Creativity is a cornerstone of innovation and competitive advantage. For both individuals and teams, harnessing creative thinking is essential to navigate complex challenges and seize emerging opportunities.

This article explores various methods to stimulate creative thinking, touching on their origins, applications, and relevance to leadership. Additionally, it examines the concept of design thinking and its integral relationship with creativity.

Individual Creative Thinking Methods

1. Brainstorming

Origin: Developed by advertising executive Alex Osborn in the 1940s, brainstorming was introduced as a method to generate ideas in a group setting.

Application: Individuals can adapt brainstorming by writing down as many ideas as possible without self-censorship. This free-flowing ideation encourages the emergence of novel solutions. Using a timer or number of ideas to achieve can help draw out divergent thinking.

Context: Ideal for situations requiring a multitude of ideas, such as product development or marketing strategies.

Leadership Insight: Leaders who practice personal brainstorming model creative behavior, inspiring their teams to adopt similar practices.

2. Mind Mapping

Origin: Popularized by Tony Buzan in the 1970s, mind mapping is a visual tool that organizes information around a central concept.

Application: Start with a central idea and branch out into related topics, using keywords and images to represent connections. Branch out to multiple levels until the plan is mapped out or the concept is thoroughly explored.

Context: Useful for organizing complex information, planning projects, or exploring new concepts.

Leadership Insight: Leaders use mind maps to clarify their thoughts and communicate complex ideas more effectively to their teams.

3. SCAMPER Technique

Origin: Developed by Bob Eberle in the 1970s, SCAMPER is an acronym for Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, and Reverse.

Application: Apply each of the seven prompts to an existing product or process to explore potential improvements or innovations.

Context: Effective for enhancing existing products or processes and fostering incremental innovation.

Leadership Insight: Leaders employ SCAMPER to encourage continuous improvement and adaptability within their organizations.

Group Creative Thinking Methods

1. Six Thinking Hats

Origin: Introduced by Edward de Bono in 1985, this method assigns different perspectives (hats) to group members to explore issues from multiple angles.

Application: Each “hat” represents a mode of thinking—facts (White), emotions (Red), caution (Black), optimism (Yellow), creativity (Green), and process control (Blue). Group members take turns wearing different hats to discuss a problem comprehensively.

Context: Suitable for decision-making processes and problem-solving sessions requiring diverse viewpoints. A helpful tool to “unstick” defensive or limited perspectives.

Leadership Insight: Leaders can facilitate balanced discussions and prevent groupthink by guiding teams through the Six Thinking Hats process.

2. Design Thinking

Origin: Evolved from the practices of industrial designers in the late 20th century, with significant contributions from the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford (d.school).

Application: Design thinking involves five stages: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test. Teams collaborate to understand user needs, define problems, generate ideas, create prototypes, and test solutions.

Context: Ideal for developing user-centered products, services, or processes.

Leadership Insight: Leaders who embrace design thinking foster a culture of empathy, experimentation, and iterative learning, driving innovation within their organizations.

3. Nominal Group Technique (NGT)

Origin: Developed by Andre Delbecq and Andrew Van de Ven in 1968, NGT is a structured method for group brainstorming that encourages contributions from all participants.

Application: Participants independently write down ideas, which are then shared and discussed as a group. Ideas are ranked, and the highest-ranking ones are selected for implementation. Often this is done with sticky notes on a whiteboard, first all ideas are posted, then they are voted on, and finally the top ideas are discussed.

Context: Effective for prioritizing issues, generating solutions, and ensuring equal participation in group settings.

Leadership Insight: Leaders can use NGT to democratize idea generation, ensuring that all voices are heard and valued.

The Role of Design Thinking in Creativity

Design thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation that integrates the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success. By emphasizing empathy and iterative prototyping, design thinking fosters a creative problem-solving environment. It encourages teams to explore a wide array of ideas and learn from failures, leading to more innovative and user-centric solutions.

Leadership and the Value of Creative Thinking Methods

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” — Steve Jobs

Leaders who understand and apply creative thinking methods can cultivate an environment where innovation thrives. By modeling creative behaviors and providing tools and processes that encourage divergent thinking, leaders empower their teams to tackle challenges with fresh perspectives. This not only enhances problem-solving capabilities but also drives organizational growth and adaptability in an ever-changing business landscape.