Creative Thinking Skills – 4 Keys to Being a Creatively Supportive Leader

While creating a scope of work for a Brainzooming creative thinking skills workshop targeted at a B2B salesforce, our client contact (who is a Brainzooming reader) asked for material on what it means to be a creatively supportive leader.

Great question!

4 Keys for Being a Creatively Supportive Leader

When it comes to a leader actively supporting a team’s creative thinking skills development, there are multiple ways to go from talk to tangible support. We typically see the following behaviors from a creatively supportive leader:

• Actively and fully participating in the original creative thinking skills workshop learning
• Modeling behaviors and conversations that support exploring new ideas
• Reaching across organizational lines to include thinkers with diverse and valuable perspectives
• Using strategic and creative thinking skills in daily interactions to develop and move ideas toward implementation

Beyond these four keys to being a creatively support leader, here are previous Brainzooming articles to provide additional ideas on the perspectives and behaviors of a leader that cultivates team creativity:

• Creative Thinking – 7 Keys to How “Idea Magnets” Boost Creativity
• Creative Thinking Skills: 29 Phrases Blocking Innovative Ideas
• Screwing Up in How You Request Employee Ideas
• Creative Thinking – 4 Ideas for Safely Sharing Dirty Ideas and Thinking
• Extending Brainstorming Ground Rules to Everyday Business Life
• Extreme Creativity – When Do You Trust a Creative Genius?
• Strategic Thinking Exercises – Who is the Positive Devil’s Advocate?
• Creative Thinking – 10 Quick Tips about Team Creativity

I figured we'd share this compilation on a Monday because there is AT LEAST a week's worth of reading there to brush up on your skills in being a creatively supportive leader!   – Mike Brown

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