Creativity [1] is the production of novel and useful ideas by an individual or small group of individuals that work together. These individually produced creative ideas form the basis of innovation. Organizational innovation [1] refers to the successful implementation of creative ideas within an organization.

What do we mean by creativity and innovation?

There are many different theories of creativity. One of the key ones focuses on four components that lead to creative endeavours [2]: domain-relevant skills [2], creativity-relevant processes [2] (that something “extra), and intrinsic task motivation [3]. These are complemented by the social environment in which the individual works. This theory suggests creativity will be highest for employees who are intrinsically motivated, with strong expertise in their domain, strong skills in creative thinking, and who work in an environment that supports creativity. When someone who is intrinsically motivated with high domain expertise and high skill in creative thinking, works in an environment that supports creativity.

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Another perspective on creativity [4] suggests that it originates from interactions between individuals, their teams, and their organization. Each level is characterized by the following [5]:

• Individual creativity
  Biographical variables, cognitive style and ability, motivation, social and contextual influences.

• Team creativity
  Individual creative behaviour, group composition, group characteristics, team processes, contextual influences.

• Organizational creativity
  Both individual and team (or group) creativity.

Figure 1. The interaction perspective of creativity

Other theoretical perspectives and models of creativity focus on different aspects of the individual and workplace. For example, the model of individual creative action [6] suggests individual creativity arises from the combined influence of sense making processes, motivation, and knowledge and skills. The our-factor theory of team climate for innovation [7] instead focuses on team climate, suggesting that vision, participative safety, task orientation, and support for innovation are necessary team components for creativity. Last, the dual-pathway model of creativity [8] takes the approach of creativity as cognitive flexibility (e.g., switching to a different approach) and cognitive persistence (e.g., degree of sustained and focused task-directed cognitive effort), and dispositional/situational variables.

Overall, then, the research suggests this: creativity may be driven by individual differences between people, but it is facilitated by their social environment in the workplace.

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From Creativity to Innovation

Creativity can be considered as an idea journey consisting of four phases:

However, there are other factors that can impact on creativity and innovation. A 2009 meta-analysis [10] emphasizes the importance of an incubation period in problem-solving; that is, the time during which a problem is set aside prior to further attempts to solve it. This rest period can enhance creative problem-solving ability.

However, creativity may depend on other individual characteristics. A 2014 study [11] found that intelligence moderated in the relationship between creative activities and creative achievement. In other words, intelligence is necessary to turn activity into outcomes. Openness to experience, too, can contribute to creativity. Open people are curious and actively seek out new activities, leading them to engage in different creative activities, which develops into a strong foundation of creative experience and knowledge.

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Workplace Creativity

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Workplace creativity refers to producing novel and useful ideas for organizational products, services, or processes. It is important is to distinguish between creative performance behaviours [12] – that is, generating ideas –and creative outcome effectiveness [12] which instead refers to the evaluation of those behaviours. Types of creative performance behaviours include:

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• Problem definition behaviours
  Identification or formulation of problem or opportunity, which requires an unknown resolution.

• Information gathering behaviours
  Active effort to search for and acquire new information.

• Idea generating behaviours
  Creation of new mental connections that are relevant to the task or problem.

• Idea evaluation behaviours
  Judgments of utility of an idea by forecasting the implementation of the idea.

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These types of creative performance behaviours are sometimes expected to be performed on the job, driven by external rewards or punishments. However, some creative behaviours are unexpected; that is, they are performed without any external drivers and are predominantly initiated by the employee’s internal drive for creativity.

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Doing Creative Research

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Vitae Innovate [13] interviewed postdocs and principal investigators to develop a creativity guide for postdoctoral researchers. They pinpoint research culture, communication, and making time and space for creativity as critical components:

Professor Patrick Dunleavy identified the following strategies that can foster innovative and creative thinking [14] :

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1. Take the risk of trying to think innovatively, rather than choosing a safe path.

2. Critically evaluate accepted ideas to identify interesting anomalies or paradoxes (i.e., thing that are accepted but perhaps should not be)

3. Look widely – not just in peer reviewed journals, but domains that are more current and cutting edge e.g., academic blogs, Twitter, XArchiv, conference papers, other disciplines.

