In 2010, an IBM global study found that top CEOS ranked creativity as the number #1 leadership skill they needed for their people and organizations to thrive. Yet while most people and organizations say that they want creative ideas, recent research shows that many people actually behave just the opposite – rejecting creative ideas almost instinctively. The reason: uncertainty.
In a soon to be published paper, Jennifer Mueller, Shimul Melwani and Jack Goncalo, report their findings on two creativity experiments held at the University of Pennsylvania with more than 210 participants.
The study found that:
- Creative ideas are by their very nature novel and the more novel an idea, the more likely the idea will evoke uncertainty in people.
- To reduce this sense of uncertainty, many people tend to pick practical ideas over creative ones.
- When people are uncertain, they have an implicit bias against creativity in favor of practicality. They find it easier to subconsciously reject creative ideas than to deal with their continued uncertainty.
- Most people aren’t even aware of this creativity bias.
According to the authors, “our results show that regardless of how open minded people are, when they feel motivated to reduce uncertainty either because they have an immediate goal of reducing uncertainty, or feel uncertain generally, this may bring negative associations with creativity to mind which result in lower evaluations of a creative idea.” In another words, the more uncertain the person is, the more likely they are to reject creative ideas.
In fact, in one of the experiments conducted, subjects who were experiencing a high level of uncertainty were shown an idea that had been previously evaluated by a control group (who were not experiencing uncertainty) as highly creative, novel and practical. These subjects had a very negative response to the idea of a nanotechnology shoe that could adjust the thickness of the fabric to cool feet and reduce blisters.
The authors conclude, “the field of creativity may need to shift from identifying how to generate more creative ideas to helping organizations recognize and accept creativity.”
Leaders take note. If creativity is really the number #1 leadership skill, how might you help your people recognize and tolerate uncertainty? After all, the answer to this question may help your people generate and keep creative ideas alive.
For more in depth information download the full IBM study or a pdf of Creativity: Why People Desire but Reject Creative Ideas.
I think this highlights a key difference between leadership and management.
The lead paragraph mentions that CEO's are looking for creativity in their leaders. Yet, it is the charter of managers to manage things, reduce variability, and deliver predictability. In short, the nemesis of managers is uncertainty.
I believe if more people made a proper distiction between what management and leadership it, it would be easier to communicate what people want and expect.
One wants leadership when it is desired to accept uncertainty for the possability of change. One wants management when they want to reject uncertainty for the security of predicatbility.
Both have their place. I want the assembly of my McDonald's hambuger managed. But I want a new season of TV shows to lead me to a different viewing experience away from what I am already bored of.
Posted by: David Detlefsen | 02/22/2012 at 02:27 PM