creativity and innovation group think and mindset
TRANSCRIPT
H.A.M.H
Mental Blockages to creativity by Tony
Proctor
Groupthink and Mindset
Resistance to change
The blocks are essentially of two varieties :
individual and organizational.
Some barriers limit an individual`s creative
output and are related to the people
themselves. On the other hand there are
those that emanate from the environment in
which people operate.
Many researchers have attempted to address
the phenomenon of barriers to creativity.
Perceptual blocks : prevent a person
receiving a true, relevant picture of the
outside world.
Cultural blocks : result from influences of
society.
Emotional blocks : fear, anxiety & jealousy.
Strategic blocks : One right answer approaches, inflexibility of thinking.
Value blocks : Over-generalized rigidity influenced by personal values.
Perceptual blocks : Over-narrow focus of attention and interest.
Self – image blocks : Poor effectiveness through fear of failure, timidity in expressing ideas, etc.
Emphasis on managerial control : can stifle
creativity since autonomy and a degree of
freedom are critical ingredients of creative
thinking.
Short range thinking : tendency to give
priority to quick returns with financially
measurable results.
Analysis paralysis : over analyzed idea and
time is lost along with any competitive
advantage.
Rigid hierarchical structures : requires a
responsive organizational structure; not a
characteristic for most organizations.
Tendency to look for big project: likely to
generate a big payoff, rather than a number
of smaller projects with small to medium
payoffs.
Market Versus Technology driven product
planning : tends to be an overemphasis on
market research, in line with the marketing
orientation adopted by many companies.
Pressure to achieve and do more with less
resources
R & D departments are often penalized for
cutting costs. The more the department
saves one year, the less it has to play with
the next. Paradoxically, the more companies
have to cut back on expenditure, the more
creative they must become.
Lack of a systematic approach to innovation:
lack of real ideas about how to innovate.
The belief that some people are creative and
others are not.
How to distinguish between groupthink and
mindset?
How can they be barriers to creativity?
• A phenomenon that occurs when the desire for group
consensus overrides people's common sense desire to
present alternatives, critique a position, or express an
unpopular opinion.(Irving Janis)
• A tendency in a cohesive group to seek agreement about
an issue at the expense of realistically appraising the
situation. (M.Bartol & C.Martin)
A condition where an individual is over
sensitised to some part of the information
available at the expense of other parts.
(Tony Proctor)
A set of beliefs or way of thinking that
determines somebody’s behavior and
outlook. (Clayton Shold)
Carol Dweck (Stanford University
Psychologist) argues that there are two
fundamental mindsets:
Fixed Mindset,
Growth Mindset
Fixed mindset: a belief that talents and
abilities cannot be improved through any
means.
Growth mindset: a belief that intelligence,
talents, and abilities can be developed over
time.
Fixed Mindset Growth Mindset
Challenges Avoid Challenges Embrace challenges
Obstacle Give up easily Persist in the face of set
backs
Effort See effort as fruitless or
worse
See effort as the path to
mastery
Criticism Ignore useful negative
feedback
Learn from criticism
Success of others Fell threatened by the
success of others
Find the lesson and
inspiration in the success
of others
Result They may plateau early and
achieve less than their full
potential
They reach ever-higher
level of achievement
Mindset Groupthink
Irrational Rational
Examining alternatives
(past experience) Examining few alternatives
Seeking the expert opinion Not seeking expert opinion
Groupthink
Group Cohesive Group Don’t have
contingency
Plan
Possibly of
Failure(high)
Groupthink Poor Decision Lack of
Creativity
Mindset
Searching Previous
Experience
Fixed Mindset -Unencounter
problem
-Over regard to
logical thinking
Generate
Idea(New idea)
Growth
Mindset
Fixed
Mindset Can’t solve
the problem
Barrier to
creativity
Growth
Mindset Solve the
problem Creative
Mindset
What strategies can be undertaken to avoid
groupthink ?
If your job requires you to work in groups, you are
potentially affected by groupthink on an ongoing basis.
Groupthink may result in lost productivity, reduced
morale and motivation, and growing inability to reach
even routine decisions successfully.
Here are the symptoms of groupthink briefly explained :
1. Illusion of invulnerability: the group are incapable of being wrong.
2. Rationalization : the group’s end justifies the means.
3. Inherent morality: the group feel what they are doing is best for everyone.
4. Stereotypical thinking: the group employs preconceived notions in evaluating
information.
5. Mind guards: group members who take it upon themselves to protect the group from
information that contradicts prevailing opinion.
6. Pressure on dissenters: group members aggressively "go after" colleagues who disagree
with the general sentiments of the group.
7. Self-censorship: group members willingly refrain from voicing opposition to the
prevailing sentiments of the group.
8. Illusion of unanimity: the belief, within the group, that silence is an indication of
agreement.
Here are the strategies which can be undertaken to avoid groupthink :
1.Open climate -It has been found that the leader should practice what is
called an open leadership style – free discussion, non-judgmental attitudes, and
acceptance of divergent thinking, as opposed to closed leadership style
characterized by tightly-controlled discussion, highly-defensive posturing, and
lack of tolerance of divergent thinking in favor of convergent thinking.
2. Avoid the Isolation of the Group -Decision makers should be encouraged
to frame a decision problem in a variety of ways in order to investigate the
stability of preferences. It may be highly valuable to bring in outsiders to
provide critical reaction to the group’s assumptions. In this way, the group is
prevented from isolation with limited data and few choices.
3.Assign Members the Role of Critical Evaluator -The leader or group
facilitator should assign each group member the role of critical evaluator, giving
them the power to assail sacred cows and uncontested group assumptions. By
questioning even areas in which a particular group member may not have
special expertise, the group is forced to re-examine their own assumptions and
rationalizations.
