H.A.M.

 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. blocks : result from influences of

Cultural

society.
Emotional

blocks : fear, anxiety & jealousy.

 Strategic

blocks : One right answer approaches, inflexibility of thinking.

blocks : Over-generalized rigidity influenced by personal values. blocks : Over-narrow focus of attention and interest. image blocks : Poor effectiveness through fear of failure, timidity in expressing ideas, etc.

Value

Perceptual

Self

 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)

condition where an individual is over sensitised to some part of the information available at the expense of other parts. (Tony Proctor)
set of beliefs or way of thinking that determines somebodys behavior and outlook. (Clayton Shold)

Carol Dweck (Stanford University Psychologist) argues that there are two fundamental mindsets: Fixed Mindset, Growth Mindset

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

Fixed Mindset Challenges Avoid Challenges

Growth Mindset Embrace challenges

Obstacle

Give up easily

Persist in the face of set backs

See effort as the path to mastery Learn from criticism

Effort

See effort as fruitless or worse Ignore useful negative feedback Fell threatened by the success of others

Criticism

Success of others

Find the lesson and inspiration in the success of others They reach ever-higher level of achievement

Result

They may plateau early and achieve less than their full potential

Mindset

Groupthink

Irrational Examining alternatives (past experience) Seeking the expert opinion

Rational

Examining few alternatives

Not seeking expert opinion

Groupthink

Group

Cohesive Group

Dont have contingency Plan

Possibly of Failure(high)

Lack of Creativity

Poor Decision

Groupthink

Mindset
Searching Previous Experience Fixed Mindset -Unencounter problem -Over regard to logical thinking

Growth Mindset

Generate Idea(New idea)

Mindset

Fixed Mindset

Cant solve the problem

Barrier to creativity

Growth Mindset

Solve the problem

Creative

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 groups 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 groups 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 organizations 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.
of the unknown: uncertainties arising when change is present in organizations. Limitations

Fear

Resource

 Threats

to Power and Influence

Defensive

Perception: a reflection of an individuals or organizations wish to maintain the status quo. face organizational systems team dynamics

Saving

Incongruent Incongruent 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 elses 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 timeconsuming 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 organizations 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 wont 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.