innovative in future.

Here's a thought: Instead of just celebrating failures, why not scrutinize successes? Often, we chalk up success to talent or a well-executed plan, overlooking the role of luck or timing. By dissecting what really went right, you uncover hidden risks and make success more replicable. After Action Reviews and Retrospectives are great tools, but let's not turn them into mere pep rallies for failure. Keep the balance and keep it real. Challenge comfort zones, but don't make them so comfortable that nobody wants to leave.

Failure is part of success. Previously, we've conducted quite a lot of large-scale trials and many of them were unsuccessful, but none of them were considered as a failure. Exploring, failing, learning and improving is the natural cycle to growth. Many tend to not celebrate success, which is an issue of its own as acknowledging what we did is a great way to continue growing. Failures, in my view, are steps towards success. The only failure in my book is the common phrase, not learning from your mistakes.

Celebrating success is essential, big or small, as it boosts morale and recognition. Small victories count! 🎉 But when it comes to celebrating failures, it's about the lessons they offer. Instead of celebrating failure for its own sake, use it as a stepping stone for growth. Ask your team, 'What have we learned?' That's where the real celebration lies – in the wisdom gained from setbacks.

Similarly, innovation needs defined goals and clear responsibilities. It's like having a recipe in hand, knowing what you're cooking, and who's responsible for each part. This way, your culinary masterpiece (or innovative project) comes out just right—delicious and well-orchestrated. So, embrace experimentation like adding a dash of excitement to your startup journey. Learn from every taste, every twist, and every turn. Just remember, a sprinkle of accountability is the secret ingredient to keep your innovation from turning into chaos. Happy cooking, happy innovating!

This can be culturally difficult at times , often sharing as an award or a communication from senior mangers thanking those who have gone out of their way to try and what they have learnt, that others can take from.

Another important advice is to avoid traditional brainstorming-meetings. Many leaders still think brainstorming is the way to creative and innovative knowledge sharing. The problem with brainstorming, though, is that it primarily supports a certain type of talents in a group: the extrovert. Even one powerful voice in a group can destroy the inclusion of diverse ideas and perspectves. If you want the highest collective Intelligence in your creative team meetings, you can utilize the power of silence. Facilitating silent spaces in a brainstorm will make room for more introverted talents. It will also support the brains ability to think deeper.

One of the best ways to rally people behind one common goal and take creative decisions is to give them a common view point or decision making lens. One of the things that I did in my company was write down a list of decision making principles and shared with the whole team in an All hands meeting. Gave them example of how to use the decision making principles. This way even if everyone is different, when they start to take a decision for the company, the lens will automatically converge them to take a similar decision, which is creative and good for the company.

Lastly, always remember, innovation is like a dazzling firework. It lights up the sky with brilliance, but for it to truly amaze and inspire, it needs a steady hand to guide it. That hand is accountability. Without it, the firework can fizzle into chaos, but with it, you create a mesmerizing display that leaves everyone in awe. Keep innovating, keep shining, and let your brilliance light up the world!

There are 2 key bottlenecks and one crucial innovation gap to decision-making and innovation that have not been mentioned: 1. Aligning on the Decision-Making Mode and the Decision-Maker Starting off by aligning on who is/are the decision-makers and on which mode (consent/consesus/single) they can decide. The process of decision making is often the most time consuming exercise. This should be clear upfront. 2. The other bottleneck is Prioritization. Ideas come by aplenty. What we often see is that we struggle to say no to ideas… so we end up juggling way too many balls in the air, affecting the quality of the innovation and failing to take impactful decisions.

It's important to realize there are no perfect answers. Solutions have 2 sides positive and negative, like aspirin, which solves headaches but causes bleeds. Socratic thinking isn't suitable for social issues. Considering Sophist's philosophies, there is no perfect solution only a better solution at a given time in specific circumstances. My prime management writers are Mintzberg, DeBono and the Art of War