Being open to and actively pursuing novel ideas and new approaches
People with this competence:
Seek out fresh ideas from a wide variety of sources;
Are open to and consider new and original solutions to problems;
Ask lots of questions to generate new ideas; encourage others to brainstorm & think out loud;
Take fresh perspectives and risks in their thinking;
Question accepted practices, patterns and assumptions;
Strive to find new ways of doing things; strive to see things newly; are curious; and
Are flexible and adaptable; view “failure” as “feedback” (“well, that’s one idea that doesn’t work; let’s try something else”) and don’t beat themselves up about it.
People lacking this competency:
Worry and become anxious when they have to shift priorities or deal with change;
Respond negatively to new situations and complain;
Are inflexible in how they see things;
Are hesitant to take on new challenges; and
Can’t change track when confronted with changing circumstances
Development tips
Call on all your thinking capacity for generating ideas – feelings, hunches, intuition – the opposite of creativity is strict cognitive thinking;
Use all your senses and brainstorm, generate lots of ideas, options and possibilities when approaching a challenge; don’t edit your ideas or censor yourself;
Ask yourself “what if” questions;
Take time off – we can’t be creative when we are exhausted by too many demands;
Clear your space and declutter – this enhances creativity;
Cultivate an attitude of curiosity in all things; if something strikes a spark of interest, follow it;
Explore your polarity – that is, explore the opposite (i.e., if you’re an extrovert, learn to experience the world as an introvert; if you’re analytical, tap into and trust your intuition); and
Allow yourself to be surprised by something every day.
Great resources:
Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
A Whack on the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative, by Roger VanOech Six Thinking Hats, by Edward De Bono
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