Cultivating Original Thinkers: Inspiring Creativity in Leadership

When rapidly changing realities affect us: do we need stability or disruption?

• Can we afford to make mistakes as we stumble and struggle to find our way forwards?
• Or do we just hunker down and wait for the storm to pass?

The real challenge is that the storms are going to be a regular feature from now onwards! The Successful Founder claims significant disruption across multiple industries in 2024, driven by technological advancements, shifting consumer behaviors, and evolving regulatory landscapes.

Peter Drucker once said, "The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence; it is to act with yesterday's logic." You need some Original Thinkers in your team.

These Original thinkers may be able to help you ride the waves of disruption to the new shores! They may be able to help you not just survive but thrive in this new paradigm.

As leaders have you been able to identify and encourage the "originals" in your team?

How can we go about looking for them?

Adam Grant explains it very nicely in this TED Talk (15 min is all it takes!) or you could read his book - Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World.

He says the three main habits of the Originals are:-

• They Procrastinate: Adam has conducted studies which conclude that there is a sweet spot for coming up with original ideas. One must give some time for the brain to - step back and process - to come up with unique thinking. People who are under pressure can be less creative. You may be finishing the task too early in the cycle, have the pressure to finish it up, you may not give your brain the time to digest the problem and come up with a something new. Or you may start the work too late in the cycle and do not really have time to be creative. Somewhere in between is an ideal spot for creativity.
• They are afraid: They fear failure. But they fear that if they do not try, they will lose this chance forever. They fear inaction even more than they fear failure. So they Try.
• They fail a lot: They try a lot and they fail a lot. But they rarely fail to Try. The secret to coming up with original ideas is to generate a lot of them in the first place.

As leaders, would you even care to have such people in your team? People who fail often, are worried about outcomes and take too much time to start on the project? People who keep discussing, thinking and trying - failing more often than not?

I believe you need them. In current times you need them more than you know!

Hove you noticed such individuals before? What happened to them? Did they thrive?

How can we identify some such individuals and recognize them for the value they bring? Happy to hear about your experiences and suggestions!