Understanding Teams and Creativity
In today’s fast-paced and globalized world, teams composed of members from diverse cultural and disciplinary backgrounds have become increasingly common in schools, workplaces, and communities. These diverse teams present both opportunities and challenges when it comes to fostering creativity and innovation.
On one hand, the integration of different perspectives, knowledge, skills, and abilities within a team can stimulate creative thinking and prevent premature consensus on complex issues. This diversity has the potential to drive breakthrough ideas and solutions. On the other hand, diversity also poses risks, such as communication barriers, misunderstandings, and conflicts that can hamper group cohesiveness and team performance.
To navigate this delicate balance, it is crucial to understand the distinction between teams and groups, as well as the differences between creativity and innovation. Teams are special types of groups where people work with commitment, shared responsibilities, and complementary skills to achieve shared outcomes and common goals. Flexibility, creativity, and a high degree of autonomy are defining characteristics of effective teams.
Creativity, on the other hand, is the production of new and useful ideas, while innovation refers to the implementation of those creative ideas. Creativity is often seen as the first step of the innovation process, which is cyclical and recursive in nature. Acknowledging the integral relationship between creativity and innovation, this article emphasizes the preparation of idea generation in diverse teams, which is closer to the concept of creativity.
Interdisciplinary and Intercultural Approaches to Creativity
The interdisciplinary approach refers to the application of methods, knowledge, and modes of thinking from different disciplines to common questions or tasks, with the goal of achieving more than what each discipline could accomplish on its own. Likewise, the intercultural approach involves the application of diverse cultural perspectives and ways of thinking to address shared challenges.
Both the interdisciplinary and intercultural approaches recognize that creativity and innovation do not exist in a vacuum. Culture plays a crucial role in shaping how creativity and innovation are perceived, expressed, and evaluated. For example, the conceptions of creativity held by Eastern and Western cultures can differ significantly, with the former emphasizing adaptiveness, processes, and intuitiveness, while the latter favoring disruptiveness, results, and rationality.
Effectively leveraging the diversity of teams requires tactful management of the double-edged effect of diversity on creativity and innovation. Simply putting people of different backgrounds together does not guarantee creative and innovative outcomes. Instead, a systematic approach is needed to bring diverse individuals together and prepare them for successful collaboration.
The VICTORY Model for Team Creativity
The VICTORY Model is a comprehensive framework for fostering creativity in diverse teams. This model was developed by following two key principles: the parsimonious principle, which means selecting only the most essential factors, and the operational principle, which ensures the model is easy for both researchers and practitioners to understand and implement.
The VICTORY Model consists of the following components:
Vision
A clear and inspiring vision is essential for rallying team members together, channeling their efforts, and motivating them to carry on with their creative endeavors. Developing a shared vision that articulates the team’s objectives and goals is a crucial first step.
Openness
Openness to experience, both cognitively and behaviorally, is a strong predictor of individual and team creativity. Encouraging team members to be imaginative, curious, and willing to try new things can unlock the creative potential of the group.
Risk-taking
Creativity inherently involves stepping out of one’s comfort zone and being willing to take risks. Fostering an environment where team members feel safe to experiment and learn from failures is essential for nurturing a creative mindset.
Yes-I-Can Mindset
Developing a strong sense of creative self-efficacy, or a “Yes-I-Can” mindset, can significantly boost a team’s confidence and motivation to engage in creative problem-solving. Providing opportunities for successful creative experiences can help build this mindset.
Ideation
Generating, evaluating, and selecting novel ideas are key cognitive processes that underlie team creativity. Incorporating structured ideation techniques, such as brainstorming and brainwriting, can enhance the team’s ability to ideate effectively.
Combination
The ability to creatively combine existing knowledge, skills, and ideas in novel ways is a hallmark of innovative thinking. Encouraging team members to synthesize information and explore unexpected connections can lead to breakthrough solutions.
Team
At the core of the VICTORY Model is the team itself. Effectively teaming diverse individuals, fostering positive social dynamics, and creating an environment that supports collaboration are essential for unleashing the creative potential of the group.
The VICTORY Model emphasizes that all these components are interconnected and subject to the influence of the broader environment. For example, a team’s risk-taking behaviors and creative self-efficacy are shaped by the culture and support systems within the organization.
Implementing the VICTORY Model in Practice
The VICTORY Model has been extensively tested and refined through years of creativity training and research conducted by the author and their team. Here are some practical insights on how to apply this framework in real-world settings:
Empowering Diverse Teams
When assembling cross-functional and multicultural teams, it is crucial to give the “creatives” (e.g., writers, artists, designers) a high degree of autonomy and control over the idea development process. This means allowing the team to originate and refine ideas, rather than relying on a specialized department to generate concepts.
Creating a Peer Culture
Encouraging team members to share their work-in-progress and provide candid feedback to one another can help build a culture of open communication and collaboration. At Pixar, for example, daily animation work is shown in an incomplete state to the entire crew, fostering a sense of shared responsibility and inspiration.
Fostering Free Communication
Removing barriers to cross-departmental communication and allowing team members to directly address problems with anyone in the organization, regardless of hierarchy, can facilitate the efficient resolution of issues that arise during complex projects.
Cultivating a Learning Environment
Providing opportunities for team members to acquire new skills and interact with individuals from different disciplines can broaden their perspectives and enhance their appreciation for the expertise of others. Pixar’s “Pixar University” is an excellent example of this approach.
Conducting Meaningful Post-mortems
Structuring post-project reviews to balance discussions of both successes and failures can help teams extract valuable lessons for future endeavors. Pixar’s approach of asking participants to list the top five things they would do again and the top five they wouldn’t do encourages a balanced and productive dialogue.
By implementing the VICTORY Model and incorporating these practical strategies, schools and organizations can foster a culture of intercultural collaboration and innovation that empowers diverse teams to achieve remarkable creative outcomes.
Unlocking the Power of Cross-functional Collaboration
The benefits of cross-functional collaboration extend beyond creativity and innovation. When individuals from different departments work together towards shared goals, they can achieve greater alignment, enhance the customer experience, and develop more well-rounded skills and perspectives.
Companies like Apple, Nokia, and Cisco have successfully embedded cross-functional collaboration into their organizational cultures, reaping the rewards of improved agility, employee engagement, and knowledge sharing. By breaking down silos, prioritizing clear communication, and cultivating a supportive environment, these organizations have been able to harness the power of diverse teams to drive their innovation and growth.
As Stanley Park High School continues to prepare students for the challenges of the 21st century, fostering intercultural collaboration and design thinking skills will be crucial. By adopting the VICTORY Model and encouraging cross-functional teamwork, the school can equip its students with the tools and mindset they need to tackle complex problems, innovate, and thrive in an increasingly interconnected world.
To learn more about the school’s commitment to innovation and collaboration, visit the Stanley Park High School website.
