Discussion: Creative Teams and Creative Conflicts

Have you ever worked on a team that struggled to complete a project? In your first MBA course, Dynamic Leadership, you learned about the "big five" personality traits that can potentially lead to conflicts in the workplace; but differences in creative thinking styles can also keep a team from functioning effectively. The major thinking styles you will learn about this week can provide insight into the reasons why conflicts can arise among individuals and teams trying to innovate.

For example, perhaps you have worked on a team with someone who you thought asked too many questions or focused on what appeared to you to be insignificant details. As a leader, you need to learn how to accommodate a diversity of creative thinking styles in effective ways.

For this Discussion, you will consider your own creative thinking styles and how they differ from others in your current (or a past) workplace environment. Consider how different creative thinking styles can potentially create conflict among teams. You can review the five personality traits that were covered in a previous course by referring to the Digman article in the Optional Resources this week.

With these thoughts in mind:

By Day 3

Post a cohesive analysis using the scenario presented in this week's media piece, Creative Teams and Creative Conflicts, in which a team is unable to make progress on a project. In your post, incorporate the following:

• An analysis of the barriers that prevented the group from leveraging their differences and creating innovative ideas.
• Three suggested ways that their process could be improved, despite their different styles.
• An explanation of how you would approach the scenario differently and lead the group towards success if you were asked to lead the team.
• A description of how you would implement the three ways you identified above to help the group improve.
• Finally, include an explanation of how you could use the strategies described in this week's chapter from Creative leadership: Skills that drive change to accommodate the diversity of thinking styles to lead the group in a unified direction.