Unfortunately, the traditional educational model is still far from optimally promoting creativity in students, and the same educational scheme, with rigid programs and orientation towards mechanical-rote learning, gradually diminishes, although progressively. , the ability of people to broaden their creative horizons.
Consequently, the profile of the majority of higher education graduates is that of professionals programmed to follow precise indications, function within limited margins of action, and adhere to traditional structured norms. by the book.
Although, on a professional level, discipline and knowledge of basic notions are extremely useful, uncompromising orthodoxy -legacy of an educational system inherited from the worldview of the First Industrialization- evidently significantly limits creative processes.
Therefore, below, I share some considerations to promote creative thinking in high-performance work teams:
First of all, the organizational culture of any company that aspires to promote creativity among its employees must be based on trust and never on fear.
Of course, companies and institutions need to achieve established goals to be profitable, but betting on authoritarian systems where making a mistake is unacceptable implies fostering a culture of fear.
When the above occurs, the stimuli to innovate are inevitably closed, since implementing bold ideas requires courage in the face of uncertainty; proposals that break schemes can potentially fail.
However, annihilating creativity is even more risky, since a changing environment requires permanent updates. Only those organizations with enough flexibility to adapt to the new era of technological transformation will be able to survive and be successful.
On the other hand, when companies are not capable of reinventing themselves given their limited vision -which often takes root as a result of the good results of the past-, the outcome can be catastrophic. See the case of Blockbuster.
Secondly, encouraging creative thinking involves forming work teams with plural and complementary profiles. As the saying goes: in a group where two or more people think exactly the same, we can conclude that one is superfluous.