Creativity is an interesting and somewhat uncharted topic. Where does it come from exactly? Are we born with our creative skills or can we learn them? Last week we wrote a little about the different types of creativity, so now let’s dive into some of the skills that creative thinkers’ user to problem solve. Creative thinking is defined as coming up with innovative, unique solutions to problems but what are some of the ways that creative thinkers can discover these answers. Creative thinking skills come in all shapes and sizes but we wanted to put together a short list of some that might be useful to creatives in the workplace. We’ll break them up into categories since we know that there are different types of creativity from our research last week.
Analytical: these skills help sort through factual information to develop more rational solutions. These skills would fit those who are dominant in deliberate & cognitive creativity as well as deliberate & emotional.
· Analysis
· Research
· Interpreting
· Experimentation
· Critical thinking
Innovation: These skills can be utilized by all types of creative thinkers.
· Resilience
· Imagination
· Abstract thinking
· Lateral thinking (using non-traditional logic)
Collaboration: These skills can also be used by all types of creative thinkers.
· Brainstorming
· Story telling
· Open-mindedness
· Active listening
While we will not go into detail for each of these skills, the overall theme is reframing things as a means to find alternative and unique approaches. No matter what problem you are trying to creatively solve, being able to look at the larger picture as well as the small, is important. Visual and abstract thinking can come into play when coming up with new answers. Some advantage to using these skills in the workplace are that it helps come up with better solutions, improves on problem solving and increases effective teamwork. In order to flex your creativity muscles, it’s important to use them every day. Try to create something new each day that requires you use some of the skills listed above. Creative thinking must be sharpened like a tool.
