managing a di team: facilitating the creative process
TRANSCRIPT
Managing a DI Team:
Facilitating the Creative
Process
• Describes the learning processes involved in solving
a Destination Imagination Challenge
• Emphasizes the process over the product
• Provides concrete learning objectives
– i.e. “utilize convergent and divergent thinking”
• All-inclusive view of the benefits of participation in
Destination Imagination
What is it? Creative Process
An Overview Creative Process
• A checklist to be completed
• A step-by-step, linear process
• Designed to constrict thinking methods
• A set of rules that must be followed
What it’s not… Creative Process
Becoming aware of a challenge, problem, or opportunity
― Having a healthy state of mind to explore new opportunities
― Having a positive attitude, readiness and alertness
― Fully understanding all the issues or points of the challenge or problem
The Team Members Recognize
• Will need to maximize their
different
– Personalities
– Ideas
– Abilities and Skills
– Interests
– Learning Styles
Applying thinking skills to develop options
― Employing divergent and convergent thinking
― Using creativity and critical thinking tools to create ideas and select the best ones
― Encouraging intuitive insight and novelty
― Maximizing the ability to work within or outside of structure
― Using your imagination to explore new ideas about solutions
• If you think it, share it
• Don’t evaluate or judge ideas
– Your own, or someone else’s
• Team Manager cannot offer ideas
– Interference
– Team might have idea on their own, but if TM
offers it, the team can’t use it
Rules for Idea Generation Sessions
Imagine
• Divergent thinking – developing possibilities for open-
ended questions
– Explores multiple solutions
– “I wonder if we could…”
• Convergent thinking – developing solutions to a
specific problem
– Has an end-goal in mind prior to generating
– “How might we…?”
Thinking Styles for Idea Generation
Imagine
Idea Generation Activities
Imagine
• Brainstorming• ABC Brainstorming – Roadmap, p. 160• Beach Ball Brainstorming• Mind Spin • Mix & Match (Morphological Matrix) – Roadmap, p. 167• SCAMPER
Create a 5x5 grid of blank squares.
Label the columns with the following:
1. Hero
2. Villain
3. Conflict
4. Setting
5. Humorous Twist
Fill in an idea for each square. Your team will then select at
random a different square from each column. You will then use
the selected elements to create a story.
Mix and Match Idea Generation
Initiating behavior and committing to an option
― Being willing to take risks; go beyond the minimum
― Controlling behavior to manage impulsiveness
― Directing ideas into solutions
Using social intelligence
― Understanding and using different problem-solving styles
― Being positive and listening to all team ideas before judging them
― Working together to produce the solution
• Simple tools that elicit positive input and help make
decisions as a team without hurting feelings
• Simple activities with effective results
• Everyone provides input, everyone invests in solution
Idea Directing / Focusing Tools
Initiate & Collaborate
Idea Directing/Focusing Tools
Initiate & Collaborate
• Objective Ranking
• Choice Helper/Attribute Listing – Roadmap pg. 186
• Strong-Weak-Special (A-L-O-U)
• Paired Choice – Roadmap, pg. 193
Given a list of ideas, evaluate each idea according to
the following elements.
1. Strong – What are the strengths of the idea?
2. Weak – What the weaknesses or challenges to
the idea?
3. Special – What makes this idea special? Is it
extremely humorous? Does it have an aspect
that is truly novel?
By doing this, you will foster effective discussion about
each idea and help your team evaluate ideas for use in
the Challenge Solution.
Strong-Weak-Special (was Alo U)
Idea Directing
• Collaboration is learned by working in a group
– Practice Instant Challenges
– Communicate frequently
– Provide checkpoints for discussion
– Allow team members to pursue their passion in
creating the solution
Learning to Collaborate
Initiate & Collaborate
Achieving the best solution
― Assessing the project while it is being done and after it is finished
― Sometimes starting over or admitting failure
• Team Members provide constructive feedback
• Learn to admit failure when necessary
• Team should set decision points for success
– If it doesn’t work by ____, then we will have to re-
evaluate our solution
• Learn when to adjust and when to start again
An ongoing process Assess
• Does our solution solve the Challenge?
• Is this still our best idea or option?
• Is it working?
• How would someone score this according to the
Challenge?
• Use challenge scoring as rubric to assess work
• Does it do what the challenge requires?
Guiding Questions Assess
• Objective – Did it happen?
– Yes – full points
– No – zero points
• Subjective
– How well did it work?
– Was it creative?
– Based on the impression of the Appraisers
• Assess your solution on both types of scored
elements, from various viewpoints
Types of Scores Assess
Evaluating the results
― Reflecting on the experience, resources and team dynamics
― Celebrating the team’s journey and accomplishments