Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Monday, Nov 13, 2006
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Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Monday, Nov 13, 2006 ePaper |
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The New Manager
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Books Columns - Manage Mentor Creativity is an essential workplace skill D. Murali
A core leadership competence is `creative thinking' argues `Creative Leadership,' a new publication from Sage (www.sagepublications.com) . The authors, Gerard J. Puccio, Mary C. Murdock, and Marie Mance, all from State University College at Buffalo, speak of five tenets. The first tenet is that creativity is a process that leads to change. No longer a fringe but essential workplace skill, they say. "Opportunities to solve problems and to engage in breakthrough thinking can and should happen throughout the organisation." Second, leaders have to deliberately facilitate productive change to help individuals and organisations grow. The book discusses CPS (creative problem solving) through `the thinking skills model' - as `a process map for finding your way to the gold'. The heart of the process is `dynamic balance', as an alternative to the start-and-stop thinking that mixes of convergent and divergent views only to end in tossing unique thoughts aside. Separate convergent and divergent thinking at every step, advise the authors. An interesting example that leaders may find handy is that of Bob Hope, an entertainer who used the `dynamic balance' technique to develop his comedy monologues. "Hope had a staff of writers who would produce his materials. They called themselves the `Double Cross and Circle Club'. "Hope would read all of them and place an `X' next to the ones he liked. Then he would reread those jokes he liked and make a double cross on those he still liked." Comedy is serious business, so "he would make a final pass through the list of jokes, focussing only on those with a double `X' and would circle those that would be performed in front of an audience." For serious read is a chapter that identifies `complex thinking skills' such as: assessing the situation using diagnostic thinking; exploring the vision by dreaming and formulating challenges by sensing a gap. "Integrate deliberate creativity into your repertoire of leadership skills," exhort the authors. "Becoming an effective leader is not a destination. It is a journey that involves continuous improvement."A book that can give you a good start, if you are ready to undertake the journey.
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