Creativity and Leadership

Gerard J. Puccio, Ph.D.

International Center for Studies in Creativity

Buffalo State - State Unversity of New York

The Creative Problem Solving Model

Assessing the

Situation

Clarification Stage

Transformation Stage

Implementation Stage

Puccio, G. J., Murdock, M. C., & Mance, M. (2007)

CPS: Under Development

© Puccio, Murdock, & Mance (2003)

CPS Components and Thinking Skills

Assessing the

Situation

Exploring the Vision

Formulating the Challenge

Exploring Ideas

Formulating Solutions

Exploring Acceptance

Formulating a Plan

Visionary and Strategic Thinking

Ideational and Evaluative Thinking

Contextual and Tactical Thinking

Diagnostic Thinking

Puccio, G. J., Murdock, M. C., & Mance, M. (2007)

Thinking & Affective SkillsPROCESS STEP:

Assessing the Situation

THINKING SKILL:

Diagnostic

AFFECTIVE SKILLS:

• Openness to Ambiguity

• Curiosity

Exploring the Vision Strategic • Dreaming

• Sensitivity to Opportunities

Formulating the Challenges Problem-Analytic • Tolerance for Complexity

• Sensing Gaps

Exploring Ideas Ideational • Playfulness

• Intuition

Formulating Solutions Evaluative • Affirmative Judgment

• Openness to Novelty

Exploring Acceptance Contextual • Sensitivity to Environment

• Interpersonal Abilities

Formulating a Plan Tactical • Persistence

• Tolerance for Risks

© Puccio, Murdock, & Mance (2003)

Exploring the Leadership-Creativity Connection

Creativity: A Core Leadership Competence

“It seems to me that business leaders have much more in common with artists, scientists, and other creative thinkers than they do with managers”

Abraham Zaleznik (2003)

Creativity: A Path to Developing Effective Leaders

“For business schools to exploit this commonality of dispositions and interests, the curriculum should worry less about the logics of strategy and imposing the constraints of computer exercises and more about thought experiments in the play of creativity and imagination”

Abraham Zaleznik (2003)

Fullan on Management & Leadership

“I have never been fond of distinguishing between leadership and management: they overlap and you need both qualities. But here is one difference that it makes sense to highlight: leadership is needed for problems that do not have easy answers. The big problems of the day are complex, rife with paradoxes and dilemmas. For these problems there are no once-and-for-all answers.”

(Fullan, 2001, p. 2)

Qualities of Complex Social Problems

• Ill-defined: No single solution path – no right or wrong answer – thus allowing the problem to be defined in a number of ways.

• Novel: Past experience and knowledge is not sufficient to resolve the present situation, adaptive responses are needed for new or changing situations.

• Ambiguous: Gaps in information and/or a plethora of information of which only some is relevant.

Positioning a Theory of Leadership based on Capabilities

“These theories (referring to behavioral style,

transformational/charismatic, and leader-member exchange) all have in common a focus on certain behavior

patterns and the implications of these patterns for leader performance. In contrast, however,

leadership can be framed not in terms of specific behaviors, but instead in terms of the capabilities,

knowledge, and skills that make effective leadership possible.”

Mumford et al. (2000)

A Model for the Development of Creative Change Leaders

Student of Creativity:Consciously Unskilled

Skilled FacilitatorConsciously Skilled

Creative Change Leader:

Unconsciously Skilled

Spectator: Unconsciously

Unskilled

Internalize whatyou have learned;become a life-longlearner

Breadth of Impact

What You Do to Grow

Practice what you areLearning and applyin real-life settings

Begin to learn about CPS,psychological diversity, climate,and other aspects of creativity

What You Need to Grow

Awareness

Proficiency

Integration

©Puccio, Murdock & Mance (2007)

Vice President Finance & Operations

New York City-based foundation active in funding educational, health and other philanthropic initiatives is seeking a VP Finance and Operations.

The VPFO will need to be a strategic thinker, effective communicator, and a creative, trustworthy and reliable advisor.

The successful candidate will be an analytical and service-orientated team player with strong organizational skills; a person with integrity; a good listener who can bend when necessary and who can work effectively in a professional and dynamic environment; and a person with a commitment to the foundation mission and goals.

From The New York Times – Sunday, August 13, 2006

Executive DirectorMid Valley Women’s Crisis Service

Salem, Oregon

• Recruits, hires, trains, supervises, and evaluates all agency staff.• Responsible for building and maintaining a collaborative team

environment• Provides community leadership• Formulates plans and policies for fund development –

providing creativity in finding and developing resources and partnerships

• Coordinates strategic planning and long-range goal setting processes

• Reasoning ability: ability to define problems, solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. From YahooJobs August 20, 2006

Executive RecruiterCarolina First

Greenville, South Carolina

Responsible for independently delivering recruiting services for Senior Executive and top level exempt positions

Qualifications include: strategic, creative, and analytically minded; high level of energy, passion, and commitment to excellence; strong leadership skills, including the ability to inspire and motivate others; strong problem-solving skills, including creativity and innovative thinking combined with a willingness to challenge the status quo and act as a “change agent”

From YahooJobs August 20, 2006

Vice President Customer Service

Toronto, Canada

• Develop creative and actionable value propositions for targeted customers and consumers that will increase revenues, reduce costs and increase position in market place.

• Create a world-class customer service process at the client and consumer level through acquiring and developing appropriate talent.

• The candidate will be a decisive individual with a passion for creativity, action, and the ability to influence others.

• Creativity: this person should have a demonstrated history of developing successful, unique and creative customer service programs. They will have the demonstrated ability to judge what will and will not work.

From YahooJobs August 22, 2006

Person Process

Environment

Product(e.g., theories,solutions toproblems, ideas,services,inventions,etc.)

CreativeChange(e.g., socialchange, personalchange, innovationetc.)

Interactionleads to

Adoptionleads to

Creativity: A Systems Model

Puccio, Murdock, & Mance, 2007Puccio, Murdock, & Mance, 2007

Person Process

Environment

Product(e.g., theories,solutions toproblems, ideas,services,inventions,etc.)

CreativeChange(e.g., socialchange, personalchange, innovationetc.)

Interactionleads to

Adoptionleads to

Creativity: A Systems Model

Puccio, Murdock, & Mance, 2007Puccio, Murdock, & Mance, 2007

LEADERSHIP

Four Fundamental Components of Leadership

• leadership is a process

• leadership involves influence

• leadership occurs within a group context

• leadership involves goal attainment

Northouse, 2004

Change: The Genetic Link between Creativity and Leadership

• Creativity: a process that leads to change

• Leadership: a catalyst for change

(Puccio, et al., 2007)

Thank You

Puccio, G. J., Murdock, M. C., & Mance, M. (2007) Creative Leadership: Skills that Drive Change. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

www.buffalostate.edu/centers/creativity