Master Facilitator Journal | Creativity Generator for Managers

	Master Facilitator Journal \| Issue #0449, June 22, 2010

Dear Friends,

Our feature article in this issue Creativity Generator for Managers, is comprised of a short 15-question quiz, by Dr. Robert Epstein, to assess your ability to inspire creativity in others. Your scores will identify your current competency levels and will alert you to additional practices that may help you inspire more creativity in your groups or within your organizations.

Also check out our portable article bank presented at the end of this issue.

We hope our work continues to bring inspiration to your world. Thank you for being a part of our growing community. Please continue to send the wonderful feedback.

Blessings,

Steve Davis
Founder, FacilitatorU.com

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The Point

Creativity Generator for Managers
Do You Do What it Takes to Inspire Creativity in Others?

Group Management Skill

What is central to business is the joy of creating.
--Peter Robinson--

In a world where we've been taught that being right and looking good will keep us safe and help us fit in, it's no wonder we're so often afraid to be original. As a facilitator, manager, or group leader, you often hold a lot of power to create an environment where creativity can thrive. Use the following quiz to help you identify areas where you might better inspire creativity in others.

Application

This mini-inventory is designed to assess your competencies for inspiring creativity in others. The inventory yields scores in eight competency areas. (A competency is an underlying characteristic - i.e., motive, trait, skill and knowledge - which results in effective and/or superior performance in a job.) There are no right or wrong answers. Your scores will identify your current competency levels and will alert you to additional practices that can greatly enhance your skills.

Read each of the following statements and circle the appropriate answer and total your score below. Then check the key to see how creative you really are!

1 = Strongly Disagree, 2 = Disagree , 3 = Neither , 4 = Agree, 5 = Strongly Agree

1. Employees should be able to submit suggestions anonymously.	1 2 3 4 5
2. I frequently rearrange membership of the teams I create.	1 2 3 4 5
3. I believe that failure can have great value.	1 2 3 4 5
4. Employees should be able to keep outside reading materials at work.	1 2 3 4 5
5. I regularly change the office or desk locations of my employees.	1 2 3 4 5
6. Employees should record all of their ideas as they come to them.	1 2 3 4 5
7. I believe goals should not state or imply limits on performance.	1 2 3 4 5
8. I encourage temporary assignments to other areas of the organization.	1 2 3 4 5
9. I provide employees with many tools for recording new ideas.	1 2 3 4 5
10. Work spaces should be decorated with a variety of items.	1 2 3 4 5
11. I sometimes challenge others with problems that have no solution.	1 2 3 4 5
12. Work spaces should be redecorated on a regular basis.	1 2 3 4 5
13. I believe that cross-training in an organization can be a valuable tool.	1 2 3 4 5
14. I provide some time each day for people to work on new ideas.	1 2 3 4 5
15. I encourage staff to take courses in areas outside of their expertise.	1 2 3 4 5
	Total____

This is a mini version of a longer Creativity Competencies Inventory. A more complete version, which gives subscale scores in four different competency areas, is available here.

15-27 Um...Uh...Um
Your creativity management skills are something akin to a Tyrannosaurus Rex: they exist only in legend, and perhaps in a few fragmentary relics from long ago. When you boost the creativity of your employees, you boost their performance and overall capabilities. This is key to running an effective organization. Learning a few techniques should help you to strengthen your skills and help your employees to maximize theirs.

28-39 Things Were um...Bad...But Not SO Bad.
You have a lot of room to improve your creativity management skills. By room, we're talking a warehouse on the waterfront. You have prime property, but you have a lot you could still do with it. When you properly manage the creativity of your employees, you can boost the performance of not only your employees, but also your organization as a whole. Creativity is a good thing, and after learning a few techniques, you can foster it in others.

40-51 Stuff Was Tough, but We Didn't Have It Too Tough
This is the city. Everyday, millions of people working in and around this city have dozens of creative ideas that benefit themselves and their companies. And from your score, it looks like only a few of them came from your organization. You can fix that, however, and bring about great creativity in your employees, when you work on and develop a few key techniques. Then you and your staff will be creating a big handful of the millions and millions of ideas coming from this great metropolis.

52-63 The Times Were Really Good, but Also Really Bad
You have scored well, young grasshopper. You do very well at managing the creativity of those in your employ. But, are you zen managing? Can you do it with your eyes closed, and just feel the management? Probably not. You have still some room to improve your management style and get even more creativity from those under your thumb. It will not be too difficult for you to attain the ultimate-style creativity management. You can learn some secret and ancient techniques to put you and your company at the top of the lists.

64-75 It Was the Best of Times, it Was the Worst of Times..
This is it, the pinnacle of your game. Your skills in this field are outstanding, and you very likely have no difficulty getting the most out of your employees in terms of creativity. Enjoy the vantage point from this acme of achievements. You deserve it. Truly though, fostering creativity within your organization is important. It can lead to more profit and growth and give your company that fine edge that is needed to achieve new heights and reach ever-expanding goals. At any rate, if you keep managing creativity this well, you'll be able to come back and retake the test and score really highly on it time and time again. It'll be a quick boost to the ol' self-esteem.

About the Author: This is a mini version of the Epstein Creativity Competencies Inventory for Managers (the ECCI-m), developed by Dr. Robert Epstein, CEO of Creativity International and one of America's most distinguished psychologists. To take the full version, visit http://MyCreativitySkills.com/managers. For more information about Dr. Epstein and his other competency tests, visit http://DrEpstein.com.

Add Your Comments

Action

What would you be willing to do this week to improve your score on the above inventory? Please click on the Add Your Comments link above and share your thoughts, stories, and experiences around this topic. I'd love to hear from you!

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