Developing Creative Teams and Cultures: A Team-Based Exercise

Organizations have increasingly focused on creativity and innovation processes as a source of competitive advantage and employers desire individuals with creative thinking skills. In teaching about creativity and innovation, instructors will discuss the importance of finding the right individuals, putting together the right team, and creating the right environment for organizations to reach their creative potential, but students do not often understand the challenges in developing creative teams and cultures and how these challenges can influence organizational outcomes. This short exercise uses six common items where students work in teams to develop creative ideas and then evaluate how individual, group, and structural differences influence results. The debrief provides students with an opportunity to better understand how differences in team structures and norms, and organizational culture can influence creative outcomes.