We are going to discuss the various different methods which will help your team to maximize creativity.

The first thing you’re going to need to do is maximize your team’s potential for creativity -“you must instill creativity at every level.” And the fastest way to do this is to draw on positive emotions.

The question then is how do you actually get your teams to take a more creative approach to the things they do? What kind of methods can you — the team leader — employ to help accomplish this?

There are 4 methods to apply; of we will now discuss the 1st. one.

1. First, apply positivity and tap into appropriate levels of arousal

Remember, the reason you’re doing this is to reshape people’s emotions. After all, you can’t force someone to be creative if they are unhappy. Creativity comes most easily when people feel relaxed and at ease.

“Team leaders take specific steps to help people experience the appropriate levels of arousal and the optimal level of positive emotions because they know that such a state releases the utmost creativity. They pay close attention to the emotions running through their team, and whenever necessary, they take sure steps to reshape less than optimal emotions. While they can’t force an individual or team to think creatively, they can help them open the door for creativity.”

Any step taken into this direction has to be based on the shared norms and beliefs of the Company taking into consideration the values found within a functioning group.

It is of utmost importance to make exceptional events be EXCEPTIONAL – never ever treat them as an ordinary event. When you team does something wonderful:

• Rejoice:  Stay emotional rather than minimizing the event with logical explanations. “Wow ! We hit the one million mark !  Amazing ! “

• Celebrate:  Commemorate the event. “This marks a milestone not just for the company but the positive efforts of our team. Lunch at the Best Steak House on me ! “

• Exclaim:  Show your emotion, telling people how it makes you feel. “I can’t tell you how happy this makes me. I feel like the day we brought my newborn baby home from the hospital.