Fostering Creativity and Innovation in Teams
What do organizations such as Amazon, Apple, and Tesla have in common? They are known for being creative and innovative. While most people agree that organizations need to be creative and innovative to be successful, few people can concretely define these terms or articulate how to foster each within organizations. Fortunately, there is a growing body of research in these areas, which provides tangible, evidence-based leadership strategies for fostering creativity and innovation in organizations.
In this Discussion, you will consider recent research in the areas of creativity and innovation and identify specific leadership strategies to foster each within work teams.
To Prepare:
Review the articles about creativity, innovation, and organizational adaptability in this week’s Learning Resources.
Pay particular attention to definitions and indicators of creativity and innovation within teams.
Consider factors that contribute to and detract from creativity and innovation. In addition, identify specific leadership strategies for fostering each within work teams.
Post a response to the following:
What does creativity and innovation “look like” in a team setting? Use specific examples from what you have read about existing teams in organizations to support your response. What are the barriers to creativity and innovation in teams? How might a leader address these barriers to foster both within work teams?
REFERENCES
Fausing, M. S., Joensson, T. S., Lewandowski, J., & Bligh, M. (2015). Antecedents of shared leadership: Empowering leadership and interdependence. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 36(3), 271–291.
Fitzsimons, D. (2016). How shared leadership changes our relationships at work. Harvard Business Review Digital Articles, 2–5.
Hughes, D. J., Lee, A., Tian, A. W., Newman, A., & Legood, A. (2018). Leadership, creativity, and innovation: A critical review and practical recommendations. The Leadership Quarterly, 29(5), 549–569.
Kozlowski, S. W. J., Mak, S., & Chao, G. T. (2016). Team-centric leadership: An integrative review. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 3, 21–54.
Uhl-Bien, M., & Arena, M. (2018). Leadership for organizational adaptability: A theoretical synthesis and integrative framework. The Leadership Quarterly, 29(1), 89–104.
van Knippenberg, D. (2017). Team innovation. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 4, 211–233.
Lacerenza, C. N., Reyes, D. L., Marlow, S. L., Joseph, D. L., & Salas, E. (2017). Leadership training design, delivery, and implementation: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(12), 1686–1718.
Hoffman-Miller, P. M. (2019). Contingency theory. In Salem Press Encyclopedia.
Ceri-Booms, M., Curşeu, P. L., & Oerlemans, L. A. (2017). Task and person-focused leadership behaviors and team performance: A meta-analysis. Human Resource Management Review, 27(1), 178–192.