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While You Are Waiting…

1. At your place are three blank stickers.

Write down three words that describe

you, one per sticker.

2. Put them on.

omniskills.com * creativeproblemsolving.com

Creative Leadership

Making the Case for Creativity

as a Core Leadership Skill

Paul Reali, MS, MBA

OmniSkills, LLC

Why have this conversation?

IBM poll and interviews of 1,500 CEOs identified creativity as the No. 1 “leadership competency” of the future

Why have this conversation?

“Creativity scores had been steadily rising, just like IQ scores, until 1990. Since then, creativity scores have consistently inched downward.”

Session Description

A leader, by definition, creates a vision of the

future and then determines how to lead the

organization there. This is precisely what

creativity is: imagining a desired future state,

defining the problems that must be solved in

order to get there, solving those problems in

a novel way, and putting the plan into action.


Our Objectives

Identify the thinking skills that comprise creativity

Identify the thinking skills required for leaders

Make the case that creativity is a core competence required for all leaders


Creativity is…

…imagining a desired future state, defining

the problems that must be solved in order to

get there, solving those problems in a novel

way, and putting the plan into action.

…the production of something that is both

novel and useful.


Creativity in Context


Objective 1





Creative Thinking Skills

Imagine the Future

Explore Acceptance

Craft Solutions

Plan for Action

Generate Ideas

FacilitateFind the

Questions


Objective 2





Leadership Thinking Skills

Visionary Thinking

Contextual Thinking

Critical Thinking

Tactical Thinking

Ideational Thinking

Diagnostic Thinking

Strategic Thinking


Objective 3





1,500 Opinions: IBM Study

Embody creative leadership

Creative leaders invite disruptive innovation, encourage others to drop outdated approaches and take balanced risks.

They are open-minded and inventive in expanding their management and communication styles, particularly to engage with a new generation of employees, partners and customers.


More Opinions

Jim Collins, Good to GreatCompanies grow up from entrepreneurial stage the wrong way: they impose order and discipline at the expense of creativity and entrepreneurial behavior (e.g., Apple)

Michael Mumford, University of OklahomaEffective leadership behavior fundamentally depends on the leader’s ability to solve the kinds of complex social problems that arise in an organization


Even More Opinions

Kouzes & Posner: The Leadership ChallengeChallenging the Process

Inspiring a Shared Vision

Robert Sternberg: Successful Intelligence

Analytic Intelligence

Practical Intelligence

Creative Intelligence

Wisdom


Leadership Thinking Skills

Visionary Thinking

Contextual Thinking

Critical Thinking

Tactical Thinking

Ideational Thinking

Diagnostic Thinking

Strategic Thinking


Creative Thinking Skills

Imagine the Future

Explore Acceptance

Craft Solutions

Plan for Action

Generate Ideas

FacilitateFind the

Questions


Experience It: Lead by Example

1. Generate a list of problems (“challenges”) you have, either at home or at work.

2. Gather in groups of 2 or 3, and share your lists. Add to your list as inspired to do so.

3. Each person: select 1 problem to work on.

4. One at a time, with the help of your partners, restate the problem in sentences that begin with “How might I…” or “How might we…

5. Find the question that provides the best solution path.


Thinking Tools to Take Away

• Diagnostic: Avoid premature closure

• Visionary: “It would be great it…”

• Strategic: “How might we…”

• Ideational: Defer judgment

• Critical: Praise first

• Contextual: Find your F

• Tactical: Expect more creativity


Bonus: Three Questions

1. How can we enhance creativity (in

ourselves)?

2. How can we foster it (in others)?

3. How can we identify it (in our potential

leaders)?


Documents

1. At your place are three blank stickers. Write down