Are creative thinkers just insubordinate?
There are reasons why people don’t contribute to meetings (Pic credit: Monsterra for Pexels)
Have you read Michelle Obama’s “The Light We Carry”?
In one section, she ponders on whether individuals feel safe in contributing to a meeting. I can relate to this concern, from my own experience in trying to encourage my team members to contribute ideas in a brainstorming session. (It’s because this is such a common occurrence that I talk a lot about the manager’s role in creating psychological safety for their team.) At this point in the book, I was feeling nice and cozy, … and safe.
And then she asked questions that really hit home for me: “Will my creativity be seen as insubordinate? Will my perspective be judged as disrespectful, an unwelcome challenge to the norms?” There were times as a team member, then as a manager, when I felt my quest for creative solutions was not appreciated and that it didn’t fall in line with “the way we do things”. As I learned more about creative thinking and the characteristics of creative thinkers in my role as a corporate trainer, I realized that my out of the box thinking may have been interpreted as insubordination.
As a manager, is there anyone on your team who you characterize as being disrespectful, challenging, or insubordinate? How would it change your perspective if, instead, you think of them as a creative thinker? Before you can answer that, ask this question first…
How can you identify creative thinkers?
In interpreting a participant’s silence, there’s a fine line between avoiding making a contribution out of fear of looking stupid and ruminating on an idea.
Ideas people are sometimes labelled as loners or not being a team player; often because they are off in their heads trying to solve a puzzle or a problem.
Creative thinkers may appear to be disengaged, but their silence and doodling may signal that there’s some deep thinking going on. Their brain may be very active, making connections between ideas already on the table and leading to new thoughts triggered by those existing ideas.
A third interpretation is that they are weighing up whether to contribute or not. Creativity is closely related to bravery because it requires the creator to expose themselves to potential judgement
These characteristics can also apply to introverts, about whom assumptions may also be made.
Be on the lookout for these behaviors, and remind yourself that you may be assessing people using inaccurate filters. You might just have an innovator on your team!
Your job as an innovation manager
To encourage innovation, your job is to assume that anyone who is quiet has a fantastic idea to contribute and that it’s up to you to make sure they feel safe enough to do so.
BTW, Michelle ends the section on contributing ideas by saying “progress requires creativity and imagination”, and “ingenuity is born of boldness”. Wise words – we should all take heed!