16 MIN READ

Team Building Exercises – Creativity

Strengthening Creative Thinking in Your Team

Balloon sculptures can help people drop their defenses and connect more effectively with one another!

Jessica has a great team. Each person she manages is capable, experienced and hard working. But in team meetings, people seem reluctant to share insights and ideas.

What's more, even though everyone respects one another's views, they seem afraid to say things that might be perceived as silly, off-the-wall or wrong.

Jessica wants her team meetings to buzz with activity. She pictures a scene where people bounce ideas around, inspiring and challenging one another with their creativity and passion. But the reality is quite different.

What can Jessica do to invigorate team meetings and give people the confidence to join in and be more creative?

This article looks at five team building activities you can use to strengthen your team members' creative thinking and collaboration skills.

Supporting Creative Thinking

Creativity is essential for driving innovation and a commercially competitive spirit. Yet, as organizations grow, the structures they put in place to improve productivity and efficiency often stifle creativity.

When organizations focus on productivity, they impose rigid procedures that make it difficult for team members to be creative, so it's important that managers support creative thinking. According to business and management professors Nora Madjar, Greg Oldham and Michael Pratt, employees who felt they were supported in their creative endeavors demonstrated significantly greater creativity than those who didn't.

Research also shows that managers who make it clear that they expect team members to work creatively are perceived as being more supportive of new ideas. One way to do this is through creative thinking exercises that enhance and encourage creativity in your team.

Creativity exercises also help people relax and de-stress. By encouraging play, interaction and bonding, they also help to increase engagement and improve morale. ...