Who should I invite to join me as a creative process partner? The answer depends on where you are
in the journey. A general principle in thinking
differently is "Begin with the end in mind ." This means to always be thinking of
the ultimate goal and always be thinking a step or two ahead. The ultimate goal is implemented and sustained
change.
Each phase of the creative problem-solving
journey has a milestone that you are trying to reach. With that in mind, here is our
advice on identifying creative process partners.
If you have completed the Reframe phase by yourself...
Consider getting inputs from others whose
support you will need in order to ultimately implement and sustain change to understand
how they might view the problem.
Looking at your list of WWTTCA statements will
help you identify many of the leaders, departments, groups or individuals (so called
"stakeholders") who might need to be involved to address the issue.
You will want to engage some key leaders because
you may need their support for testing ideas down the road, and it will be hard
to get it if they think you were focused on the wrong problem to begin with.
You also want to engage some people closer to
the front line to make sure you are working on a real problem and to create
future ambassadors among those on the front line who will need to actually
implement the change.
We strongly recommend that you repeat the use of
one or two of the Reframe tools that you found helpful, but this time with some
of the people you have now identified as important. You might simply confirm that
your thinking was on target, or you might end up with a different set of
problem-statement reframes. In any event, see it as an opportunity to begin
assembling some creative process partners to help you in the subsequent phases
of the journey.
If you have already engaged others in the Reframe phase and are now ready to start the Ideate phase to generate ideas...
Consider who else–stakeholder leaders,
departments, groups or individuals–you might want to include now that you have
zeroed in on a few specific ways of framing the problem.
Think of those who live with the problems on a
regular basis; either as inadvertent contributors or unfortunate recipients.
Think also of others who, though not directly
involved with the problem, might bring a unique perspective, an attractive
enthusiasm, or just a good mind.
Since creativity involves making novel
connections among things that are known, the greater the variety of knowledge
and perspective you gather into an ideation group, the greater the chance of a
creative output.
The maxim to keep in mind is this: If you just ask the same
group of people for ideas, you may just get the same ideas they gave you last
time. A few naturally different thinkers in a group can stimulate lots of
thinking differently!
Generally speaking, individuals closer to the
work are better suited for ideation than very senior leaders. Unfortunately,
sometimes very senior leaders' understanding of the work is a bit out of date.
There is also the problem that in some organizational cultures, people defer to
senior leaders, and this reduces the level of participation (this is not
necessarily the fault of the senior leaders!). Of course, there are exceptions,
and you should use your judgment.
If you already have lots of ideas and you need to enter the Select phase of the journey...
Consider those whose support you may need in
order to test and eventually implement changes. Obviously, they will be more
likely to support testing changes if they were involved in the selection and
further development of them.
Consider including many more senior leaders.
This is especially true if many of the ideas generated will require resources. In
a way, this defines "senior" leader: How high up might you need to go to get
the approvals and resources needed to implement the kind of ideas that have
been generated? Seek to involve those individuals now.
However, don't swing the pendulum too far. You
will also need continued support from mid-level leaders and frontline staff as
you move into testing and implementation. Keep them engaged as well.