4. Keep your practice under review – jot down your thoughts, however insignificant, to encourage your growth beyond your mental constraints.

5. Be a constructive self-critic: evaluate and critique your own ideas, but only after immersing yourself in a topic and giving your ideas time to develop.

6. Expect innovation to be an up-and-down process – remember that psychological security is necessary for innovation, so push the boundaries but be aware of your own risk tolerance.
    

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Developing Innovation Leadership

“Leadership makes the difference when it comes to innovation” according to the Center for Creative Leadership. As innovation is a key factor in business growth, it is important for leaders to understand how to foster creativity and fuel innovation. The CCL identifies and recommends five practices that individuals can use to develop innovation leadership, which are [15]:

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1. Learn how roles and capabilities needed for innovation vary by level

2. Focus on an innovation process

3. Identify and leverage different contributions to innovation

4. Work across boundaries

5. Embrace polarities

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In the table below we distinguish between business thinking and innovative thinking. You can see other innovative thinking skills that are needed to allow organizations to create something new and useful. 

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Business thinking versus innovative thinking

Distinctive behaviours of an innovative leader that have been identified are [16]:

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Suggested videos

1. Amabile, T. M. (1988). A model of creativity and innovation in organizations. In B. M. Staw & L. L. Cummings (Eds.), Research in Organizational Behavior, 10(1), 123-167.

2. Amabile, T. M. (2012). The componential theory of creativity (Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 12-096).

3. Isaksen, S. G., Murdock, M. C., Firestien, R. L., & Treffinger, D. J. (1993). Understanding and recognizing creativity: The emergence of a discipline. Westport, CT: Ablex Publishing Company.

4. Woodman, R. W., Sawyer, J. E., & Griffin, R. W. 1993. Toward a theory of organizational creativity. Academy of Management Review, 18(2), 293-321. doi: 10.5465/AMR.1993.3997517

5. Anderson, N., Potočnik, K., & Zhou, J. (2014). Innovation and creativity in organizations: A state-of-the-science review, prospective commentary, and guiding framework. Journal of Management, 40(5), 1297-1333. doi:10.1177/0149206314527128

6. Ford, C. M. (1996). A theory of individual creative action in multiple social domains. Academy of Management Review, 21(4), 1112-1142. doi:10.2307/259166

7. West, M. A. (1990). The social psychology of innovation in groups. In M. A. West & J. L. Farr (Eds.), Innovation and creativity at work: Psychological and organizational strategies (pp. 309-333). Chichester, England: Wiley.

8. Nijstad, B. A., De Dreu, C. K., Rietzschel, E. F., & Baas, M. (2010). The dual pathway to creativity model: Creative ideation as a function of flexibility and persistence. European Review of Social Psychology, 21(1), 34-77. doi:10.1080/10463281003765323

9. Perry-Smith, J. E., & Mannucci, P. V. (2017). From creativity to innovation: The social network drivers of the four phases of the idea journey. Academy of Management Review, 42(1), 53-79. doi:10.5465/amr.2014.0462

10. Sio, U. N., & Ormerod, T. C. (2009). Does incubation enhance problem solving? A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 135(1), 94-120. doi:10.1037/a0014212

11. Jauk, E., Benedek, M., & Neubauer, A. C. (2014). The road to creative achievement: A latent variable model of ability and personality predictors. European Journal of Personality, 28(1), 95-105. doi:10.1002/per.1941

12. Montag, T., Maertz Jr, C. P., & Baer, M. (2012). A critical analysis of the workplace creativity criterion space. Journal of Management, 38(4), 1362-1386. doi:10.1177/0149206312441835

13. Anders, K., Elvidge, L., & Walsch, E. (2009). Doing creative research: A good practice guide for postdocs in STEM disciplines. Graduate School, Imperial College London. Retrieved from

14. Dunleavy, P. (2015). Becoming more creative in academic work: A menu of suggestions. Medium. Retrieved from

15. Horth, D. M., & Verhar, J. (2015). Innovation: How leadership makes the difference. Greensboro, NC: Center for Creative Leadership.

16. InnoWork (2016). Towards a more innovative workplace. Retrieved from