4. Avoid Being Too Directive -Perhaps the most important single step a leader can take is to
remove themselves from the leadership role itself by avoiding being too directive. The leader
can deliberately be absent from one or more key meetings or allow other group members to
facilitate a meeting in their presence. In this way, they can ensure that they will not exert undue
influence upon group members. Decision makers should be instructed not to evaluate decision
problems in terms of gains or losses from a neutral reference point. Instead, they should be
taught to formulate a decision problem in terms of final states or assets.
5. The group leader should avoid expressing their personal views too early in the decision-making
process.
6. The group leader should encourage group members to challenge and push each other for the
purpose of enhancing each others' critical thinking.
7. The group should utilize procedural strategies for reaching group decisions within a
"competitive" work environment:-
(i) Dialectical inquiry method: the group attempts to reach a decision by developing two
different recommendations, based on contrary assumptions, from the same data; then
subjecting those competing recommendations to in-depth, critical evaluation through a
debate between two advocate subgroups.
(ii) Devil's advocacy method: the group attempts to reach a decision by
developing a recommendation and solid supporting argument for it; then
subjecting it to in-depth, critical evaluation by a designated advocate who
attempts to show why the recommendation should not be accepted.
8. Tell the group to develop multiple scenarios of events upon which they
are acting, and contingencies for each scenario.
9.Better brainstorming sessions
10.Calling a meeting after a decision consensus is reached in which all
group members are expected to critically review the decision before final
approval is given.
Even when top management gets an organization off to a good start, there are no guarantees that the organization’s initial success will continue.
Changes in structures, policies and procedures are constantly made in an organization to survive and remain competitive due to fierce domestic and foreign competition.
However, implementing those changes is not easy since new ideas are often resisted rather to be accepted.
Habit: people tend to be afraid of new ideas
since they have been accustomed to what
they are doing without the presence of any
changes.
Fear of the unknown: uncertainties arising
when change is present in organizations.
Resource Limitations
Threats to Power and Influence
Defensive Perception: a reflection of an
individual’s or organization’s wish to
maintain the status quo.
Saving face
Incongruent organizational systems
Incongruent team dynamics
Past contracts or agreements
Communication is the highest priority and
the first strategy required for any
organizational change. It reduces the
restraining forces by keeping employees
informed about what to expect from the
change effort. For example, customer
complaint letters are shown to employees.
This is done in order to induce the urgency of
change among the employees. Although
time-consuming and costly, communication
can potentially reduce fear of the unknown
and develop team norms that are more
consistent with the change effort.
Training is an important process in most
change initiatives because employees need
to learn new knowledge and skills. Some
training programs can also minimize
employee resistance caused by saving face,
because employees are actively involved in
the change process. For example, employees
learn how to work in teams as the company
adopts a team-based structure. However,
such training may be quite time-consuming
and potentially costly.
Involving employees in decision-making process
may create a psychological ownership of the
decision. Rather than viewing themselves as
agents of someone else’s decision, staff
members feel personally responsible for the
success of the decision. Employee involvement
also minimizes resistance to change by reducing
problems of saving face and fear of the
unknown. For example, company forms a task
force to recommend new customer service
practices which needs more employee
commitment. However, this strategy may lead to
conflict and poor decisions if employees’
interests are incompatible with organizational
needs. Besides, it is considered very time-
consuming to execute this strategy.
For most people, organizational change is a stressful experience. It threatens self-esteem and creates uncertainty about the future. Communication, training, and employee involvement can reduce some of these stressors, but companies also need to introduce stress management practices to help employees cope with the changes. It minimizes resistance by removing some of the direct costs and fear of unknown associated with the change process. Stress also saps energy, so minimizing stress potentially increases employee motivation to support the change process. For example, employees attend sessions to discuss their worries about the change. Somehow, this strategy is found time-consuming and potentially expensive. Moreover, this strategy may not be always effective as some methods cannot reduce stress for all employees.
Organizational change is, in large measure, a political activity. People have vested interests and apply their power to ensure that the emerging conditions are consistent with their personal values and needs. Consequently, negotiation may be necessary for employees who will clearly lose out from the change activity. This negotiation offers certain benefits to offset some of the cost of the change. For example, employees agree to replace strict job categories with multiskilling in return for increased job security. This strategy may be found expensive, particularly if other employees want to negotiate their support. Also, it tends to produce compliance, but not commitment to the change.
Coercion is simply defined as the act of compelling by force of authority. Coercion might include dismissals of several members of an executive team who are unwilling or unable to change their existing mental models of the ideal organization. For example, company president tells managers to get on board and accept the change or leave. Dismissal is a radical form of organizational “unlearning” because when executives leave, they take knowledge of the organization’s past routines, potentially opening up opportunities for new practices to take hold. At the same time, we should keep in mind that coercion is a risky strategy because survivors (employees who are not fired) may have less trust in corporate leaders and engage in more political tactics to protect their own job security. Generally, various forms of coercion may change behavior through compliance, but they won’t develop commitment to the change effort.
Proctor, Tony (2005), Creativity Problem Solving
For Managers (2nd edition), New York: Routledge.
Neale, Margaret A. and Northcraft, Gregory B.
(1990), Organizational Behaviour: A Management
Challenge, Florida: Dryden Press.
Von Glinow, Mary Ann and McShane, Steven L.
(2003), Organizational Behaviour (2nd edition),
New York: McGraw-Hill.
Mullins, Laurie J. (2005), Management And
Organisational Behaviour (7th edition), London:
Pearson Education Limited.